Cold Ink Casebook · Volume 1
The Night the Presses Stopped
A murder mystery puzzle book. 64 puzzles. 16 cases. 1 killer.
Wrackmouth, October 1957. Fog has come in off the quay. In the printworks of the Wrackmouth Ledger, the presses have stopped. Edmund Carrow owns the paper, and tonight he lies at the foot of the iron stair in his own printworks. Twelve people crossed his path this week. One of them killed him.
How a case works
- Solve.Each case opens on a right-hand page and has four puzzles. Each answer is one piece of evidence.
- File the card.Put the four answers together and write what they prove on the evidence card.
- Cross out.Cross out every suspect the card rules out. In the Finale, the 16 cards leave one name.
Free to solve
Case 1: The Resealed Envelope
Monday, 7 October 1957. Edmund Carrow brings a letter to the post office counter. The flap is rippled: someone has opened it and stuck it down again with flour paste. Find where the letter was opened, and at what time. About 26 minutes: 20 for the puzzles, 6 for the card.
Puzzle 1.1 · Word searchThe Back-Room Shelf
Level 2 · about 8 min
Puzzle 1.2 · CipherThe Shelf Label
Level 2 · about 4 min
Puzzle 1.3 · Logic gridWho Was Where at 12:40 PM
Level 2 · about 5 min
Puzzle 1.4 · Floor planThe Plan: Wrackmouth Public Library
Level 2 · about 3 min
The PDF holds the practice pages (How to Play, the worked example, the town map and the walking minutes) and all of Case 1. It is set for print at 6 × 9 in. Hints in three tiers and the full answers are printed at the back of the book.
Inside the book
64 puzzles, 7 kinds
Logic grids, word searches, suspect rosters, floor plans, safe codes, ciphers and a codeword. Four different kinds in every case.
Levels 2 to 5
Every puzzle prints its own level and its own minutes, from 3 to 17. About 10 hours of solving in all, by the book’s own estimate.
192 hints, in three tiers
A nudge, a strong hint, then a near answer for every puzzle. The Finale has three of its own.
Answers that show the working
Every answer is followed by the numbered steps that force it. The killer is named only at the very end, on a right-hand page behind a page that tells you to stop.
No apps or websites are needed to play. Pencil, paper and the book are enough.
Volume 1 is a complete case
The killer is named and charged in this book. Paperback, 218 pages.