The Little Giant® Book of Whodunits

Little Giant Books

by Hy Conrad, Matt Lafleur

Solve crimes like a detective, find clues where nobody else would think of looking, trap suspects with their own words, and ignore facts that appear to be significant but are only distractions. Better than a police academy course, all 80 of these simple stories will show you how to find the culprit while everybody else is completely confused. You'll make your town's Christmas merrier when you find out who shot Santa Claus. Figure out which family member poisoned the man of the house while he was watching the Super Bowl, and which housekeeping staffer hid a ruby necklace in a liquor bottle in plain sight. As you explore these fascinating whodunits, you'll enter a bizarre, glamorous, and dangerous world of mobsters, millionaires and heiresses--even detectives themselves. In case you can't outwit the bad guys, just turn to a special section of solutions to each mystery, including an explanation of each clue. Sterling 352 pages, 102 b/w illus., 4 3/16 x 5 1/4.

Genres: Mystery

352 pages, Paperback

First published June 30, 1998

About the author

HY CONRAD has made a career out of murder, earning the 2022 Independent Press Award for Best Mystery (“The Fixer’s Daughter”) and 2022 NYC Big Book Awards for Best Mystery Series (“The Fixer’s Daughter,” “Sins of the Family”), a Scribe Award for Best Novel (“Mr. Monk Helps Himself”) and garnering three Edgar nominations from the Mystery Writers of America (for the “Monk” TV series). Along the way, he developed a horde of popular games and interactive films, hundreds of short stories and a dozen books of solvable mysteries, published in over 15 languages. Hy is best known for his eight seasons as writer/co-executive producer for the ground-breaking TV series, “Monk.” Other shows include “White Collar” and “The Good Cop.”

As a novelist, Hy authored the final four books in the Monk series, the Amy Travel Mysteries (“Toured to Death,” “Dearly Departed” and “Death on the Patagonian Express”) and the Callie McFee Mysteries (“The Fixer’s Daughter,” a Barnes & Noble bestseller and “Sins of the Family”).

In the world of theatre, his produced works consist of “Home Exchange” (a mystery), “Ta-Dah!” (a musical), and “Quarantine for Two” (a socially distanced dark comedy about the pandemic).

When he looks up from his keyboard, Hy sees either the hills of Vermont or the palm trees of Key West, depending on the time of year. He also sees Jeff Johnson, his partner of 43 years, now his husband, plus Nelson and Stella, the latest in a dynasty of mini-schnauzers.

www.hyconrad.com
Facebook: hyconrad
Instagram: hyconrad1

Reviews

[Jessica L. Martens]

These are so much fun and I love using them to sharpen my detective brain. Knocked it down to 4 stars because some of the explanations are a BIT of a stretch (I challenge anyone to tell me what is significant about the final Sunday in October), but overall a delight!

[N Dorville]

Cute book to pass the time and possibly play with others around a campfire.

Some are really good headscratchers while others may require a bit more context.

[Patricia Atkinson]

they have small stories that you have to figure out who the guilty one is the answers are at the back of the book a chance to play detective...

[Kyra Moore]

Fun little mysteries- I was horrible at solving them. Enjoyed the distraction.

[Teresa]

Mini-mysteries are a love of mine and this book was a great compendium!