Guide and free case · Barbara Cavallaro ·
Murder mystery logic puzzles for adults: how to solve one
A murder mystery logic puzzle is a crime you solve yourself, with a pencil and no guessing. You get a map split into zones, four suspects and five clues about where they were standing. Once everyone is in place, only one person is left in the zone where the weapon was found, and that person did it.
Below you'll find the rules, a sensible way to think through a case and one complete case from Murder, Italian Style, set on a beach in Monterosso on the Cinque Terre. The answer sits in a closed box at the bottom of the page, so you can play without seeing it by accident.
The rules in six lines
- The map is a square of cells. Rows are numbered from the top (1, 2, 3, 4) and columns are lettered A, B, C, D, so the top left cell is A1.
- Zones are separated by thick borders, and each zone has its own background pattern.
- Nobody can stand on tables, plants, barrels, crates or anything similar. Chairs, benches and deckchairs are free, and whoever is on one is sitting.
- Every row and every column holds exactly one suspect.
- «Next to» means a cell that shares a side, never a diagonal. «Higher up» means a row with a lower number, and «further left» means an earlier column.
- Nobody stands on the weapon cell. The culprit is the only person in the same zone as the weapon.
Why people call it murder sudoku
One person per row and per column is the same rule as sudoku, with people instead of numbers. There's no arithmetic at all. What you need is a careful look at the map and a good memory for what you've already ruled out, which is why a pencil and an eraser beat any clever trick.
The case: In the Giant's Shadow
Case 2 from Murder, Italian Style · Monterosso al Mare · easy · 4×4 map
Fegina beach, end of season. Under the gaze of the great statue of Neptune, the beach club «Bagni Nettuno» was about to close. Owner Furio Gambino wanted to sell it to a luxury hotel. At sunset he was found on the pier, struck with a paddle. Only four suspects remained on the beach.
Victim: Furio Gambino, beach club owner. Weapon: a paddle.
The suspects
- Asia Moggia (A), the bartender who dreams of her own kiosk.
- Carlo Basso (C), the most loyal customer: thirty years under the same umbrella.
- Nadia Lucchetti (N), the lifeguard, fired the week before.
- Pietro Gianoli (P), the hotel's estate agent.
The clues
- Pietro was on the beach.
- Asia was right next to a table.
- Nadia was not on the beach.
- Carlo was higher up on the map than Pietro.
- Carlo was further left than Pietro.
Did you know? The Giant of Monterosso is a roughly 14 metre statue of Neptune in reinforced concrete and iron, made in 1910 by sculptor Arrigo Minerbi. Damaged by WWII bombing and a 1966 storm, it lost its arms and trident but still watches over Fegina beach.
How to start, without spoilers
- First cross out every cell where nobody can stand: the table, the ice chest, the umbrellas and the weapon cell. Deckchairs stay open.
- Start with the clues that name a zone or an object, like «was on the beach» or «right next to a table». They remove the most cells in one go.
- Save position clues such as «higher up» or «further left» for later. They work best once a person has only two or three cells left. And since two people never share a row, «higher up» always means a different row.
- When only one person can still fit in a row or a column, write them in and cross out the rest of their row and column. From there the case usually unravels on its own.
You don't hunt for the culprit. They turn up at the end, when everyone is placed and you look at who is standing in the weapon's zone.
The answer is further down. If you want to play, stop here and grab a pencil.
The book this case comes from
Murder, Italian Style: 60 Logic Mysteries Across Villages, Villas and Trattorias. Murder, Italian Style has sixty cases that travel from Liguria to Sicily: easy 4×4 maps first, then 5×5 and 6×6. It opens with a guided case solved step by step, and every case is explained at the back of the book, just like the answer below. It's a paperback in 8×10 inch format, made for writing in with a pencil.
Want another one first? The book page has case 1 to play on screen and as a free printable PDF. Back to the book page
Show the answer
- Clue 1 («Pietro was on the beach»): for Pietro only A3, A4, B3 and C3 remain.
- Clue 2 («Asia was right next to a table»): for Asia only C1 and D2 remain.
- Clue 3 («Nadia was not on the beach»): for Nadia we rule out A3, A4, B3 and C3.
- Clue 4 («Carlo was higher up on the map than Pietro», remembering that no two people share a row or column): for Carlo A2, B1, B3, C1, C2, C3 and D2 remain.
- Clue 5 («Carlo was further left than Pietro», remembering that no two people share a row or column): for Carlo A2 and B1 remain and for Pietro B3 and C3 remain.
- In row 4 only Nadia can still fit: C4 and D4 remain.
- In column A only Carlo can still fit, so Carlo is in A2.
- Carlo is in A2: no one else can be in row 2 or column A.
- Asia is in C1: no one else can be in row 1 or column C.
- Nadia is in D4.
- Pietro is in B3.
The weapon was on the pier (D3), and the only person on the pier was Nadia: the culprit is Nadia Lucchetti.
The motive: Nadia had worked at Bagni Nettuno since she was a girl: Gambino fired her without notice to present the hotel with a leaner club.
FAQ
Do I need to be good at sudoku?
No. There are no numbers and nothing to add up. The only thing borrowed from sudoku is the rule of one person per row and per column.
Does every case really have just one answer?
Yes. Every case in the book has exactly one solution, and you can reach it by reasoning alone, without guessing.
Do I need to know Italian or Italy?
No. The stories are short and the clues are plain English. The Italian places add flavour, and each case ends with a short real fact about where it's set.
Where can I buy it?
On Amazon.com for $11.99 and on Amazon UK for £8.99, as a paperback. The buttons on this page go straight to the book.