Murder mystery

Mystery & Murder - 25 Killer Crime Classics
$19.98
There are many movies in this set. some are stupid but there are some good ones in there also. the price is good so it is worth buying it.

Till Death Us Do Part: A True Murder Mystery
$13.95
This book has been my travel companion for the past 3 weeks and has been a relatively hard read inspite of being categorized as TRUE CRIME. While I consider Mr. Bugliosi a skilled writer and have enjoyed his other books, the facts in this case(two people are either murdered by their adulterous mates or by proxy via a hit) wasn't the source of my problem with this account. Mr. Bugliosi shows respect for his reader by explaining the fine points of the law which in turn provides the foundation for his prosecution strategy. I may have spent more time than necessary reviewing the facts and the problems inherent in trying a mostly circumstantial case against two defendees. What this book left me with was a true appreciation for just how difficult it is to defend or prosecute a criminal case with little physical evidence.]
As for the case itself, it was fairly easy to get involved in this story. The protagonist (a slimer named Alan Palliko who might be described as any woman's worst nightmare) was one fascinating psycho. His one-time girl friend Sandra Stockton sounded like a maleable bimbo who viewed murder as a quick ticket out of frowsiness and mediocrity. I'd have to liken it to DOUBLE INDEMNITY times two. My only real gripe with this book was the total lack of pictures. While Bugliosi provided excellent descriptions of these folks, I really wanted to know how accurate his descriptions were.\
I definitely recommend this book to anyone who wants a good thoughtful read.

An Evening of Murder Game: A Feast to Die For Party Game
$19.99
The game was easy and had very simple instructions. It was nice that everything was already printed out ready to go with place cards and each suspects info. It was a semi-formal event and we made it an italian theme, with big droopy candles instead of Thanksgiving. The dvd was a cute touch. My major peeve about it was that it told you if you were the murderer right away. I think that just takes the fun out of the game right then and there, since there is no mystery for you anymore. Don't pick this game if you want a surprise.

How To Create Your Own Murder Mystery Party
$13.99
This book was a bit of a mixed bag. My goal is to provide a bit more depth than the others reviewers or the synopsis did.

_How To Create Your Own Murder Mystery Party_ proposes a significantly different approach from the box games that I have played. Rather than having the guests play characters, the guests are themselves and one of them is a murderer. Rather than the players having books of things that they are to say each round, each player is given limited information at the beginning (and one is informed that he is the murderer and is told the whole story). As the game/party progresses, the players talk to each other and share or hide information. They also find "clues" that the host spreads around the party. The guests collect these clues and try to determine who among them is the murderer.

While that is happening, the murderer is trying to thwart their attempts by collecting clues and hiding them, lying to them, etc. Basically anything but destroying evidence.

I definitely like this more organic style of murder mystery better than the heavily scripted boxed games that I have played.

That said, this book is not without its faults. First, this is a self-published book. As is often true with this sort of arrangement, the book could have been helped significantly by an editor. The author consistently wrote "allowed" rather than "aloud", "your" instead of "you're" when meaning "you are", etc. There were also sections early on in the book which could have been fleshed out a bit more and which a publisher might have helped the author to expand. The diagrams and layout are by no means professional. Given the price of this slim volume, I was expecting more.

The description of the book had led me to believe that this would be more of a theoretical/general book. Instead there are a few brief sections at the beginning that lay out the goals of the author, how disappointed he was with the boxed games, how he goes about coming up with his mysteries, and how he runs his games. Once that is dispensed with, the remainder of the book consists of 5 sample mysteries which the author had run the previous 5 Halloweens.

These mysteries range from simplistic (which is appropriate for some situations) to intricate (which appeals to me). They often draw on real or fictional local lore, which is a great idea. One of them even involves some role playing in that the players can be cursed and must behave appropriately. For each mystery, he gives the introductory material that he provided to the players on game night. He then gives an explanation of how any puzzles or props were constructed, how the game play went the night of the party, and in some cases observations about adapting the story for your own party.

In the end, while this was not what I was expecting either in quality or content, reading it has sparked some good ideas for running my own murder mystery parties. I simply wish it had gone further.