
Ready for “K.B. Owen’s Dangerous and Unseemly Mystery Tour”? I’ll be visiting some of the best writers and bloggers out there, and I hope you’ll join me as I tour the blogosphere, introducing my historical mystery, Dangerous and Unseemly.
But there’s more “mystery” to it than just my novel. Since I can never resist a good puzzle – and I have a prize to give away! – I’ve set up a little clue-collecting activity for you guys. I’ll draw a name from the correct answers to the puzzle below, and the winner will receive a free ebook of my debut novel, along with a $25 gift card of your choice to one of the following: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or Starbucks! Yay! I love giveaways!
The puzzle:
You have received a partial telegram, stating that the murdered body of Sir Reginald “Good Riddance” Crenshaw, your long-lost third cousin (twice removed) has been found. However, the rest of the message has been lost, scattered and garbled along a trail of multiple telegrams to other people by a drunk clerk at the telegraph office.
Before you can make a claim upon dear Reggie’s ill-gotten wealth, you must establish the particulars of the murder. Where was he found? What was he killed with? And, most importantly, WHODUNNIT?
Here’s what you do:
Visit each website on the book launch tour (see sidebar for schedule). A mystery trivia quiz question will appear at the end of the post. Each correct answer will give you the alphabet letters you need. You want to solve 3 puzzle pieces: which ROOM, which WEAPON, and which SUSPECT.
Step 1: ROOM
You’ll collect the first four letters pertaining to the ROOM, from the sites of Elizabeth Craig, Janice Hamrick, Jill Edmondson, and Margot Kinberg. Unscramble them, and you’ll learn WHERE poor Sir Reggie met his bitter end.
The Rooms (abbreviated codes in parentheses):

Step 2: WEAPON
Okay, we know where Reggie was dispatched, but what was he killed with? Nancy Lauzon, Renee Schuls-Jacobson, Julie Glover, and Jenny Hansen have the clues to the WEAPON. Collect a correct answer letter from each of these four ladies, and you can unscramble them to reveal the weapon used to commit the dastardly deed.
*gasp* Oh no, was it really done with the —
The Weapons (abbreviated codes in parentheses):

Rope (ROPE)
Wrench (WREN)
Revolver (REVO)
Knife (KNIF)
Candlestick (CAND)
Lead Pipe (PIPE)
Step 3: SUSPECT
So now we know where and we know with what, but who was the culprit? Who hated Sir Reggie so deeply as to commit murder? Rachel Funk Heller, Laird Sapir, and I will have the final letter clues for you.
The Suspects (abbreviated codes in parentheses):

Colonel Mustard (MUST): did the upstanding retired army man do the dastardly deed?
Mr. Green (GREE): who is really behind that colorful exterior?
Professor Plum (PLUM): perhaps the professor is the passionate perpetrator.
Mrs. White (WHIT): would White wield the wicked weapon?
Miss Scarlet (SCAR): could the sexy Miss Scarlet be the secret sinner?
Mrs. Peacock (PEAC): who knows if poor old Reggie ruffled that lady’s feathers, and she committed murder most fowul?
**For help if you’re stumped and Google fails you: Mystery Quizzes Page.
Deadline: Monday, April 1st Send an email with your answers to kbowen (at) gmail (dot) com
Winner announced the first week of April, on Karen McFarland’s site! I will also email the winner directly.
Good luck, and don’t search the house in the company of someone you don’t know…
I just played this game this weekend with my son and two of his friends. I lost. This sounds really fun, and I’m excited to be part of it.
In our house, it always seems to be Mr. Green. 😉
Isn’t Clue fun, even when you get skunked? We love this game at our house. Hope everyone gets a kick out of it…thanks, Renee!
What a fabulous contest! Even better than Clue, which rocks. 😉 Can we wear costumes???
August, you can wear anything you want…bonus points for pics! 😀
What a great idea, Kathy! And I’m looking forward to your visit. I’ve vacumed and cleaned out the guest room and gotten the linen ready. See you on 5 March 🙂
Aww, Margot, you didn’t have to clean for me! If you saw the state of my house, you’d know what I mean. 😉 I’m really looking forward to it!
This sounds awesome! I adore a good puzzle too. I remember those mystery books as a kid where you read the scenario and had to guess the solution. I got pretty good at those after a while. (Although that experience has yet to help me figure out whodunnits in Agatha Christie books, but that’s another story.)
So excited to have you coming to my blog soon!
I’ll bet you were really good at those, Julie! And Agatha Christie…well, they don’t call her the Queen of the Whodunnit for nothing, do they? I’m really looking forward to visiting your blog – thanks so much! 😀
Oh Kathy, this is brilliant! I wish I had this info girl. I would’ve posted it. I’m gonna share this on FB girl. I hope you don’t mind. This is too fun to miss!
See you tomorrow for the first clue! Thanks Kathy!
That’s terrific, Karen – thanks!