Murdle: #1 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER: Solve 100 Devilishly Devious Murder Mystery Logic Puzzles (Murdle Puzzle Series)

I played Murdle online and enjoyed it immensely, but I wanted something more analog so I had some time aside from my job and other hobbies where I wasn't looking at screens. Finding the books was a godsend. The overarching plots, charming scenarios, puzzles of various difficulties, secrets, optional hints, and the book's paper that erases easily so you can correct mistakes... wonderful! If you're looking for a puzzle book that will keep you occupied for hours - cannot recommend this one enough! If you are unfamiliar with the puzzle format, each volume has an introduction case that walks you through the basics step by step. To solve each puzzle you will need to (somewhat) carefully read the descriptions of each suspect, weapon, and location and then then clues themselves - sometimes the clues are very cryptic. Ex. "Suspect A had a weapon that could kill with a glance" and the options are A Bazooka, A Horseshoe, and A Puppy Photo... you can only determine the weapon after reading every description. The Puppy Photo is "So cute a glance could kill you... literally" so that would be the correct choice. Some clues are coded via one of a handful of detective codes or world scramble. Follow the clues, fill out the grid, solve the murder. The 100 (base) puzzles are separated into 4 chunks that escalated in difficulty. The first chunk is the most straightforward, there are plenty of clues (to the point where I occasionally didn't need all of them) and the grids are compact. They give you the murder weapon or the location of the murder, so find who it was (and fill in whatever information you don't have) and you've caught your killer! The second is a bit more complicated. Instead of being provide a murder weapon or location, you are given fewer clues at the start; instead you are given statements from the suspects. The innocent people will always tell the truth and the killer will always lie. Fill in what is known and experiment - you'll find you killer in time! The third is like the first but more difficult - the grid is bigger and the clues themselves are trickier or require you to use a bit more logic - find the person and correctly deduce all four variables to ace the puzzle! Finally, the fourth chunk is the most difficult. The clues are more difficult, the grid and suspect pool are bigger, and we bring back the suspect statements. These can legitimately be tricky, but they were a lot of fun. Generally I'd say the puzzles are simple enough as long as you read carefully, but if you're struggling, there are hints in the back of the book by the puzzle solutions (though I had a laugh reading through them and seeing how they occasionally spoiled some of the conclusions). The conclusions in the back include a story blurb and a key to see if you were 100% correct) so the flow of the book should be to attempt the puzzle, carefully flip to the near back if you need an extra clue, flip back, solve it, head to the back for a conclusion, and go back to the front for your next puzzle. My advice is to keep some notecards/tabs to mark areas you will often flip back to and paper/notecards to write out codes to save yourself some space. Overall, this is a great start to a series I now love and recommend.

I love this book so much I also bought Vol 2 and Vol 3. I completed Vol 1 and it was a real joy, and I'm half way through Vol 2! I love that there is a storyline go to along with the puzzles. The one-magnifying glass level (Elementary) are the easiest and should not be a problem for most people The next are the Medium difficulty. Here you are given only two clues and statements from each suspect, which could be either a truth or a lie. Hard difficulty brings not only an additional suspect, weapon and location, but you must also determine the motive. Personally, I found these easier than the Medium difficulty - but that's just me. Lastly we have the Impossible difficulty. Here we have the same number of suspects, weapons, locations and motives as the Hard difficulty, BUT with an added truth or lie statement from each of the suspects. PROS: For those not familiar with logic puzzles, there are 8 pages of excellent instructions and techniques on how to go about solving the puzzles. The grids are very adequately sized (they're large) and there's lots of room to write notes. There's a section toward the end immediately before the answer section where you can get an additional hint for every puzzle. It's nice that this is well hidden so you don't see it accidentally. The puzzles are very well designed such that you sometimes must read the detail description of the suspects, weapons, locations and motives in order to get the correct clue. The answers are actually a continuing storyline. It's fun to follow along with the mystery! CONS: Sadly there are a few. Because the paperback is not in color, the shaded areas where the locations and weapons are listed and described can be difficult to read at times. For example, Locations can be either outdoors or indoors, and that is sometimes part of a clue. The background and the print color of the words 'outdoors' and 'indoors' are too similar making it very difficult to read. This is also an issue with the Weapons. Suggestion: make it the same as the Suspects; black on white not white on gray. Once you get to the Hard and Impossible puzzles, you have the suspects, locations, weapons (and motives), clues and solving grid on FOUR pages. You're flipping back and forth from the clues, to the suspects, to the clues, to the locations, to the grid, to the weapons, to the clues.... etc. You get the idea. Overall, I'm so happy with this puzzle book. I love logic puzzles but struggle with those that include a lot of math. These are so much fun because there's actually a story to read. The descriptions are very humorous as well and quite a few 'tongue in cheek' expressions. Finally: If you want some casual fun while stressing your brain, then you'll love this group of puzzles. However, if you are looking for a hard-core, math heavy, little-to-no-clues puzzle book, this isn't for you.

Murdle: Volume 1 is such a clever and addictive collection of puzzles. It feels like solving a mystery, a logic grid, and a game of Clue all at the same time, and I love that I get to play detective instead of just reading about one. The puzzles start out approachable and then gradually get trickier, which makes it easy to warm up and then really sink your teeth into the harder cases. The tone is light and playful, with quirky characters and fun little details that keep each mystery from feeling the same as the last. I especially appreciate that I can pick it up for a quick puzzle or spend longer working through a tougher one, so it fits into whatever kind of day I’m having. If you enjoy logic puzzles, brain teasers, or classic whodunits, this is a fantastic and satisfying way to keep your brain busy. I’m already planning to grab the next volume.

This has been a fun puzzle book. It's started off fairly easy on the puzzles so I'm doing well. :) As the clues get more difficult I'm guessing it will take more time but still be a fun decompression from work activity. I always enjoyed puzzles like this as a kid, so getting to work on them in my spare time as an adult has been great. If you enjoy deduction grid or logic puzzles, this book is for you!

I got this book after completing two Murdoku books. I ended up enjoying it a lot more than I expected. The puzzles on their own are fun and it feels rewarding to solve them. Additionally, there is a story you can follow by reading the solutions after completing each puzzle. I was pleasantly surprised by this! There's a good bit of comedy mixed in as well, and I was satisfied by the number of puzzles in the book. If you enjoy grid puzzles, you will enjoy this.

As a mom and as a person I always find myself with these little bits of time waiting in-between things, and I found myself scrolling, and much as I was enjoying watching videos by 20 somethings making high protein mochi, I found it was rotting my brain and making me much more distracted and grouchy. I didn't remember the recipes nor the outfits and they weren't doing me any good anyway. I found an old puzzle book started doing these logic grids before bed. It was so addictive but in the most calming way imaginable. My whole mindset shifted, my mood improved, and I didn't dread carpool. So I bought this logic grid book and tore right into it. 45 minutes in the car while my kid gets tutored? Now I look forward to it. The sensation of pencil on paper, even this cheap book paper? delicious and soothing. The book progresses from easy to hard. The easy ones may annoy you, too easy, so skip them. I for one find the activity soothing and I wanted to get the most out of the book, so I'm doing the silly easy ones that are made for smart elementary school kids, I'm not proud. My brain has been through too much. These logic grids are great for those of us whose braininess is more verbal than spatial or mathematical. The spatial puzzles cross my eyes and tire me out, and crosswords bore me to tears. I don't know how long this is going to last but I feel I'm onto something that's saving my mental health. And the author G.T. Barber is great. I mean he does "hold an MFA from the University of Southern California," so he's legit. No really, it's amusing for adults but fine for kids as well.

I really love this book! I started doing the Murdle puzzles and ended up getting through the first 25 in just a couple of days. They’re challenging enough to make you think, but not so hard that you want to give up. 😂 It’s honestly become one of my favorite things to do on long car rides or when I’m traveling through an airport. It’s a great way to stay entertained without being on my phone the whole time. I’ve had so much fun with it that I actually bought two more for family members. I really don’t have any complaints about it and would definitely recommend it if you like puzzles or mysteries!

TLDR: Yes, but they're gay. My review: This is a very fun and well-designed logic puzzle book. The mysteries are clever, the clues are satisfying, and the format makes it easy to jump in and out. From a pure puzzle standpoint, it’s excellent and genuinely enjoyable. However, parents should be aware that the book includes explicit character relationship cues (two men) that are NOT relevant to the puzzles. This was unexpected in a logic-only puzzle book and not something I would have chosen without advance notice. This content does not impact the puzzles themselves, but it does appear repeatedly. Families looking for a neutral puzzle book for kids or teens should know this before purchasing. Great puzzles. Just not the surprise I was expecting, sadly.

I love this book so far. I like that it’s not just super easy puzzles. It actually challenges you to think.

Love the book. It's really nice quality and every case is really interesting. Will definitely buy 2nd one when I finish this one

Descubrí estos juegos de lógica en línea y cuando supe que había una versión impresa, me emocioné, porque me paso la vida frente a la computadora por trabajo, así que está bueno tener actividades que no impliquen usar tecnología... ¡Eso y que me encanta resolver acertijos y juegos de lógica! ¡Además, está buenísimo para practicar el inglés y aprender nuevas palabras!

The puzzles are very nice, the book is high quality and it's nice that there's a bit of backstory to them (although, I must say, no very interesting and somewhat repetitive). But the only important thing is the puzzles and man do they deliver. If you are a fan of logic grid puzzles, I highly recommend the book "Logic Grid Puzzles, Volume 1: From Easy to Fiendishly Hard". They are pure high quality logic grid puzzles, handcrafted and very interesting.

These are logic grid puzzles with a twist that makes them even more enjoyable as mind-benders. Also got the others in the entire series. Great as casual evening games or simply to keep the mind sharp. Love them!