The mystery archives · Easy mysteries

Easy mysteries, clues in plain sight

Short whodunits where the clues are stated plainly. A good place to start, a quick win on a busy day, and a favorite with younger readers and classrooms.

In an easy mystery, the facts that point to the culprit and the ones that clear everyone else are right there in the story. Read carefully, click each sentence that matters, and name who did it. Most take about five minutes.

Easy mysteries carry no bonus for a perfect solve, but every clue you find and every culprit you name still earns points on your first attempt. When they start to feel simple, try a medium one.

Every mystery Surprise me

86 official mysteries · page 1 of 4

Easy Who Dun It? Oct 29

The Potter Book Mystery

Cupcake, an orange cat, curled up in a dark corner of the dark musty bookstore. For years Uncle Ezra had been smiling as customers came into his store, helping them…

by Moe Zilla 19% solve it · 3,681 players
Easy Who Dun It? Oct 22

Chief Inspector Japp Solves a Case

Hercule Poirot drummed his fingers on his desk, trying vainly to control his impatience. He stared at the telephone, willing it to ring. It did not ring. “For heaven’s…

by William Shepard 32% solve it · 1,245 players
Easy Who Dun It? Oct 19

Who Stole the Caveman's Dinner?

65 million years ago, Grog the caveman fell asleep under the sun. He snored, enjoying a long nap. He dreamed he was chasing a dinosaur, and that the dinosaur was afraid…

by Moe Zilla 37% solve it · 1,875 players
Easy Who Dun It? Oct 15

The Stolen Car Mystery

Walking outside, Tim soon realized why he felt as he did, and why his friends were acting so strange. His car was missing! A light bulb went off in his head when he…

by Tom Fowler 43% solve it · 2,586 players
Easy Who Dun It? Oct 5

The Punch with a Punch

I did my best to play it cool and not go over and talk with all of the kids I knew. Fortunately, many of them stopped over during the night to say a quick hello. Even…

by Barney Parmington 56% solve it · 2,132 players
Easy Who Dun It? Sep 28

The Waffle Man Mystery

He was the strangest person I'd ever met. It was already hot, even at 8 a.m., when we pulled into the restaurant in New Mexico. I don't remember where -- we'd been…

by Moe Zilla 40% solve it · 2,366 players
Easy Who Dun It? Sep 24

The Sunday School Tithe Mystery

Juliet, placing her dollar into the envelope first, did not pay strict attention to the others as the envelope made its way around the table. Though, she did notice Doc…

by Tom Fowler 50% solve it · 1,408 players
Easy Who Dun It? Sep 17

The Anonymous Bank Robber

Recently, Patrick learned something about a friend in the group -- one of the old men had been a bank robber in the 1930s. He had spent time in a federal penitentiary…

by Tom Fowler 37% solve it · 2,407 players
Easy Who Dun It? Sep 14

The House of Lies

“You'll like it here,” said Debra. “Everything is a mystery.” Before I could digest the mystique of the mansion in front of me, or the height of its white columns, a…

by Moe Zilla 60% solve it · 3,984 players
Easy Who Dun It? Sep 3

The Missing Communion Set

Janice Cummings was excited. As the youth director for a new church in Overland Park, Kansas, she would host the church’s first youth sleep over. The little church had…

by Tom Fowler 46% solve it · 1,233 players
Easy Who Dun It? Aug 31

Who Stole Super Bowl Sunday

He'd invited me to watch his first widescreen Super Bowl — which was a relief. Eight years earlier, when I was seven years old, my parents had taken me for my first…

by Moe Zilla 51% solve it · 2,040 players
Easy Who Dun It? Aug 24

The Gypsy's Secret Numbers

There was a crime, and I was worried. And I was always worried about an acrobat named Lorenzo. He was my father, and he'd exercised every day until his slender body was…

by Moe Zilla 37% solve it · 1,827 players
Easy Who Dun It? Aug 17

The Miser's Hoard

I know the value exactly because when he found the miser’s hoard, honest Sam made two telephone calls immediately, the first to Bob Parsons, and the other to my editor…

by William Shepard 48% solve it · 1,165 players
Easy Who Dun It? Aug 13

The Cornfield Caper

"Hello?" Joe called out. "Is someone there?" Joe wasn't sure why, but being in the corn maze always made him feel uneasy, even though it was on his family’s farm. Even…

by Brad Marsh 71% solve it · 14,733 players
Easy Who Dun It? Aug 6

The Dirty Half Dozen

“We need your help to pull a prank on Gary.” “What do you have in mind?” Bethany asked. “I want to steal his car,” Joe said, a mischievous grin spreading out across his…

by Tom Fowler 37% solve it · 1,584 players
Easy Who Dun It? Jul 30

The Mystery of the Missing Story

“It snows and everyone becomes a kid again,” Jack grumbled. While his co-workers were leaving early or acting juvenile, he was trying to piece together his interview…

by Julie Hockenberry 54% solve it · 1,751 players
Easy Missing persons Jul 27

The Case of the Missing Friend

So, Steve would not learn of his missing friend until Tuesday the 26th. Normally, news of a missing person would be all over the news in Oklahoma City, still a small…

by Tom Fowler 48% solve it · 2,689 players
Easy Who Dun It? Jul 20

Mystery of the Missing Heart

We all told her to go and wished her a good time. Even with just four of us, it took almost another hour to finish storing away all the backdrops. The real work was…

by Mike Wever 66% solve it · 4,370 players
Easy Who Dun It? Jul 16

Stealing Second Base

That spring, the Westbrook Black Sox – out of nowhere – had a winning season. Correct that – they had a spectacular season! They led the A League for the very first…

by William Shepard 57% solve it · 1,790 players
Easy Who Dun It? Jul 13

Murder in the Old House

Todd Jensen recently inherited the old Jensen family home. He and his wife, Anne, were busy with repairs and remodeling. It was a wonderful inheritance, as the home…

by Tom Fowler 52% solve it · 6,899 players
Easy Who Dun It? Jul 9

The Chess Mystery

It was almost magic. All the chess pieces looked like little people. My father had owned this set for over 20 years. All our lives, my father had fascinated my siblings…

by Moe Zilla 50% solve it · 2,727 players
Easy Who Dun It? Jul 6

Lost (Stolen) and Found

Who would have thought that this intolerable job would give me the chance to show my skills as a detective? Not me! The paper is sending someone over to interview me…

by William Shepard 42% solve it · 1,833 players
Easy Who Dun It? Jul 2

The Chocolate Cupcake Caper

“Surprise!” Paula was startled as she walked through the door. Amidst the colorful balloons and fluttering streamers, she was, in fact, surprised. Her cheeks had…

by PIP Writer 62% solve it · 5,272 players
Easy Who Dun It? Jun 29

Dead Man's Island

Families can be strange. Grandpa hated the sunshine, and waited eagerly for dusk. “It's too hot,” he complained bitterly. And then he told them about the treasure…

by Moe Zilla 34% solve it · 2,951 players

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Easy Who Dun It? Nov 28

Arsonist Attack

Jade set fire to the library. She got a bad grade in reading, and she wore the red hoodie Max had to make people think Max did it. It fell out of her purse. She said…

by Sarabelle g. 80% solve it · 11,802 players
Easy Missing persons Dec 2

School trip

It was a cold January night. School had just resumed and Mr. Michaels way giving his students a present was a night trip up north. This trip had been planned and…

by Bob Emerson 23% solve it · 11,434 players
Easy Who Dun It? Jul 7

The Necklace

It happened at around 9 PM. We were having our supper, a very large one (it was Saturday, and as our family tradation we eat more than usual on Saturdays). Our mother…

by Edward Jones 27% solve it · 477 players
Easy Who Dun It? Nov 23

Investigation Sabotager

Flight 612 goes down over the Atlantic and all investigators find is 11 bodies, a wing, an engine and an inflated life vest. There are no traces of survivors…

by Dan 61% solve it · 267 players
Easy Who Dun It? Oct 22

The Sunday Mystery

This family is just an ordinary family until one Sunday afternoon somebody breaks the number on rule in the family. This mystery is about the Jackson family who have…

by Han Banan 41% solve it · 214 players

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