Convenient mini-mysteries are fun to read and solve! And more....But just what are mini-mysteries (MM's)? Well, they’re also called minute mysteries or mystery puzzles, and are very short, solve-it-yourself mysteries with a question at the end and the solution on a separate page. They usually have the basic features of the traditional whodunit: a crime, suspects, physical or verbal clues, alibis and red herrings to consider. Some are all text, and others require you to study a picture. MM's can also include features of the logic puzzle, like true-false statements, matching names to professions or characteristics, logical time sequences, and even (dare I say it?) even a little easy math. My own combine traditional whodunit features and logic puzzle elements, sometimes together, sometimes not. That’s part of the fun! And they are all family-friendly. Who am I? Why am I here? (As someone once said…) My name is Stan Smith, and I’ve written three books of MM's* that have been published in nine languages and sold (in English, not counting anthologies) over 120,000 copies. My purpose with this Website is to introduce the pleasures and benefits of reading and solving MM's to an even wider audience through the miracle of Cyberspace. Benefits? You bet! First of all, MM's are fun. And can’t we all use a little more of that in our lives? They’re self-contained and a convenient size to read (about 500 to 1000 words, though that can vary), so you can enjoy a mystery challenge or a toothsome puzzle without having to slog through hundreds of pages. MM's are a tonic for your brain, and pleasurably sharpen your powers of careful reading, observation, visualization, and logical thinking. When the stories have a set of continuing characters, as my Stanwick ones do, you can read them for pleasure even if you don’t want to bother trying to solve them. And they’re suitable for active minds of all ages! Indeed, many teachers use MM's to help students develop their reading, writing, and reasoning skills. So welcome! And please feel free to check out the pages that discuss MM's further, show samples, tell more about my "amateur logician" sleuth, Thomas P. Stanwick, give links to teaching sites, tell a little about myself and other MM authors, show you a lost classic of mental fun and fitness, and let you subscribe to a FREE monthly MysteryGram, featuring an original mini-mystery in each issue! *Thanks for asking! My books are Five-Minute Whodunits, Five-Minute Crimebusters, and Five-Minute Mini-Mysteries, all by Stan Smith and all published by Sterling Publishing. They're available through the "Stan's Books" button to the left and through www.bn.com, www.amazon.com, or your local bookstore. Also look into other fine authors in the genre such as Hy Conrad, Ken Weber, Jim Sukach, Lawrence Treat, Wolfgang Ecke, Austin Ripley, and Donald Sobol. You can find out more about them through the "Other MM Authors" button on the left.
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