📱📖 Read on Kobo | 📃 152 pages
⏱ Duration: 2 hours (including solving some of the puzzles myself)
🎁 Read as an ARC gifted by the author
🏷️ Publisher: Independently published
Book Blurb:
On Gullhaven Point, the lighthouse never misses a night and somebody keeps committing murder. Inspector Maren Quill solves every case in her battered tide ledger, with one column for each fact she knows and one line struck out for each thing she rules out. Now it’s your turn to pick up the pencil. Inside are 60 original murder mysteries (20 easy, 24 medium, 16 hard), each with a short story, evidence clues and a ledger grid to fill in. Every case has exactly one solution, with no guessing required, and full walkthroughs explain Quill’s reasoning. Perfect for cozy mystery fans, puzzle lovers, teens and adults.
Let’s talk about the book:
I went in expecting a few cute puzzles with a murder-shaped bow on top. What I got was an entire seaside town full of suspects, a lighthouse that never misses a night, and a tide ledger I’d happily steal. Inspector Maren Quill solves everything with a pencil and a strike-through, which is honestly the most relatable detective method I’ve ever seen. Every one of the 60 cases opens with a short story, so you get the full cozy mystery atmosphere (moody coast, shifty alibis, murder with a side of salt air) before the clues start fighting back.
The difficulty curve is the real star here. With 20 easy, 24 medium and 16 hard cases, it climbs so smoothly that I didn’t notice I’d leveled up until I was knee-deep in tolling bell timing clues and “exactly one of these is true” statements, muttering at my Kobo. Every case has exactly one solution and every clue is needed, so there’s no guessing, only that glorious click when the grid finally cooperates. And the step-by-step walkthroughs in the back? Perfect for when your brain taps out and you need to know where you went wrong.
I finished in about two hours, solving some by hand, but this is a book you could easily stretch across weeks of cozy evenings. Fair warning: I may have ignored a few real-life tasks. Worth it.
Would I recommend it?
Absolutely. If you love logic grid puzzles, cozy mysteries, or yelling the killer’s name at the TV, this one’s for you. It’s clever, fair, and endlessly satisfying, with enough variety to keep both beginners and seasoned solvers hooked. It would also make a great Christmas gift for the puzzle lover on your list. Grab your copy now and add it to your TBR (or your gift list!).
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
5 Books for the Same Mood
- Post Early for Christmas by T.J. Sumi: A 24-night advent calendar puzzle book set in a 1958 post office, where you strike lines from a 1,200-letter register with a pencil until the killer is left. It’s perfect if the ledger-style elimination was your favorite part.
- The Midnight Postman by M. Klayer: A 36-chapter Christmas mystery with 48 letter-and-stamp exhibits and 12 “Your Turn to Decipher” puzzles. It’s ideal if you want to investigate alongside the heroine, and it works as a family read-aloud.
- Murder at Ashcroft Manor by Owen Sheridan: An interactive mystery with a case file, suspect cards and a Verdict Form that makes you commit to an answer before the reveal. It’s a lovely pick for beginners and game nights.
- The Forty at the Crooked Lantern by G.D. Mercer: A cozy Halloween prequel with a vanishing guest, a failing clock and a name that can’t belong at the table. It’s for readers who love spooky-cozy atmosphere and locked-room secrets.
- The Wrong Ambrose Hearne by Alice Wendover: A cozy English bookshop mystery where bookseller Bridie Quell crosses names off one at a time using thirty-one years of buying ledgers and a pencil. It’s fair play, so you may get there before she does, which is perfect if you loved Quill’s ledger in The Lighthouse Ledger.
Who’s Your Inner Armchair Detective?
Be honest: are you a pencil-and-eraser solver, a pen-and-confidence solver, or a “peek at the answers after five minutes” solver? 😏 Tell me in the comments, and share the last puzzle (or mystery) that had you completely stumped. Bonus points if you shouted at the TV!
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