I received a mysterious package in the post last week. It appeared to be a book, but was really a box containing 100 curious postcards, which told the story of many murders.

OK, so it was only mysterious because I’d forgot that I backed The Researcher’s First Murder on Unbound several months ago and the “book” only just released. I’ll call it a book for lack of a better term. This project is the brainchild of John Finnemore – noted British comedy writer. Those of a puzzling persuasion might remember that Cain’s Jawbone, the puzzle/book written by Edward Powys Mathers (alias Torquemada) was rereleased in 2019. Cain’s Jawbone is a mystery novel with 100 pages, which are mixed into uncertain order. In 1934, the first reader to send in the correct solution to the order of pages could win £15. Only two competitiors managed that at the time. On its revival, the contest was brought back too. And this time round, the first correct solution was provided by John Finnemore.

Now, compelled to create a puzzle along similar lines, he’s written and constructed The Researcher’s First Murder. Presumably the first person to solve this puzzle must then write another, like some kind of fiendish chain letter.
The puzzle once again consists of 100 pages, this time written on the back of postcards. The images on the postcards contain clues, and can be solved independently from the puzzle of the text.
The solution this time should be in the form of information about 10 murders: who killed who, and where.

I have my own copy of Cain’s Jawbone, and I have to confess I barely got five pages into it before giving up completely. It’s written in a stream-of-consciousness style, and it’s full of allusions and evasions that make it very difficult to read.
I was drawn to The Researcher’s First Murder despite my experience of Cain’s Jawbone by John Finnemore’s assurance that he “hopes it won’t take a global pandemic to solve this one”.
Is The Researcher’s First Murder more approachable?
My first impressions – after reading 20 of the 100 cards – are that it is. For one thing, even ignoring the text, it’s possible to solve the puzzles on the card backs, which consist of rebus-like clues, topics to research, and things to assemble or rearrange.
The text itself does have an unusual style, providing both pluses and minuses to solving and readability compared to Cain’s Jawbone. That book had its sentences bound by their pages – always a capital at the start of a passage and a full stop at the end. TRFM, as I’m going to call it for short, tends to start and finish mid sentence. This should make it easier, but you’d be surprised by the amount of ambiguous connections it’s possible to make.
The book is also easier to get involved in, with interesting characters that I’d like to find out more about, and even some tense moments.
The writing is also just plain entertaining: the format calls for playing with language, and that’s used for jokes as well as concealment. I decided to keep the cards in the order they were given and read them that way, and I’m glad, because I’m sure the more amusing mid-sentence connections are intentional.
Though I’m only a short way in and have only an inkling of what’s going on, I am actually invested in the characters and in what’s happening within the pages – I’m not just reading for the sake of the puzzle.

Oh, and if you’re a locked room fan, there’s one in this book. Apparently. The manual says so, but I haven’t got to that bit yet.

To sum up, I’m really looking forward to getting my teeth into this puzzle! I highly doubt I will solve it, but unlike Cain’s Jawbone, I’m having fun trying. I might post about this book again when I’ve read all the postcards and (hopefully) understand the story a little better.

However, I won’t be able to dig in to it for a week or so, as I’ll soon be off to Torquay, for the Agatha Christie Festival. It’ll be my first time going, and I’m very excited indeed. I’ll do my best to post pictures!