The Official Clue Book of Puzzles First published in Great Britain 2025 by Expanse, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers 1 London Bridge Street, London SE1 9GF www.farshore.co.uk
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Written by Dr. Gareth Moore and Laura Jayne Ayres
CONTENTS 6
Introduction 10 CHAPTER ONE
104
CHAPTER FIVE
Boden “Boddy” Black
Mayor Green
32
128
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER SIX
Chef White
Professor Plum
56
152
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER SEVEN
Colonel Mustard
Solicitor Peacock
80
178
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER EIGHT
Miss Scarlett
The Reveal
202
Solutions WARNING! Pages 220–223 include SPOILERS.
E V I D E
N C E
L O G
Chef White
Number the rooms in the order the suspect firs t visited the m, from 1 to 9:
Use Findings cards to work out the puzzle answers. Add key facts in the Reader’s Evidence Logs on pages 176–177. Don’t look at pages 220–223 until the end, as they reveal Who murdered Boddy Black, Where, and With What weapon.
Findings Potential mu rder
weapon ass ociated wit h the suspe ct:
Where they planned to meet Bodd y after dinner :
INTRODUCTION
You’ve been summoned to Tudor Mansion to solve the murder of Mr. Boden “Boddy” Black, who has just been killed at his own dinner party by one of the six guests he invited. The murderer is still on the scene, so time is of the essence if you want to crack the case and bring the killer to justice! Your job is to find out: Who killed Boddy Where they did it And With What weapon Questioning suspects and gathering clues will be the best way to solve the case.
Boddyk Blac
6
Book of Puzzles
INTRODUCTION | WHO?
WHO?
Colonsetlard Mu
Soliciotcork Peac
Mayonr Gree Miss lett Scar Chef te Whi
Book of Puzzles
r Professo Plum
7
? E R E WH
INTRODUCTION | WHERE?
Conservatory
Ballroom
Kitchen
Billiard Room
Library
Dining Roo
Lounge
8
m
Hall Study
Billiard Ro
om
Study
WITH WHAT? Wr
Dagger
enc h
Rope
Lead Pi
pe les d n a C
tick
Book of Puzzles
Revolver
9
CHAPTER ONE
BODEN BLACK
10
BO D EN
“B O D D Y”
B LA C K
First things first: the victim. You can’t speak to Boddy himself, of course, but his desk is covered in personal items that might help you get started on the case. Probably the most revealing find of all is his personal planner, with his various notes and schedules inside. It’s the perfect place to start looking for clues. Can you use Boddy’s own documents to try to solve his murder? Turn the page once you’re ready to begin the investigation.
Book of Puzzles
11
CHAPTER ONE | BODEN “BODDY” BLACK
1. Invitations The exclusive invitation to an event at Boddy Black’s house was extremely desirable, even if he did have a shady plan up his sleeve for when his guests arrived. All six of the guests had been delighted, if a little intrigued, to receive their official request to attend his soiree. It seems like Boddy was a perfectionist, since inside his planner you find a rejected version of the invitations he sent out. Presumably he wasn’t happy with the way they were presented.
You Are Cordially Inv it
ed
Mr. Boden Black requ ests the honor of your company for a pr ivate dinner party at his historic Tudor M ansion.
Hors d’oeuvres at su
ndown, dinner at 8. Your RSVP is assumed.
12
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CHAPTER ONE | BODEN “BODDY” BLACK
Shown on the left is the invitation that Boddy sent out to each of his suspects, and below is the version that he clearly found unacceptable.
Can you find ten differences between the two?
d e t i v n I y l l re Cordia asure of
You A
s the ple t s e u q e r y Black er party n n i d e Mr. Bodd t a ıv y for a pr n a p m o c your mansion. r o d u T c i tor at his his 9. inner at d , t e s n u s euvers at o ’ d s r o H assumed. is P V S R r You
> Answers on page 202
Book of Puzzles
13
CHAPTER ONE | BODEN “BODDY” BLACK
2. The Guest List Boden Black had chosen his dinner guests carefully, and invited each of them for a reason. He planned to open a new hotel in the area, and wanted each of them to be involved with it in one way or another. He revealed this plan to them over dinner in the Dining Room—along with a few other secrets. Then, sometime after dinner, one of Boddy’s guests killed him. You find the names of the six guests written out in Boddy’s planner, opposite a grid with boxes for each of the six surnames. With an arrow pointing to one of the columns, Boddy had written the note “Hotel Name.” To reveal the name of the planned hotel, place each of the suspects’ surnames—listed below—into the grid, writing one letter per box. There are several different ways you could arrange the names, but only one arrangement will reveal a dictionary word reading down the “Hotel Name” column.
What was the proposed hotel name?
TT Miss SCARLE M LU Professor P ARD T S U M l e n o l Co CK O C A E P r o t i Solic Chef WHITE N Mayor GREE 14
As a clue, the hotel name does have two consecun’t vowels in it. tive
Hotel Name
Findings
The proposed hotel name was...
> Answers on page 202
Book of Puzzles
15
CHAPTER ONE | BODEN “BODDY” BLACK
3. The Grand Entrance Boddy’s guests had been asked to arrive at sundown, with dinner to begin at 8 p.m. Apparently that arrival time wasn’t specific enough for some of the attendees, and each of the guests arrived at a different time, in some particular order. None of the guests seem to have stuck around by the entrance for very long after they were greeted by Boddy—so none of them can say exactly who arrived before or after them. After checking Boddy’s notes, though, you work out the order in which they arrived. You know that: • Chef White arrived at some point between Solicitor Peacock and Colonel Mustard, although they did not necessarily arrive in that order • Miss Scarlett was the last to arrive • Professor Plum was the next to arrive after Colonel Mustard • Mayor Green was also one of the six attendees • Chef White arrived before, but not immediately before, Solicitor Peacock
re C ord nC Blaordiailallyl ck r yInInvited equ v e B 16
CHAPTER ONE | BODEN “BODDY” BLACK
Use the information opposite to work out the order in which each of Boddy’s guests was welcomed to Tudor Mansion. Write your solution in the spaces below:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. > Answers on page 202
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CHAPTER ONE | BODEN “BODDY” BLACK
4. Scattered Suspects Boddy had obviously kept a close eye on his guests from the moment they entered the grounds of Tudor Mansion. A page in his planner reveals that each guest had paced around outside for a while before entering the house, and that Boddy had been keeping track of them. He was suspicious of his guests at an early stage—and he was right to be suspicious, given that one of them killed him. On the opposite page is Boddy’s sketch showing each of the guests’ start and end points on their routes as they strolled around the garden, prior to entering the house. Even though they all arrived at different times, it also happened that none of them visited the exact same areas of the garden. Can you use the start and end points to work out the exact route around the garden that each guest took? Draw a series of paths so that each path connects a character’s start and end points, as represented by their initials. No more than one path can enter any square, and paths can only travel horizontally or vertically between squares.
Once you’ve drawn them in, take a look at the route that each person took. Which person took the longest route, based on the number of grid squares they covered?
Findings
The longest route was taken by...
18
CHAPTER ONE | BODEN “BODDY” BLACK
Guests’ start and end points
MS CM PP CM
SP
CW
MG
PP MG
MS
SP CW
> Answers on page 202
Book of Puzzles
19
CHAPTER ONE | BODEN “BODDY” BLACK
5. Old Friends All of the guests considered themselves to be close associates of Boddy’s—and perhaps even friends of his. Some of the party’s attendees had first encountered Boddy in a professional setting, whereas others had primarily been social acquaintances. No matter how they had been introduced to Boddy, it was clear that each of the suspects had known him for a long time. Here’s what you know about their previous connections: • Professor Plum had known Boddy for half of the time that Colonel Mustard had • One of the guests had known Boddy for 8 years exactly, but nobody had known him for more than 18 years • Miss Scarlett had known Boddy for half of the time that Solicitor Peacock had • Solicitor Peacock had known Boddy for only two-thirds of the amount of time that Chef White had known him • In two years’ time, Mayor Green would have known Boddy for twice as long as Miss Scarlett had known him on this night of the murder • Professor Plum had met Boddy a year before Miss Scarlett had • Chef White had known Boddy for an odd number of years • None of them had known Boddy for the same amount of time
Use the above information to work out how long each of the suspects had known Boddy. Who had known him the longest?
20
Book of Puzzles
> Answers on page 202
Green:
Mustard:
White:
Plum: Scarlett:
Peacock:
Findings him the longest was...
The person who knew
21
CHAPTER ONE | BODEN “BODDY” BLACK
6. Perfect Guests Boddy was always the consummate host, and his guests did their best to rise to the occasion. As such, three of the suspects had brought gifts for Boddy—all of which would now need to be carefully checked in case they had anything to do with Boddy’s murder. A note on Boddy’s desk shows that he had already made a record of the three gifts, the names of the three gift givers, and the three rooms in the house in which he had placed each of the gifts. Here’s what he had written down: • I’ve placed the scented candle in the Lounge • The antique corkscrew was not brought by Solicitor Peacock • The scented candle was a gift from Miss Scarlett • I didn’t place Solicitor Peacock’s gift in the Billiard Room Can you use Boddy’s own notes, along with the check-off chart opposite (and its prefilled headings), to work out which guest brought which gift, and where in the mansion Boddy stashed it?
Write your answers in the table opposite.
22
Book of Puzzles
CHAPTER ONE | BODEN “BODDY” BLACK
Lounge
Library
Billiard Room
Location Vintage wine
Scented candle
Antique corkscrew
Gift
Who?
Mustard Scarlett
Location
Peacock Billiard Room
Library Lounge
Findings Who?
> Answers on page 202
Gift
Book of Puzzles
Location
23
CHAPTER ONE | BODEN “BODDY” BLACK
7. Timing Is Everything You don’t yet know who killed Boddy—or indeed where, or with what weapon—but you can work out at what time he was killed. Boddy’s expensive watch was state of the art, but seems to have been damaged at the exact moment he was attacked. The digital clock face on his watch has been damaged, having glitched when Boddy was killed. The clock should be showing a 24-hour time, but the display has become jumbled. Rearrange the squares on the digital clock face opposite to reveal at what time Boddy died. You don’t need to rotate or reflect any of the segments, and note that some of them are already in their correct place.
Copy each piece onto the blank grid as you work out where it goes. One column is already placed to help you get started.
24
Book of Puzzles
> Answers on page 203
CHAPTER ONE | BODEN “BODDY” BLACK
Findings
The time on the stopped clock was...
25
CHAPTER ONE | BODEN “BODDY” BLACK
8. Boddy’s Schedule Boddy’s personal planner shows you that he had a precise schedule for the evening. If you can work out which room he had intended to visit at each point throughout the evening, you might be able to discover where he was planning to be around the time of his death. It looks like Boddy didn’t want to make his plans too public, however, since even in his private planner he made them tricky to decipher:
A GUID
E TO M
ORSE C
ODE
exactly ten minutes before • Check on the Kitchen preparations welcoming guests the safe one hour before • Make sure to lock my valuables in canapés are served in the Ballroom
26
Room at 8 p.m. • Dinner is to be served in the Dining uarters of an hour after canapés • Fetch wine from downstairs three-q utes before dinner) are served (NB so this will be fifteen min three hours before serving • Welcome guests in the Hall exactly cocktails in the Billiard Room from downstairs, water plants • Ninety minutes after fetching wine in the Conservatory at :30 p.m. • Serve cocktails in the Billiard Room
A
TO GUIDE
MORSE
CODE
This guide to l Morse code fel ner. out of the plan It doesn’t seem to be relevant y here, but it ma be important later on.
Can you use the information to work out at what time each of the following events had been scheduled to take place? Write the intended time next to each event:
Check on Kitchen preparations Dinner served in the Dining Room Fetch wine from downstairs Lock valuables in the safe Serve canapés in the Ballroom Serve cocktails in the Billiard Room Water plants in the Conservatory Welcome guests in the Hall > Answers on page 203
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