Read Sherlock Holmes stories way past your bedtime? Solve the crime before Hercule Poirot even arrives on the scene? Have a Nancy Drew plush toy? If you love a good murder mystery as much as we do, try your hand at our top 10 whodunit riddles:
1. Two girls order iced tea with free refills. One girl drinks four glasses in the time it takes the other to drink just one. The girl who drank the single glass dies, but the other lives. All the drinks were poisoned. How did the girl who drank the most iced tea survive?
2. A woman shot her husband, and held him underwater for three minutes. Later that night, they had a lovely dinner together. How is this possible?
3. A man was found dead with a cassette recorder in one hand and a gun in the other. When the police arrived, they immediately played the cassette. First they heard the dead man’s voice, “I have nothing to live for,” then the sound of a gunshot. Upon listening to the tape, the police knew that it was not a suicide, but a homicide. How did they know?
4. A businesswoman was stabbed while on a trip to Canada. The suspects are Mason, Mary, Bryan, Lily, Alexandra, and Patrick. Written in blood on the woman’s calendar are the numbers 3, 4, 9, 10, and 11. Who is the killer?
5. A detective, who was only days away from discovering the identity of a top brass mob boss, has suddenly gone missing. She left behind a single note: 5508 51 7718. Currently there are 3 suspects: Bill, Lucky, and Greg. Can you crack the detective’s code?
6. A railroad tycoon is found murdered on a Sunday morning. His wife calls the police, who question the wife and the servants. The police collect the following alibis: the wife was in bed, the butler was polishing the silverware, the gardener was trimming trees, the maid was getting the mail, and the cook was preparing breakfast. The police arrest the murderer on the spot. Who did it, and how did the police know?
7. A man murders his wife with a knife, leaving no trace and no witnesses. He returns home. An hour later the police call to tell him that his wife has been murdered and to come to the scene of the crime straight away. As soon as he arrives, he is arrested. How did the police know he did it?
8. On Thursday afternoon, a friendly woman brought a home baked pie to her wealthy neighbor’s house. She noticed that the front door was ajar, and through the crack she could see her neighbor’s body lying in a pool of dried blood. On the porch were two packages, unopened letters, Monday's newspaper, junk mail, and a flyer for a plumbing service. A police officer arrived on the scene and suspects murder. Who does she suspect and why?
9. A dead body is discovered at the bottom of a five story building. A homicide detective is called in. He goes to the first floor, opens the window, and flips a coin out the window. He goes up to the second floor and does the same thing. He does this on every floor. On the fifth floor he knows it was a murder, not a suicide. How?
10. A girl was attending her grandmother’s funeral when she met an intriguing man. She spent most of the funeral comforting grieving relatives, and didn’t get a chance to even get the man’s name. Later, when she went to find him, he had already left. A week later, she murdered her older brother. Why?
Were you a sleuth extraordinaire and get 10 out of 10? The answers are below:
(1) The poison was in the ice. (2) She shot him with a camera. (3) Dead men can't rewind cassettes. (4) The months spell out the name: Mason. (5) Upside down: "Bill is boss." (6) The maid: there is no mail on Sundays. (7) Police didn't tell the man where the crime scene was. (8) The person delivering the newspaper knew not to deliver past Monday. (9) You can't close a window if you jump. (10) She wanted to see the man again.
