Best Gifts For Mystery Readers, Reviewed

My favorite picks for your holiday list

1. EXIT: The Game | Dead Man on The Orient Express

I love EXIT games because they’re creative and challenging. But this one is probably my favorite because it’s also a murder mystery (and an homage to Murder on the Orient Express, though it has a very different solution). The game can be played alone or with a small group (I’ve played EXIT game both ways and they’re always fun). Players cut and fold pages of a mini booklet, use a decoder wheel, and arrange special pieces of cardstock to solve the mystery of who was murdered on the famous train. The game can be played only once, but it’s the perfect medium-difficulty puzzle for an afternoon. Link.

2. Murder Most Puzzling

I find most mystery jigsaw puzzles drab and their accompanying stories overwrought. But these puzzles from Chronicle Books are colorful and funny; The Missing Will pictures an ornate office and The Clairvoyance Convention is full of whimsical booths and banners. Each is accompanied by a very short mystery story that can be rather easily solved once the 500-piece puzzle is put together. They’re adapted from a book of the same name, a really charming collection of picture mysteries. One of these puzzles and the matching book would make a perfect gift for anyone who likes their mysteries cozy and quirky. Link.

3. The Folio Society: The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins

I have a beautiful edition of The Strand’s mystery stories from The Folio Society, but this limited edition of The Moonstone looks absolutely beautiful. It’s very expensive ($380) but The Folio Society sells lovely editions of other famous mystery novels for under $100. The Moonstone, originally published in 1868, is often called the first English detective novel, and it greatly influenced the genre. The story centers on the theft of a rare diamond from a young heiress, and this edition includes signed illustrations, gilded edges, and gold foil. Link.

4. Tickets to Clue: Live On Stage

My friends and I had a great time at this touring production of Clue, which continues through May 2025 in select states across the country. It’s adapted from the 1985 movie, which is of course adapted from the boardgame. Like the movie, the play includes several endings with different solutions to the murder mystery. The characters are over-the-top, the plot is whacky, and the set is brilliantly designed to feel like an unfolding game board. We laughed out loud several times, especially whenever John Treacy Egan delivered his lines as the befuddled Colonel Mustard. Link.

5. A Is For Arsenic: The Poisons of Agatha Christie by Kathryn Harkup

My husband gave me this nonfiction guide to the poisons Christie used in her mysteries, and I was surprised to find how much insight the book gave me into her novels. My sister said it was bold of a man to buy his wife a book about poisons, but rest assured, all scientific information in this guide is presented in terms of how they were used in fictional murders. This is an essential gift for Christie fans and for murder mystery writers. Link.

6. Murdle: The School of Mystery

A “Murdle” is a logic puzzle with the flavor of a murder mystery. This particular edition, The School Of Mystery, just released, so if you know a Murdle fan or just someone who enjoys pencil puzzles, this is a great one to stuff in a stocking. The logic puzzles present funny descriptions of suspects, weapons, and locations, plus some extra twists, like simple ciphers and suspicious statements from witness who may or may not be lying. I love taking Murdle on a plane and flipping between easy puzzles and absolute brain benders. Link.

7. Hercule Poirot Video Game

I received Hercule Poirot: The First Cases for Christmas one year and thought it was really fun. The video game invites you into the role of Poirot, and requires you to interview characters, discover clues, and add your thoughts to an interactive “mind map.” This organizational web was my favorite part of the game because it requires making the right connections to really solve the mystery. The game is short, the controls are easy to learn, and the cases are interesting without being too difficult. If you know someone who’s willing to steal her kid’s Nintendo Switch for a few hours, or who is savvy with Steam, this could be a fun gift. Link.

8. The World of Sherlock Holmes Puzzle

I own several puzzles in Laurene King’s “The World Of…” series and they’re all delightful. My favorite is “The World of Jane Austen” but this Sherlock Holmes puzzle is also fantastic. It includes famous settings and characters from Doyle’s stories and novels, and comes with a foldout guide that explains the puzzle’s details. My dad and I had a great time spotting Holmes and Watson and chuckling at the state of 221b Baker Street. Link.

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