TRICK OR TREAT FOR MYSTERY LOVERS! by Yvonne Saxon

 

Today, dear readers, we’re going trick or treating for mysteries! There are eight “houses” on this street and each one has clues to a mystery book, series, or tv/film adaptation. Some you know, others may be new to you. So imagine yourself dressed up as your favorite sleuth, and see if you can figure out what mysteries will be in your treat bag!

The first house is a Cape Cod; you can hear seagulls and smell the salt in the air. There’s no car in the driveway, just a bicycle with a basket leaning against the fence. Inside you can see an old-fashioned typewriter in a cozily decorated room. A basket of saltwater taffy sits beside another with twelve seasons of DVD’s, books, and even video games. You take the treats, but you’re sorry the owner’s gone now: you would have loved to have spent more time with her.

The next house is really old; it looks like it was built in the 1940’s. There are two nice old ladies on the porch serving elderberry wine and cakes. Suddenly, a man dressed like President Teddy Roosevelt charges out the door blowing a trumpet, giving everyone a fright! One of the ladies offers you a glass, but a frantic young man in the bushes gestures “NO!” He tosses a copy of a play in your bag and whispers “get out of here.”

Up the street, you see a party going on. They’re telling ghost stories and some teens are bobbing for apples. An impeccably dressed man with a mustache is giving out Belgian chocolates and scary paperbacks.

At the very end of the road sits a big estate house whose chief Halloween decoration seems to be “Beware of the Dog” signs. It’s very gloomy until two men approach, one wearing a deerstalker hat and smoking a pipe. As they hand out English sweets and old books, they encourage you to leave before you’re scared to death.

Trudging up the other side of the street, you stop at a London town home that’s seen better days. The light’s on, but no candy is out and no one’s coming to the door. Through the window you can see a print of the royal family tree on the wall. A name is circled about 34 lines down. A young woman sneaks around the side of the house and smiles apologetically. “Sorry, I’m flat broke,” she says, “there’s just this,” and she points to books in a box.

Right next door is a stunning French chateau, looking like it belongs in Paris. You’re amazed at all the art masterpieces you can see through the windows. However, in order to make it up the driveway to the hardbacks and patisseries, you must figure out complex codes and artistic riddles while being chased. Good luck!

Running around the corner, you see a sign for a retirement home. When you start to pass it, four older people sitting around a jigsaw puzzle wave you over. After some witty banter, you’re given treats and a book if you can tell them what day it is.

Walking up to the last house you have to dodge police cars and vans to get to the porch. There seems to be a body lying in the front yard, a man is being led away in handcuffs, and an eleven-year-old tells you “my dad didn’t do it” as she passes out sweet pies and chunky paperbacks.

How many mystery treats ended up in your bag? Before you peek at the answers, post your score in the comments. Here’s the list of titles, authors, or characters: “Murder She Wrote” starring Angela Lansbury; “Arsenic and Old Lace” by Joseph Keller; The Halloween Party by Agatha Christie; The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle; Her Royal Spyness by Rhys Bowen; The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown; The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman; Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley. I hope you enjoyed your virtual trick or treat!