[Michlib-l] Library Murder Mystery Party

Thu Aug 3 11:08:07 EDT 2023

Hey guys, a few have reached out to me about our kits so I thought I would reply all. 

We purchase murder mystery games from amazon. They give you a folder with "evidence," you have three tasks to complete to solve the case. I have our processor to scan each item and save to our drive in case items are not returned we can print out the missing item and the kit is whole again. Then the processor labels each page 1-25 or how many there are and makes an inventory page laminated with each page title and the number so we can verify when they are returned. In the folder there are already directions and a webpage players go to when they think they solved the first clue. If they do have the answer it goes to the next one and so on. You don't have to do that part its already in most of the folders. For the game nights a library page makes copies of the files and the patrons work on them either together or individually. Most people want to do it individually. Keep in mind some of the kits have had a missing piece but if you let them know asap they will send you the correct page. 

The only thing to keep in mind is some of those kits have webpages as part of their clues. I avoid those because they are normally more in-depth. 

Here is a link on amazon to one of our kits. 

Example of one of the games: 
[ https://www.amazon.com/UNSOLVED-CASE-FILES-Falcone-Veronica/dp/B08C1MWXFM/ref=sr_1_2?crid=1N7XS70THYFUL&keywords=veronica+falcone&qid=1691074806&sprefix=veronica+falcone%2Caps%2C92&sr=8-2 | https://www.amazon.com/UNSOLVED-CASE-FILES-Falcone-Veronica/dp/B08C1MWXFM/ref=sr_1_2?crid=1N7XS70THYFUL&keywords=veronica+falcone&qid=1691074806&sprefix=veronica+falcone%2Caps%2C92&sr=8-2 ] 

Cases to hold folder: 
[ https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08ZY19WBD/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 | https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08ZY19WBD/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 ] 

Jake Rynicki 
Head of Adult & Support Services 
Romulus Public Library 

“Some books leave us free and some books make us free.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson 

From: "Jake Rynicki" <jrynicki at romuluslibrary.org> 
To: "Anna Merritt" <amerritt at richlandlibrary.org> 
Cc: "Michlib" <michlib-l at mcls.org> 
Sent: Thursday, August 3, 2023 9:00:23 AM 
Subject: Re: [Michlib-l] Library Murder Mystery Party 

We started to add mystery kits last summer and our holds are pretty good. I'm now adding puzzle/murder mystery game books. We have a Sherlock Society program every other month. I'm hoping to build it. We get a steady 6-9 people attend. The circulation numbers for us on the kits are enough to warrant continuing it. People love murder mysteries. One kit was only added a few months ago and has gotten 7 holds. 

Jake Rynicki 
Head of Adult & Support Services 
Romulus Public Library 

“Some books leave us free and some books make us free.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson 

From: "Michlib" <michlib-l at mcls.org> 
To: "Michlib" <michlib-l at mcls.org> 
Sent: Wednesday, August 2, 2023 3:05:35 PM 
Subject: [Michlib-l] Library Murder Mystery Party 

Hello All, 

A few weeks ago we held our first Murder Mystery Party at our library and it went great! 

We created the mystery from scratch and called it Murder in the Stacks . We recruited volunteers with community theatre experience to be our suspects and let the attendees play detective and interview all of them. There was a puzzle element for each suspect which made it similar to an escape room. 

We had around 30 attendees and hosted it on a Saturday, after close, for about 2 hours. Pre-event registration allowed us to have personalized detective badges for all attendees, as well as completion certificates at the end. We offered appetizers and lemonade. Having the entire library free allowed us to use the whole space and spread out the suspects. 

If we had to change one thing, we would either have made the program a bit longer (2.5 hours) or reduced the puzzles/suspects to 4 or 5 rather than 6. 

We worked so hard on the event that we want to share it with other libraries! 

Here is the link for Google Drive folder featuring everything you need to host your own Murder in the Stacks ! Please take a look. Feel free to email amerritt at richlandlibrary.org for any specific questions. 

[ https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1_ENFoQt0IO-EXAZxCwYbs8w35Sv_Lat1?usp=sharing | MailScanner has detected definite fraud in the website at "drive.google.com". Do not trust this website: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1_ENFoQt0IO-EXAZxCwYbs8w35Sv_Lat1?usp=sharing ] 

Anna Merritt 

Assistant Director 

Richland Community Library 

8951 Park Street 

Richland, MI 49083 

(269) 629-9085 

[ https://www.richlandlibrary.org/ | https://www.richlandlibrary.org/ ] 

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