The Red Herring Mystery

by Paul S. Adshead

The reader, as assistant detective, must gather clues from the text and illustrations to help solve a mystery involving a stately home full of possible suspects and a disappearing fish-shaped ruby.

Genres: Childrens

24 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1995

Reviews

[A. Mickey Perkins · Rating 1 out of 5]

Fuck this book and all it stands for. Me and my dad spent two weeks trying to figure out the damn anagram at the end, and it turned out to be ‘the Butler did it.’ The fucking butler. Fuck this book and fuck you paul for not having the solution in the book, or on his website in the FAQ section, even though EVERY OTHER QUESTION HAD THE ANSWER SPELLED OUT FOR THE ASKER. NO. JUST THE RED HERRING DIDNT. FUCK THIS BOOK.

[Danalee Krzuk · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not sure what age level this book is for - but I’m 43 and had one hell of a time doing it…..
My introduction to Paul Adshead’s style was as a pre teen with Puzzle Island. I enjoyed it very much, and I still have it.
However, that one, as sort of difficult that it was, was a million times better than this one.
The instructions were not clear enough as to how to solve it, so even though I read everything over and over, I had no idea that I needed to examine the pictures aside from at the very end for the counting of the fish.
Obviously, I missed a ton of clues, which made the book ZERO FUN.
And honestly, when you make almost everyone a part of the crime, then why bother?
Didn’t bother trying the anagram/fish search in the back because I was too pissed off at the rest to care.
BIG FAIL in my opinion for this book - though I am comparing to Puzzle Island, which has clues you find on each page instead of just reading and reading and reading without knowing wtf you’re doing

[Haleema Ahmed · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great puzzle book he never misses

[Lilly B · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVED this book as a kid