In 1934, a mysterious book called Cain’s Jawbone was published by a writer known as Torquemada, named after the first Grand Inquisitor of the Spanish Inquisition. The book was presented as a murder mystery, but with a twist – the pages were assembled in the wrong order. Readers had to figure out the correct order to identify the six murder victims and their killer(s).
The publisher, Vincent Gollancz, offered a prize of £15 to the first reader to solve the mystery, with three readers successfully cracking it in 1935. The solution remained a secret for many years until 2019 when a new edition was published by Unbound in the form of a box of cards. A prize of £1,000 was offered to the first person to solve the puzzle, which had not been completed in eighty-five years. Surprisingly, comedian and writer John Finnemore managed to solve the puzzle.
John Finnemore, known for his work on Cabin Pressure and John Finnemore’s Souvenir Programme, had initially thought the puzzle was too challenging. However, with the onset of the pandemic and plenty of time on his hands, he decided to tackle the mystery. Thanks to his efforts and the exposure brought by Sarah Scannell’s TikTok videos, sales of the book soared from 4,000 copies in 2019 to over half a million by January 2023.
Inspired by his success with Cain’s Jawbone, Finnemore has now created his own version of the puzzle called The Researcher’s First Murder. In this novel, readers must solve a series of murders by rearranging text and deciphering cryptic picture postcards. The first person to crack the puzzle will win a £1,000 prize from Unbound.
To celebrate the release of The Researcher’s First Murder, John Finnemore will be appearing at Greenwich Theatre on 25 November. He will be joined by Unbound co-founder John Mitchinson to discuss the creation of the puzzle and will also answer audience questions and sign copies of the book. This event promises to be a unique opportunity for fans to get insights into Finnemore’s creative process and maybe even some hints on solving the puzzles.
