| Images: |  | 
(book club edition) | 
(book club edition) | 
(book fair edition) |
| Series: | Choose Your Own Adventure (1979-1998) #9
| Contained In: | Choose Your Own Adventure Box Set 2
| Translated Into: | Bay Thrombey'i kim öldürdü? (Turkish)
Chi ha ucciso Harlowe Trombey? (Italian)
Dàfùwēng zhī Sǐ [大富翁之死] (Chinese)
Die Geheim van Burgershof (Afrikaans)
Hvem myrdede Harry Thorne? (Danish)
Ko je ubio Harloa Trombija? (Serbo-Croatian)
Koj go ubi Harlo Trombi (Macedonian)
Nork hil zuen H. Thrombey? (Basque)
Quem matou H. Thrombey? (Portuguese)
Quem matou Harold Taylor? (Portuguese)
Qui a tué Edouard Balaruc? (French)
Qui va matar H. Thrombey? (Catalan)
¿Quién mató a H. Thrombey? (Spanish)
¿Quién mató al presidente? (Spanish)
Satsujinzhan wa dare da [殺人犯はだれだ] (Japanese)
Siapa pembunuh Harlowe Thrombey? (Indonesian)
Wie vermoordde Hendrik Hoek (Dutch)
| Author: | Edward Packard
| Illustrator: | Paul Granger (pseudonym for Don Hedin)
| Release Date: | February, 1981
| ISBNs:
Click to shop... | 0553143573 / 9780553143577
0553209124 / 9780553209129
0553231812 / 9780553231816
0942545133 / 9780942545135 (hardback)
| | Length: | 122 pages |
| Number of Endings: | 14 |
| Summary: | A rich man call you and asks for help when he feels his life is in danger... Eventually (as the title gives away), you find yourself trying to solve a murder case. |
Demian's Thoughts:
Click here for more reviews by Demian | This is a very well-designed gamebook. It has excellent (but not absolutely perfect) continuity and consistency, more-interesting-than-usual characters, and a clear goal (the solution of the mystery) to work towards. |
Enigmatic Synergy's Thoughts:
Click here for more reviews by Enigmatic Synergy | What a great, little book! I thoroughly enjoyed this one, as I feel that this book truly is a showcase of the excellent author and storyteller that is Edward Packard. The plot here is simple: trying to solve a murder in the classic "whodunit" sense. Packard, as always, is great at staying in the world of his books; this one is no different, as it is focused and stays on topic of the story to keep the reader interested and engaged. I also enjoyed just about every single ending in this one -- something that I do not think I have ever said about a CYOA book. As in many of Packard's works, the consistency is excellent and many threads of the book cleverly loop back into each other at sensible times. Overall, I highly recommend this one, as I believe it is truly one of the better CYOA books. |
noonxnoon's Thoughts:
Click here for more reviews by noonxnoon | I picked this book due to the reviews on this site and I am glad I did.
Out of the Choose Your Own Adventure series, this certainly is a gem. I agree with the other reviewers in regards to the complexity of the book design as well as the depth of characters. There were subtle clues that passed by from time to time and one could interpret them in a couple of different ways, adding to the mystery.
The illustrations were some of the best in the series and added much detail and flavor... but I must say the illustration of Prufrok near the end of the book detaining an individual was a bit disturbing!!!
The only complaint I have is several choices you make end up leading you to the ultimate answer to the case. The first time I read the book, I was investigating one individual and next thing I know I was tied to a chair and then the police come in and the case was fully revealed. This is the case for several other paths you take that were incorrect, but still everything was reveled. I would rather you reach a sequence that in order to win you would almost need to call it out like in the game Clue, where you state the person and place (We already know the murder weapon!). This could give the reader incentives to investigate more and to tie the clues together instead of the case being solved by chance.
All in all a good read and recommended.
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ontcanada2005's Thoughts:
Click here for more reviews by ontcanada2005 | The beginning didn't draw enough sympathy to Harlowe, and if had, it would have engaged the reader much more. "President of Plastic Company?" Additionally, it made it seem that he knew what was going to happen, and allowed it to happen, removing additional sympathy. He would do anything to make his wife happy, and if she wanted him dead, would he kill himself? (just a rhetorical question). Then, it asks you to pick up where Harlowe left off, without any emotional reason to do so, except to outwit "Jenny Mudge." So motivation was low, but illustrations were extremely effective at displaying what was being portrayed. Choices seemed too numerous at times, but the Falcon "trail" was fairly engaging. |
stonemason's Thoughts:
Click here for more reviews by stonemason | In many ways, this seems like the most unusual of the original 10 books in this series. It's structured a lot differently; in fact, it seems almost game-like. I say this because many times in the book you are asked to make decisions. Many of the choices don't at first appear to be of any consequence, since they converge back together again. But later on you are asked what decision you made before, and the plot paths diverge again, this time leading to different outcomes.
Also, it seems a lot more open-ended, since you are often given more than just two choices at a decision point... one of the dilemmas has 12 possible choices to make! I really like this different structure, and I wonder why it wasn't used in any later books.
This book is also very internally consistent, but that is perhaps its biggest (and possibly only) flaw, since after you've solved the mystery the first time, you know exactly how the crime was committed, which not only makes it much easier to win the second time around, it also seriously diminishes the motivation to read it again. It would be nice, though, to see this type of open-ended format applied to a more complex plot than a simple whodunit (so you don't learn the whole thing during any one read), which could lead to a very, very good mystery gamebook.
All in all, this is much better than most of the other early books in the series, and I highly recommend it, especially since the characterization is very good. |
Waluigi Freak 99's Thoughts:
Click here for more reviews by Waluigi Freak 99 | I just loved this gamebook. My favorite in the Choose Your Own Adventure series, Who Killed Harlowe Thrombey? is a well-executed mystery. The clever problem of all of the suspects having alibis is unique and requires a bit of abstract thinking.
All of the characters are much less bland than they usually are in these types of books. Prufrock is a stereotypical bumbling detective who actually adds to the story rather than detracting from it. Falcon's gruff greeting during the apartment confrontation provides some insight as to which choice to make. None of the choices seem arbitrary and the consequences are logical.
The consistency is nearly perfect, although a few minor continuity errors can crop up when you do things in a certain order, but none of them are really serious and aren't noticeable unless you look hard.
I agree that, after reaching a conclusion, you're not really motivated to read the story again. However, some of the endings only reveal a bit of the case. If you want to know everything that happened, you have to read through the book at least a couple of times.
Overall, this book is great, and I'd recommend it to anyone. |
| Special Thanks: | Thanks to Ken G. for the book club edition cover scans. |
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| Users with Extra Copies: | Blame it on Rio
jcdugger: Good condition. Ebay item #: 270103580882
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