Quicksolve Whodunit Puzzles: Challenging Mini-Mysteries

Dr. J. L. Quicksolve has a sharp mind; he can listen to a story and immediately discern the logical flaw that leads to solving the crime. In this case, you have the opportunity to solve the crimes with Dr. Quicksolve. All of the crime stories are at most two pages in length and involve one or two words or conditions that render the alibi false. A simple diagram is associated with each crime story, but that generally does not assist you. Solutions to all of the stories are included at the end. This book is an excellent tool to hone young minds to be agile, thoughtful and attentive. You must read these stories very carefully, literally word for word, in order to catch the clue that leads to the solution.

"Quicksolve Whodunit Puzzles: Challenging Mini-Mysteries" contains a series of mini-mysteries for readers to solve. The puzzles are very short, just one or two pages long and the answers are at the back of the book. There's a nice sense of humor throughout the book, mostly through the use of punny names starting with Professor Quicksolve and continuing with Officer Kautchya, Sergeant Shurshot, and Officer Longshot. While the names are fun, author Jim Sukach gets a bit carried away and names like Carl Crook, Lulu Lyuer, and Miss Pettithief are dead giveaways to adult readers. Although the book does not specify what age group it is written for, the book is clearly meant for younger readers, as most of the puzzles are too easy for adult readers. However, the mysteries should be just challenging enough for younger readers. Most of the mysteries have logical solutions, but a few ("Tracking Terrorists", "Dog Meet" and "Dit Dah Dilemma") are a bit of a stretch and probably shouldn't have been included. "Quicksolve Whodunit Puzzles: Challenging Mini-Mysteries" is a good book to introduce young readers to the fun of solving mini mysteries.

My 6 year old son loves mysteries, but many books are to long to keep his attention. The mysteries in this book are perfect for him, he understands them and figures most of them out.