There’s a quote by Agatha Christie —the greatest, and I won’t hear otherwise— that has always struck me as a golden rule: the detective should never know more than the reader. And we’ve taken that very seriously.
You see, here at Lolita Perrins Books, we have an almost worrying weakness for mysteries. We love them in novels, films, TV series, comics… The format doesn’t matter. What matters is that feeling of having all the pieces right under your nose and still not being able to see the whole picture.
Until it happens.
That moment when a suspicion starts to make sense. You read a sentence, remember a detail that seemed insignificant and, suddenly…
“Aha!”
Everything falls into place. And there’s no pleasure quite like it. Well, perhaps one or two, but this one is very high on the list.
They say Einstein called that instant “his happy moment”. We simply call it the aha moment. That second when you realise the murderer wasn’t who they seemed to be, that there was a crack in the alibi, or that you’ve spent the last half hour suspecting the wrong person. How infuriating!
If you’re anything like us, you’re going to love this news, because we’re launching a brand-new collection of puzzle books for people who aren’t content with simply reading a mystery. They want to solve it.
And we’ve come up with a few different ways to do just that.
If you love a good read, keep an eye out for The Mysterious Cases of Elsbeth Primrose — coming soon. An exceptional detective, a journalist as curious as he is stubborn, and a good handful of murders waiting to be solved. The best part? It all takes place between the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Can you feel your brain switching on? Good. Because once you’ve finished reading, it’ll be your turn to solve the case. And it won’t be easy. Fun? You bet.
If you’re competitive, try Detective Duel. Here, investigating is a two-player game: the same case, the same word search and two detectives, each working from their own page, determined to prove that the other one hasn’t got a clue.
You’ll have to find the clues and identify thcoe culprit. But there’s one slight complication: solving the crime isn’t enough. You have to do it before the other player.
You’ll travel back to the 1940s, when trench coats, hats and clouds of cigarette smoke were all part of any respectable investigation.
Perfect for playing with your partner, a friend, or that relative who never stops boasting about having watched every single season of CSI.
Want to try the duel before the game begins? We’ve put together a few pages so you can see exactly how it works and start competing.
At Lolita Perrins, we believe that solving a mystery is a wonderful way to play. To think. To be surprised. To feel a little like a child again. To have lots and lots of aha moments.
So make yourself comfortable.
There’s a murder waiting for you.
And, of course, until next time, please be happy.