The Case of the Curious Campaign: A Whodunit of Many Mini-Mysteries

This is a book of puzzles based on a mayoral race in what appears to be a small town. There are two candidates, the current Mayor Hugh Ever and Quentin Milestone, former childhood friends who are now bitter political rivals. The story is presented using a few pages of text followed by simple puzzles in logic and deduction, based on what has just occurred. In most cases, you have been given all the information needed to solve the puzzle, but there are times when it is necessary to infer some additional facts. None of the puzzles are very hard and they make the book very fun to read. The story begins when Mayor Ever visits the Busy Body Detective Agency, pleading with company President Avery Body for help in avoiding being the target of a last-minute smear campaign. Avery then puts his children, Annie Body, Sam Body and Noah Body on the case. These names demonstrate one other aspect of the book, the liberal use of puns. The worst is when Zee Dotes is named temporary mayor, making his official title "Mayor Zee Dotes." If you haven't been around long enough to remember the classic song, "Mares eat oats and does eat oats . . " , commonly represented as "Maresy dotes and doesy dotes . . ." then this horrific pun will be lost on you. I loved this book, spending a lot of time groaning over the many jokes that are so numerous that it is easy to miss some of them. Published in the recreational mathematics e-mail newsletter, reprinted with permission.