by Jess Shelleman
Are you a fan of murder mysteries? Have you ever wanted to participate in one with others to see if you can decipher evidence to figure out the guilty party?
Here at ACLS, there is no shortage of ways to enjoy a good mystery. We have books; so many mystery books! Doing a quick catalog search, we own several thousand mystery books! Everything from Scooby-Doo and Nancy Drew for the young ones (or the young at heart), to Agatha Christie, Patricia Cornwell, and Riley Sager, just to name a few. That number doesn’t even include the nonfiction mysteries for those lovers of true crime. Or the vast amounts of mystery movies and series available.
If you enjoy mysteries and want to join others in discussion, we have you set for that as well. Gettysburg Library has a Mystery Book Club on the fourth Thursday of every month, where they read through a variety of mystery subgenres, including thriller, suspense, and police procedurals. Cozy Reads, led by me, is held virtually on the second Wednesday of the month, and mostly sticks to the cozy mystery subgenre. If true crime is your jam, join Kat virtually on the second Thursday of the month for the True Crime Book Club.
Interested in actually participating in a murder mystery? We offer many throughout the year, both virtually and in person at Littlestown Library. In fact, there are two coming up this month: Royally Bashed – Murder at Ridgerton Park, will be held via Zoom on Friday, August 22, at 7:00 pm, and Lethal Listing – Murder at the Broker’s Open will be held at Littlestown Library on Wednesday, August 27, at 6:00 pm. You can find the links to the event pages at the bottom of this article.
Our murder mysteries are very participatory, meaning nobody just sits and watches, but don’t let that scare you away! Many new participants have mentioned being nervous, but being surprised at how well everything is set up and how easy it is to follow. The mysteries we use are through Broadway Murder Mysteries, and the company does a great job of making things simple. Each person is given a character to portray, and a “script” that goes through an introduction, three rounds of questions, and a final statement. The script includes different responses for each of these depending on whether you are guilty or innocent, so there’s no memorising or having to make up an answer; all you have to do is read from your script! Many people have had so much fun, they keep coming back again and again.
So what are you waiting for?! Join us for one of our upcoming murder mysteries and see if you can figure out who the killer is, unless the guilty person is you…
Royally Bashed: Murder at Ridgerton Park – A Virtual Murder Mystery | Adams County Library
Lethal Listing: Murder at the Broker’s Open – A Murder Mystery Event | Adams County Library
Jess Shelleman is Branch Manager at the Littlestown Library.