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2 h 56 minAudiobook8 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
The clue is right in front of you—but can you spot it before you name the culprit?
In Minute Mysteries [Detectograms], H. A. Ripley puts you in the detective’s place. Each brief case presents a crime, a short scene, and a handful of suspects. Everything you need is on the page. Your task is to find the telling detail and name the culprit before looking at the answer.
These compact crime puzzles follow the fair-play spirit of classic detective fiction. A clue hides in an ordinary detail; a suspect may say one thing too many. There is no long plot to settle into. Instead, each case asks you to slow down, read closely, and build an answer you can defend.
What you’ll discover
- A case in minutes Step into a brief crime scene that gives your attention a clear, immediate challenge.
- Clues in plain sight Look again at ordinary details and decide which one deserves a closer examination.
- Logic over guesswork Test your suspicions against the evidence, rather than choosing whoever seems most shifty.
- The second look Read once for the story, then return to search for the detail that does not belong.
- Your turn as detective Make your own case before checking the answer, and see whether your reasoning holds.
Who will love it
Readers who love puzzles, riddles, and clue-spotting will enjoy this one, as will fans of classic detective fiction, teachers who want quick reasoning exercises, and anyone planning a party game.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- The game and its rules
- Fordney and his circle
- Alibis and staged robberies
- Suicides that look wrong
- Knowing too much and seeing too little
- Pure riddles and how the book closes
Who’s who
- Professor FordneyA calm criminologist who hears a story once and finds the single detail that cannot be true.
- Inspector KelleyA quick-tempered police inspector who asks Fordney for help and sometimes solves a case first.
- Sergeant ReynoldsA police sergeant who does the messy fieldwork and often offers the theory the Professor must correct.
- George CollinsA Florida prohibition agent and friend of the Professor, who tells amusing tales from his own work.
- JeanThe Professor's capable secretary, who reads aloud a letter about three rum-runners and a wager.
- JasperA merry-go-round ticket taker at Coney Island who gives a detailed account of a woman found dead.
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet, computer or Kindle, with the type as large as you like.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- Audiobook
- 2 h 56 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 8 minutes, to read or to hear.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
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Misterios en un minuto [Detectogramas]
by H. A. Ripley
Professor Fordney listens to seventy-one stories and finds the one false detail in each, and you can try first.
Medium level2–5 hours to read25 languages
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In short
Minute Mysteries is a collection of seventy-one very short detective puzzles by H. A.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
The game and its rules
The book begins with a party game called It Stands to Reason. The host picks a few stories, makes a copy for each guest, and gives everyone about three minutes to study them. Each guest then writes down a solution and the reasoning behind it. The winner is whoever is right most often.
There is a second way to play. The host reads a story aloud, slowly, and may read it twice. After that no questions are allowed. The book points out that this version also tests memory, because a listener must hold every detail in mind without looking back.
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What is Minute Mysteries about?
It is a collection of seventy-one very short detective puzzles by H. A. Ripley. Each one describes a crime, and Professor Fordney spots the single false or impossible detail in a suspect's story. The solutions are at the back.
Who is Professor Fordney?
Professor Fordney is a criminologist who appears in most of the cases. He works with Inspector Kelley and Sergeant Reynolds, teaches a criminology class, and solves crimes by noticing small details that do not fit.
How do you play the Minute Mysteries party game?
Give each guest a copy of a story and about three minutes to study it, or read it aloud twice. Each guest writes a solution with reasons, and the host checks it against the answers at the back.
The author
H. A. Ripley
Mystery writer
H. A. Ripley wrote Minute Mysteries as a collection of short detective puzzles built around Professor Fordney. The book shows an author at home in the world of Prohibition, speakeasies, telephones, and trains. No other facts about his life are given here.
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