The Bookstore Killer

5,000 suspects. 7 / 13 clues. One killer hiding in the grid.

A bookseller is dead, which is terrible for business and even worse for the person who bought the wrong book.

Somewhere in the bookshop records is one very suspicious customer. The police have 5,000 names, a pile of book titles, and exactly the kind of paperwork nobody wants to deal with unless there is a murder involved.

That is where you come in.

Each entry gives you a customer name, a bookshop, a book title, and a day of the week. Use the 7 clues to eliminate the innocent customers, cross out the wrong purchases, and keep going until only one killer remains.

This is a beginner-friendly murder mystery logic puzzle for readers who like cozy crime, bookshops, deduction, and the tiny thrill of accusing someone based on vowels.

A customer bought a book.
A bookseller ended up dead.
Surely that is not a coincidence.

Find the killer before another innocent paperback gets dragged into this.

7 or 13 clues

They say every clue matters.

In this case you can play the easy mode with only 7 clues or choose the normal version with 13 clues.

5,000 Suspects

This is what makes the investigation feel so big. You are not choosing between ten suspects in a neat little lineup.

The Challenge

Read the clues. Search the names. Eliminate the suspects who do not fit. Keep going until only one name remains.

But simple does not mean easy.