Word-trail mysteries with picture clues and a killer to catch.
Lethal Trails, Volume 1, by George K. Kostakis
Every grid is a room at the scene of a crime. Trace the words that belong there, tile to tile, borrowing letters from the picture in the middle. When every word is found, one letter is left behind. Collect them all and the case names its killer, its weapon or its hiding place.
Thirteen cases and 101 puzzles, on grids from 3×3 to 5×5, in a 150 page paperback.
Close the book and look at its edge. The grey frame of every page carries a sliver of the title, and the 75 leaves together spell it out.
How a trail works
- Every puzzle is one grid, and every word in it belongs to the place the grid stands for. In the middle sits a picture with its name under it. Below are the answer boxes, first letter given.
- A word is a trail: step from tile to tile in any direction, straight or diagonal, never on the same tile twice.
- A tile without dots is used once. Each dot allows one more pass. Fill a dot each time; with none left, the letter is struck.
- A word may use the middle tile once. It borrows ONE letter of the picture's name, and that letter is crossed off.
- When all the words are found, every letter of the name is crossed off and one tile is never used. That letter is left behind.
- The letters left behind, in order, spell the key of the case.
Case 0, the first case of the book, free to play here. Your progress stays in this browser.
Thirteen cases, one letter at a time
- Case 0Dinner for Seven7 puzzles on 3×3 grids. The key: the killer.
- Case 1Closing Time7 puzzles on 3×3 grids. The key: the weapon.
- Case 2The Allotment7 puzzles on 3×3 grids. The key: where the weapon was found.
- Case 3The Collector's Trail8 puzzles on the 5×5 cross. The key: the hideout.
- Case 4Opening Night8 puzzles on the 5×5 cross. The key: the hideout.
- Case 5The Librarian's Messages8 puzzles on the 5×5 cross. The key: the killer.
- Case 6The Courier8 puzzles on the 5×5 cross. The key: the clue.
- Case 7Low Tide8 puzzles on the 5×5 cross. The key: the clue.
- Case 8Harvest Fair8 puzzles on the 5×5 cross. The key: the weapon.
- Case 9Lights Out8 puzzles on the 5×5 cross. The key: the clue.
- Case 10Dead Air8 puzzles on the 5×5 cross. The key: the killer.
- Case 11Checkmate8 puzzles on the full 5×5 board. The key: the killer.
- Case 12Snowbound8 puzzles on the full 5×5 board. The key: where the weapon was found.
Paperback, 6 × 9 in, 150 pages. 101 grids plus the puzzle on the cover. Hints after every case and full solutions at the back. ISBN 979-8-16-527519-7.
Get the book
The paperback is sold on Amazon.