Mysteries with Word Search Puzzles

 by Sybil Johnson

I like mysteries. I like word search puzzles. Until recently I had no idea there are books out there that combine those two items.

My first encounter with one of these was with a Facebook ad. (Yes, Facebook ads sometimes work.) Sounded like fun so I thought I'd give it a try. I ordered the first book in the Oakford Springs Word Search mysteries by Annabel Rogers. Then I discovered others by different authors. 

They all have the same basic structure: a one page chapter on the left side with accompanying word search puzzle on the right side. The words for the puzzle come from the text on the facing page. Depending on the author, they work slightly differently.

In the books by Annabel Rogers, each puzzle may or may not have one word from the accompanying list that isn’t in the puzzle. You jot it down and move on to the next puzzle. This is true of roughly half of the puzzles. For the final puzzle, you take those words and look for them in the final puzzle. After circling all of the words, the letters left over tell you who the culprit is. For some of the other books, you just do the puzzles and there is no final puzzle denouement. One series told you to look at a specific line of the final puzzle and the leftover letters from that line spelled out the murderer. 

I had no idea these books existed and that there were so many of them! Some are available in both print and e-book formats. For the latter, the e-book has a link to a downloadable pdf with the puzzles in it. 

My favorite type is the one where you collect the words and use them in the final puzzle. It’s more interactive. 

Of course, with any of them, you don’t have to do the puzzles at all and can just read the story.

I’m thinking maybe I should create one of these kinds of books myself. It seems like a fun project. Have any of you ever done anything like this?