INSPECTOR FORSOOTH'S WHODUNITS

For those who have been hot on the trail with Encyclopedia Bown, Nate the Great, and Cam Jensen, Inspector Forsooth’s interactive mysteries would seem to be a logical next step. The stories are not intended to be simple, and luckily, each is followed by questions that offer the clueless some hints. Still, there are readers who will be stumped; some of the solutions come not as much through deductive reasoning as from contrivances hidden within the case, e.g., the translation of a series of clock-hand positions to semaphore code to spell out the occupation of the victim’s murderer. Super-sleuths might enjoy tying their brains in knots trying to solve these cases; others will be content to allow the mysteries to unfold, and then to turn to the solutions in the back. (index) (Short stories. 11-14)