22 mystery puzzles with answers

Grandma's cookie jar was full at lunch and empty by three o'clock. Mia says she was at the pool all afternoon. Owen says he was in the garage painting his model plane green. Grace says she was reading in her room. Grandma finds a smear of wet green paint on the jar's lid. Who emptied the cookie jar? Suspects: Mia, Owen, Grace.

Hint: Look at what was left on the lid.

The garden gnome vanished from the front lawn between two and three o'clock, in the middle of a heavy rainstorm. Kai says he spent that hour sunbathing on the back lawn. Rosa says she was baking bread. Ben says he was at soccer practice in the school gym. Who is not telling the truth? Suspects: Kai, Rosa, Ben.

Hint: What was the weather doing?

The family dog barks at every stranger who comes near the gate. On Saturday night someone took Dad's bike from the shed beside the gate, and nobody heard a single bark. That evening a pizza driver who had never been there before, the new neighbor who moved in that morning and cousin Sam, who walks the dog every week, all came by. Who most likely took the bike? Suspects: the pizza driver, the new neighbor, Sam.

Hint: Think about who the dog would not bark at.

The candy jar lives on top of the fridge. Someone took a handful while the family was out in the yard. No chair was moved, and the step stool is locked in the garage. Pip is six, Ruby is eight and neither can reach the top of the fridge, even on tiptoe. Uncle Tom is the tallest person in the family. Who took the candy? Suspects: Pip, Ruby, Uncle Tom.

Hint: How could anyone reach the top of the fridge?

Mrs Grey tells her three helpers only that something went missing from the art cupboard. Dev says, "I never touched the glitter." Amy says, "I was out at recess the whole time." Lou says, "What's missing? I don't know." The missing thing is the glitter. Who took it? Suspects: Dev, Amy, Lou.

Hint: Mrs Grey never said what was missing.

During a one-hour power cut, the last slice of pie disappeared from the kitchen. Hugo says he spent the whole hour in his room reading by the light of the candle on his desk. Isla says she was asleep. Ned says he was playing cards with Dad by flashlight. The candle on Hugo's desk is brand new, and its wick is still white. Who took the pie? Suspects: Hugo, Isla, Ned.

Hint: Look closely at the candle's wick.

A flower pot on the front step was knocked over during a short rain shower, which lasted from 3:30 to 3:50. At four o'clock Ella says nobody left the house all afternoon because everyone was watching a movie. In the hall, one umbrella is dripping onto the floor. It is Ella's. Who knocked over the pot? Suspects: Ella, her brother Finn, her sister June.

Hint: Whose things got wet?

At nine o'clock on a frosty night, someone drove down the lane and dented the mailbox at the end. Three neighbors own cars. Mr Ford says his car has not moved since lunch. Ms Lane says she drove home from work at five. Mr Cole says he walked to his sister's for dinner. At half past nine, Ms Lane's and Mr Cole's car hoods are cold and white with frost, and Mr Ford's is warm with no frost on it. Who dented the mailbox? Suspects: Mr Ford, Ms Lane, Mr Cole.

Hint: Feel each car's hood.

The class trip money went missing from the teacher's desk. Zoe says she saw Max hide the envelope between pages 45 and 46 of the big dictionary. Max says he was at the water fountain, and Kim says she was there with him. Whose story gives them away? Suspects: Zoe, Max, Kim.

Hint: Open any book to pages 45 and 46.

On the hottest day of the summer, someone knocked a can of blue paint over in the shed at about 3:55. At 4:00 the detective finds Jack on the patio. He says he has sat there with his lemonade since three. Nora has been on a video call with her grandmother since half past three, and her grandmother saw her the whole time. Ian has a shop receipt timed 3:57, and the shop is a ten-minute walk away. The ice cubes in Jack's glass are big, square and barely melted. Who was in the shed? Suspects: Jack, Nora, Ian.

Hint: What happens to ice in an hour on a hot day?

Three students signed the lost-property book to say they found the missing calculator and handed it in, hoping for the reward. Hana wrote "Found under my desk, 29 September." Gil wrote "Found in the gym, 31 September." Jude wrote "Found by the lockers, 2 October." Whose entry is made up? Suspects: Hana, Gil, Jude.

Hint: Count the days in September.

At 9:30 the park keeper painted the bench by the pond bright red and hung a WET PAINT sign. The paint was still wet at eleven. At 10:30 the sign from the ice cream truck disappeared. Fern says she sat on the bench by the pond from ten to eleven feeding the ducks. Otis was selling tickets at the boat hire across the park, and Peg was in a swimming lesson with her coach. Fern's white shorts are spotless. Who took the sign? Suspects: Fern, Otis, Peg.

Hint: What would an hour on that bench do to white shorts?

Grandpa set a pie to cool on the windowsill at 2:00, and at 2:30 it was gone. Kit's bus ticket shows she got off at the corner stop at 2:25, and the walk home from there takes fifteen minutes. Lena was in an online lesson from 1:45 to 2:45, and her teacher says she never left the screen. Moe says he napped in the room next to the kitchen from one o'clock to three, and nobody can say whether he did. Who could have taken the pie? Suspects: Kit, Lena, Moe.

Hint: Work out where each person was at 2:30.

At the summer fair, the bake sale stall keeps its chocolate bars in a cool box beside the cakes. At two o'clock, while the stall holder was away, the best cake went missing. Ava says she has walked around the fair in the hot sun since lunch, and she offers the detective a chocolate bar from her pocket. It is hard and cold. Wes was running the ring toss all afternoon, and Cora was on the stage singing in the choir. Who was at the bake sale stall? Suspects: Ava, Wes, Cora.

Hint: What does chocolate do in a pocket on a hot day?

Someone let the class hamster out of its cage between 12:00 and 12:30. The classroom was locked from 12:15, and only the teacher has the key. Ruth was in the lunch line from 12:00 to 12:20. Sid was at the nurse's office from 12:10 to 12:40 and says he was alone in the classroom before that. Tess was in the library until 12:05, and the library is a ten-minute walk from the classroom. Who let the hamster out? Suspects: Ruth, Sid, Tess.

Hint: The door was locked at 12:15, so the window is shorter than it looks.

At 8:15 a bolt of lightning hit a light pole on Elm Street, and in the dark that followed, a bike was taken from the rack beside it. Rex says he was inside the movie theater from seven to nine and knows nothing about any storm. A minute later he adds that the flash when the lightning hit the pole made him jump. Jo was at home on the phone with her aunt, and Lucas was working at the hospital until ten. Who took the bike? Suspects: Rex, Jo, Lucas.

Hint: Could Rex have seen the flash from his seat?

The school trophy was taken by one of three students, and exactly one of them is telling the truth. Ada says, "Bo took it." Bo says, "I didn't take it." Cy says, "Ada didn't take it." Who took the trophy? Suspects: Ada, Bo, Cy.

Hint: Try each student as the taker and count the true statements.

One of four friends ate the last cupcake, and exactly one of them is lying. Dan says, "Eve ate it." Eve says, "Fay ate it." Fay says, "Eve is lying." Gus says, "I didn't eat it." Who ate the cupcake? Suspects: Dan, Eve, Fay, Gus.

Hint: Eve and Fay cannot both be telling the truth.

The trophy was taken by one of three players. The one who took it always lies, and the other two always tell the truth. Ana says, "Cy took it." Bo says, "Ana is telling the truth." Cy says, "Bo took it." Who took the trophy? Suspects: Ana, Bo, Cy.

Hint: Suppose Ana took it. What does that make Bo's statement?

A rare shell was taken from the beach café at dawn. The town sits on a coast where the ocean lies to the west. Callum says that at six in the morning he was on the sand, watching the sun rise over the ocean. Pia says she was jogging on the cliff path, and the baker saw her pass his window. Dex was asleep in the cabin he shares with three friends, who all saw him there. Who took the shell? Suspects: Callum, Pia, Dex.

Hint: In which direction does the sun rise?

Three people each bring a raffle ticket to collect a prize, and each ticket has the date it was bought written on the back. Lia's says 28 February 2023. Mo's says 29 February 2023. Ned's says 1 March 2023. One of the tickets is a fake, written by someone who did not stop to think. Which ticket is fake? Suspects: Lia, Mo, Ned.

Hint: Is 2023 a leap year?

Mr Pike says a burglar smashed his back window from the garden while he was out and took his coin collection, which is insured. The detective finds every piece of broken glass on the lawn outside, and none on the carpet inside. His neighbors, Mrs Ash and Mr Bell, were at a concert together all evening. Who broke the window? Suspects: Mr Pike, Mrs Ash, Mr Bell.

Hint: Which way does glass fall when a window is hit?