Good Murder Mystery Movies / Books For Inspiration?

**Dralnu** · 2016-06-18, 07:41 PM (ISO 8601)

"Murder Mystery" might be too broad a term.

I want to run a murder mystery type of adventure where a murder occurs on a boat and the PCs need to puzzle out who did it.

I was wondering if you guys have any suggestions on what to watch / read for inspiration for something like this?

**Fri** · 2016-06-19, 01:13 AM (ISO 8601)

Depend on what type of "murder mystery" you're thinking.

But if you're thinking the same thing with me, Agatha Christie is pretty much the queen of these kind of classic setup.

Recommendation would be of course Murder on Orient Express (Murder! On a moving train!) And Then There Were None (10 people! On a mansion! Dropping one by one! Who is the killer!?)

Also Death in the Niles is pretty much Murder! In a Boat!

Depends on you further explanation, I might be able to recommend you more. I'm quite into detective novels.

**Honest Tiefling** · 2016-06-19, 11:36 AM (ISO 8601)

I recommend Sherlock Holmes. I don't know what era your game is happening in, but I assume not modern as they can't simply call for help, so anything gleaned from it should still be applicable.

Also, they are free and short, so even if you don't use them, you got something nice to read on a car trip.

**SethoMarkus** · 2016-06-21, 02:39 PM (ISO 8601)

Cluedo/Clue had a couple of novels I think. I believe they were set up similar to the boardgame, too

**JenBurdoo** · 2016-06-22, 01:44 PM (ISO 8601)

I suggest the folksong "The Good Ship Bessie Quinn":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQYnC4ulB5s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0c7yiZSyVY

It's about a sailing ship, probably a privateer, named the Bessie Quinn (it turns out, after Queen Elizabeth). One crewman has been killing and robbing people, and the cabin boy is known to be in love with the second mate's daughter, leading to his likely being tossed overboard in the night. The two plots can complicate each other. I've tried to use it as an RPG plot in the past, with little success since I'm still a rookie.

**Beleriphon** · 2016-06-23, 10:24 AM (ISO 8601)

Read Encyclopedia Brown. While children's books an RPG benefits from this level of simplicity. The basic idea with the books is each one has around ten chapters and each chapter is a mystery. They are meant for the reader to figure out the solution, and there is a "solutions" chapter at the end of the book, that explains the logic behind the solution.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Encyclopedia_Brown

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