Jim Sukach

This book is a collection of mini mysteries that present a problem scenario and ask the reader to furnish the solution. In this particular collection, the stories are linked together by the characters, centered on two astute detectives and a collection of their family and friends. Dr. Quicksolve is a respected detective who methodically puts the clues together and arrives at the answer, and Detective Elliot Savant is a more eccentric fellow who seems to have his mind on everything at once, show more but uses his attention to detail to solve crimes. Some of the stories also revolve around Junior, Dr. Quicksolve's son. With these capable sleuths leading the way, the reader can solve mysteries like who is stalking Lucy Looker, who threatened the convenience store clerk with a knife and then ran away, and whether the horse really stampeded a famous singer to death or it was murder. Each of the twenty-two compact mysteries are three to four pages long, accompanied with illustrations.

I enjoyed perusing these mysteries. Some of them are very simple for folk who read and watch mysteries, and some are more difficult to solve. A few of them were built around inferences that I didn't think the story justified, but most of the solutions made sense. The writing level of the book is suitable for younger readers, but some of the content is not, with murders and stabbings and people beat to death - I'm not sure the author had a solid fix on his intended audience. Also, most of the names in the book are puns, which is amusing but was a bit much after a while. Despite these drawbacks, I found the collection to be a fun way to pass the time, perfect for road trips or small group entertainments, but better if used with adults or teenagers than young children. show less

Answers are at back of book. Puzzles seem to be about noticing what doesn't make sense; e.g., how could X have known Y unless he-dunit.

fun