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Rating: 
Summary: diverting but not too taxing..
Review: I love logic puzzles and the like so this seemed like it would be something I'd enjoy. I found the book to be interesting, but the solutions to the puzzles were generally a bit easy, I often managed to pick out the clue and solve the puzzle after just one read through. I have read all the Sherlock Holmes books though - so I am kind of attuned to such foreshadowing....This would make a great book for younger people, who might find such a book a good introduction to logic puzzles.
Rating:
Summary: Unique, engaging, but can be esoteric
Review: If you like solving puzzles, but want something different from the traditional word or logic puzzles that you are used to, you'll like this book. The idea of making each puzzle a mystery that needs to be solved is both clever and engaging. One of the nicest things about each mystery is that it does only take about 5 minutes to read through, making it easy to pick up the book at any time and complete an entire mystery. The biggest problem with the book is that the solutions oftentimes rely on facts that I find a bit esoteric, such as how certain airplane models are built. But, not all of the mysteries are like this. I would recommend this book to any puzzle lover.
Rating:
Summary: Unique, engaging, but can be esoteric
Review: If you like solving puzzles, but want something different from the traditional word or logic puzzles that you are used to, you'll like this book. The idea of making each puzzle a mystery that needs to be solved is both clever and engaging. One of the nicest things about each mystery is that it does only take about 5 minutes to read through, making it easy to pick up the book at any time and complete an entire mystery. The biggest problem with the book is that the solutions oftentimes rely on facts that I find a bit esoteric, such as how certain airplane models are built. But, not all of the mysteries are like this. I would recommend this book to any puzzle lover.
Rating:
Summary: Challenge yourself or your child
Review: Most of these terse stories are sharp and clever in their ability to give you the clue that will "solve the case" right within the short tale. The few that do this poorly you can easily forgive in that at least a couple of stories will force themselves on your mind or create a bit of trivia that you will never forget. For parents with young readers these mini-mysteries are especially useful in identifying those readers who can sort through a varity of information and discern what is needed or what is false. For voracious readers you will find these are similar to, and condernsed versions of, the famous "Encyclopedia Brown" and "Mini-Mysteries" series of tales by Sobol (which were aimed expressly at youth).
Rating:
Summary: Challenge yourself or your child
Review: Most of these terse stories are sharp and clever in their ability to give you the clue that will "solve the case" right within the short tale. The few that do this poorly you can easily forgive in that at least a couple of stories will force themselves on your mind or create a bit of trivia that you will never forget. For parents with young readers these mini-mysteries are especially useful in identifying those readers who can sort through a varity of information and discern what is needed or what is false. For voracious readers you will find these are similar to, and condernsed versions of, the famous "Encyclopedia Brown" and "Mini-Mysteries" series of tales by Sobol (which were aimed expressly at youth).
Rating:
Summary: A non-traditional approach to logic puzzles.
Review: This book contains thirty-seven puzzles aimed at testing your logic, perception and knowledge, and which only take around five minutes to read and solve.
Organized in a numbered format and placed in the first section of the book, the puzzles are presented as a short story of a mystery or an unsolved crime-case, posing, at the end of each, a question or two for the reader to answer. The assortment of mysteries offered include murder, theft, blackmail and deception, among others; and they are often clever, engrossing, and even funny. These mysteries will test both your reading and comprehension skills, as well as your problem solving abilities.
The solutions, sequentially arranged in the second section of the book, can usually, and frequently too easily, be arrived at through the clues contained within the mysteries. Only a few exceptions, which rely on what seemed to me as somewhat esoteric facts, not necessarily familiar to every reader, are a bit frustrating. But, since each solution gives both the answers to each mystery and line of reasoning used in figuring them out, some light is shed on those obscure facts.
One thing lacking in this book is an introduction or foreword, which might have given this volume a better overall presentation, the author a way to explain his purpose in putting this book together, and the reader a chance to get to know a little more about the author.
Overall, this book is a good and entertaining way to get launched into the world of the games of logic.
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