50,000 SUSPECTS. 20 CLUES. ONE KILLER.
Closing night of the World's Exposition, 1936.
Fifty thousand people are inside the perimeter. The gates are shut for the Illumination count when Vaughn Kessler, Commissioner of Concessions, is found dead at his desk beneath the Court of Nations.
Nobody left.
The killer is on the register.
A man's overcoat hangs over the chair opposite the body. It isn't Kessler's.
That coat, the room and the Exposition's own records reveal twenty pieces of evidence. Not one names the killer.
Together, they identify exactly one person out of 50,000.
How the investigation works
Every guest is identified by four things: name, gate, admission period and ticket class.
A name alone is never enough.
Work through twenty evidence exhibits, using each clue to eliminate thousands of people from the complete suspect register.
Slowly, 50,000 suspects become fifteen.
Then the records run out.
The dossiers open.
And the puzzle stops being elimination and becomes a true investigation.
All 50,000 suspects are inside this book
The complete register is printed across 200 blocks and 100 pages.
Take the long road and cross suspects out by hand, or use the four working grids to accelerate the investigation.
Either way, the evidence leads to the same file number.
Inside
50,000 individual suspects
20 evidence exhibits
A complete 200-block suspect register
Gate sheets, plate logs, refund records, card indexes and tenancy records
Four working grids with space for your deductions
Three checkpoints to make sure you're still on the right trail
15 final suspect dossiers
The complete worked solution
162 pages in a large 8 × 10 format with room to work in pencil
A fair-play mystery
Exactly one of the 50,000 suspects satisfies all twenty clues.
No guessing. No trivia. No outside knowledge. Nothing withheld.
Every clue matters. Remove even one and the solution is no longer unique.
The complete case has been checked against the entire register before publication.
Everything you need to identify the killer is already in your hands.
Can you find them before you reach the solution?
A Black Tie Murders Special Case — one enormous investigation, not twenty-four separate mysteries.
Reviews
Find the Killer: 50,000 Suspects, 20 Clues, One Killer: A Murder Mystery Logic Puzzle Book for Adults | Whodunit Brain Teaser (Black Tie Murders) by Michelle Ward is an intense brain teaser that will keep you busy—and thinking—for hours! I completed several of the puzzles and quickly discovered that this isn't the type of puzzle book you can simply breeze through. You really have to pay attention to the clues, think logically, eliminate suspects, and sometimes go back and reconsider something you thought you had already figured out. I found myself questioning my choices more than once, which made finally narrowing things down even more satisfying. I especially enjoyed playing detective and working through the information piece by piece. With 50,000 suspects, 20 clues, and one killer, the challenge sounds almost impossible at first, but that's part of the fun. The clues are cleverly written and make you use observation, deduction, patience, and critical-thinking skills. There were moments when I thought I had everything figured out, only to realize that one small detail could completely change my reasoning. The entire package is very well put together. I love puzzle books that actually make me stop, concentrate, and exercise my brain rather than giving me something I can solve in a few seconds, and this one definitely accomplished that. If you enjoy murder mysteries, whodunits, logic puzzles, or simply challenging yourself, Find the Killer is a must-have. It would also make a fantastic gift for the mystery lover or puzzle enthusiast in your life. Just be prepared—you may tell yourself you're only going to work on it for a few minutes and suddenly realize you've been trying to catch the killer for much longer.
Find the Killer is an intense brain teaser that will keep you busy — and thinking — for hours! I completed several of the puzzles and quickly discovered that this isn't the type of puzzle book you can simply breeze through. You really have to pay attention to the clues, think logically, eliminate suspects, and sometimes go back and reconsider something you thought you had already figured out. I found myself questioning my choices more than once, which made finally narrowing things down even more satisfying. I especially enjoyed playing detective and working through the information piece by piece. With 50,000 suspects, 20 clues, and one killer, the challenge sounds almost impossible at first, but that's part of the fun. The clues are cleverly written and make you use observation, deduction, patience, and critical-thinking skills. There were moments when I thought I had everything figured out, only to realize that one small detail could completely change my reasoning. The entire package is very well put together. I love puzzle books that actually make me stop, concentrate, and exercise my brain rather than giving me something I can solve in a few seconds, and this one definitely accomplished that. If you enjoy murder mysteries, whodunits, logic puzzles, or simply challenging yourself, Find the Killer is a must-have. It would also make a fantastic gift for the mystery lover or puzzle enthusiast in your life. Just be prepared — you may tell yourself you're only going to work on it for a few minutes and suddenly realize you've been trying to catch the killer for much longer.
This is an extremely well thought out and masterfully put together whodunit book. You have 50,000 names, 20 clues to work with, and are left with one killer. This is not a quick and easy puzzle but one needing deep consideration and willingness to read and reread and study the sparse clues. Be prepared to second-guess yourself, erase what you thought you knew, and try again until you are left with only a single name on your paper. The layout of worksheets makes it easier to keep track of grids you dismiss and have small areas for you to take notes in. Use them. It will help you to keep your thoughts straight and possibly help to cut off time when you return to the section after finding out your count is off when you move to the next section of the worksheet. If you like puzzles that require some serious logic and thought and aren't afraid to sigh and admit you made a mistake somewhere along the line and go back without quitting to figure out who the killer is, this is a great detective and mystery puzzle book for you.
Oh my goodness this is a fun one! I love puzzles and games but let me tell you of the most interesting and frustrating things I've ever done. This puzzle has got to be it! I began this adventure with a bit of doubt over how challenging it would be and a bit more worry that I would become bored with it. My worries were for naught! Just like a very good book, this puzzle has it all. You start cautiously doubting the hype over these things and are hooked within pages. I can't tell you the amount of frustration and irritation I felt anytime life crept into this tantalizing tale. You think you've got it all figured out only to find that you are now beginning to doubt yourself each time you make a note or decision about something. I was thoroughly engaged with each clue and felt that I had wrung every possible bit of information from it only to find that I had not. Give this one a try and you won't regret it at all!
Neat way to pass the time. 50,000 suspects. 20 clues. Follow the included instructions to find the killer!