WHO'S HIDING THE KILLER?

46,000 names. 18 clues. One person.

Three weeks ago, Daniel Rooke walked out of the county courthouse during a recess and never came back. He was on trial for murder.

Where he was last seen, the police found a used weapon, a letter in his handwriting, and the county register. The letter is eighteen lines about the person who’s keeping him. It has no name on it.

You have a copy of the letter. You have the register, with all 46,000 names in it. Find that person before he moves on.

How it works

Read a clue. Cross out every name that doesn’t fit. Work through all eighteen, across 200 pages of names, until only one is left. No grid, no app, no trivia. Just a pen, a letter and a county full of people who all look innocent.

Every one of the eighteen clues is needed. Skip one and you’ll never get down to a single name.

What’s inside

• 46,000 first names, men and women, over 200 pages and 24 chapters
• 18 clues: letter patterns, page numbers, nearby names, chapter details and a final elimination
• Reference lists at the back for the jury, the Rooke family, the witnesses and the four alibis
• An answer page to write down your verdict, and a website to check it

Who it’s for

Anyone who likes a slow puzzle you can live in for a few evenings. It’s one case, not eighty. Solve it alone, or hand the book round the table and let everyone cross out together.

Details

• Paperback, 6 × 9 inches, 210 pages
• Printed in black and white on white paper
• Pen not included. You’ll want a good one.