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Quick answer: If you loved Murdle, try Death on the Nile, Murdle Jr., The Sherlock Holmes Puzzle Collection, Encyclopedia Brown Solves Them All, Two-Minute Mysteries and Encyclopedia Brown, Boy Detective. Each one offers clever mystery puzzles, logic games or brain teasers that let you play detective.
G.T. Karber's Murdle began as an online puzzle and became a bestselling book in 2023. Each puzzle gives you a small murder mystery with suspects, weapons and locations, plus clues to cross off in a logic grid. You work out who did it, with what and where. Readers love the humor, the gradual difficulty and the satisfaction of solving. These books share its puzzles and its detective fun.
Table of Contents
Quick Picks at a Glance
| Book | Author | Format | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Death on the Nile | Agatha Christie | Novel | readers who want a closed-circle puzzle |
| Murdle Jr. | G.T. Karber | Puzzle book | younger solvers |
| The Sherlock Holmes Puzzle Collection | Tim Dedopulos | Puzzle book | readers who like Holmes |
| Encyclopedia Brown Solves Them All | Donald J. Sobol | Kids' mystery | younger readers who want more cases |
| Two-Minute Mysteries | Donald J. Sobol | Puzzle book | readers who want quick cases |
| Encyclopedia Brown, Boy Detective | Donald J. Sobol | Kids' mystery | younger readers |
| The Westing Game | Ellen Raskin | Novel | readers who want a puzzle novel |
| Masquerade | Kit Williams | Picture puzzle | readers who like real treasure hunts |
| The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle | Stuart Turton | Novel | adults who want a puzzle mystery |
| And Then There Were None | Agatha Christie | Novel | readers who want the classic |
| The Thursday Murder Club | Richard Osman | Novel | readers who want cozy mysteries |
| The Word Is Murder | Anthony Horowitz | Novel | readers who like clever detectives |
| Sherlock Holmes: The Adventures | Arthur Conan Doyle | Stories | readers who want the original detective |
| Logic Puzzles for Clever Kids | Gareth Moore | Puzzle book | young solvers |
| The Mysteries of Harris Burdick | Chris Van Allsburg | Picture book | readers who like open mysteries |
1. Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie
A wealthy heiress is murdered on a Nile cruise.
Best for: readers who want a closed-circle puzzle.
2. Murdle Jr. by G.T. Karber
Kid-friendly mysteries with the same logic grids.
Best for: younger solvers.
3. The Sherlock Holmes Puzzle Collection by Tim Dedopulos
Puzzles inspired by the great detective.
Best for: readers who like Holmes.
4. Encyclopedia Brown Solves Them All by Donald J. Sobol
More short cases for readers to crack.
Best for: younger readers who want more cases.
5. Two-Minute Mysteries by Donald J. Sobol
Short mysteries solved by careful reading.
Best for: readers who want quick cases.
6. Encyclopedia Brown, Boy Detective by Donald J. Sobol
A boy detective solves cases you can solve too.
Best for: younger readers.
7. The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin
Heirs compete to solve a millionaire's riddle.
Best for: readers who want a puzzle novel.
8. Masquerade by Kit Williams
A picture book that hid clues to a real buried treasure.
Best for: readers who like real treasure hunts.
9. The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton
A man relives one day in different bodies to solve a murder.
Best for: adults who want a puzzle mystery.
10. And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
Ten strangers on an island are killed one by one.
Best for: readers who want the classic.
11. The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman
Four retirees investigate a murder.
Best for: readers who want cozy mysteries.
12. The Word Is Murder by Anthony Horowitz
A woman is killed hours after planning her own funeral.
Best for: readers who like clever detectives.
13. Sherlock Holmes: The Adventures by Arthur Conan Doyle
Classic short mysteries starring Holmes and Watson.
Best for: readers who want the original detective.
14. Logic Puzzles for Clever Kids by Gareth Moore
Brain teasers and logic grids for kids.
Best for: young solvers.
15. The Mysteries of Harris Burdick by Chris Van Allsburg
Strange pictures that invite you to imagine the story.
Best for: readers who like open mysteries.
How We Chose These Books
Every pick is a real, widely available book that shares something specific with Murdle: its tone, its themes, its pace or the kind of characters it puts at the center. We mixed well-known favorites with a few less obvious titles, and we noted who each book suits best so you can match it to the reader. Where a book belongs to a series, we list the first volume so you can start at the beginning.
If you are not sure where to begin, start with the first three picks in the table: they are the closest match to Murdle. The rest of the list moves further out, so it works well once you know which part of the original you liked most. If a pick is part of a longer series, read the first book before you commit, and check the age or content notes in the table before passing a book to a younger reader.
How to Choose
Younger solvers can move to Murdle Jr., which uses the same logic grids. For quick cases, Two-Minute Mysteries and Encyclopedia Brown are classic. If you would like a mystery novel with puzzles built in, The Westing Game and The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle are excellent. Cozy mystery fans should try The Thursday Murder Club.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Murdle?
A book of logic puzzles in which you solve small murder mysteries with a grid of suspects, weapons and places.
Who created Murdle?
G.T. Karber, who started it as an online puzzle.
Is Murdle hard?
It starts easy and gets harder, so beginners can join in.
Is there a Murdle for kids?
Yes. Murdle Jr. is designed for younger solvers.
Do you need math skills for Murdle?
No. It uses logic and careful reading, not math.