John Horner, a suspect
John Horner
What’s he hiding?

Enigmee

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A free detective case in your browser. The suspects answer out loud, and they lie. Then you take them to court.

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Examine the evidence

Every object turns in your hands. Nothing is lit up for you: tilt it until the lamp catches something.

The letter reads: Thursday night. Dear Sir, I dare not call on you by daylight. What I saw on Tuesday was no accident, and one other man in London knows it. Come alone, and tell no one. Burn this when you have read it. H.B.

  1. A battered black bowler hat under a lamp
  2. Close on the hat's band: a greasy thumbprint on the ribbon
  3. Close on the hat's crown: a spatter of dark blood on the felt
  4. The initials H.B. written in ink on the hat's leather lining
  5. A cork board under a lamp. A letter signed H.B. is pinned at the centre, with a photograph of the hat, a portrait of a commissionaire, a blue stone in an open hand, a press cutting and a lifted thumbprint around it, all tied together with red string.

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Interview transcript

John HornerAI character

You: Is this your hand, John?

John Horner: Never seen it in my life, sir.

John Horner: …He swore to me he'd burnt it.

Mr Josiah Pounce

Solicitor, of Bedford Row

Bring proof, Inspector. I'll meet you in court.
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Pick a case

One mystery open now, and 8 more on the way: classics retold, and new ones you won’t have read.

  1. A battered felt hat
    Start here

    Difficulty: 2 of 5, Gentle.

    A Goose for Christmas

    adapted by Enigmeeafter Arthur Conan Doyle

    London, 1889 · 30–45 min · 3 suspects

    Someone stole the Countess's blue carbuncle. On Christmas morning it fell out of a goose.

    • Interrogation
    • Legwork
    Play now : A Goose for Christmas
  2. A huge paw print in the mud of a moor at night, a cane and a glove beside it
    Coming soon

    Difficulty: 5 of 5, Diabolical.

    The Hound of the Baskervilles

    adapted by Rowan Fairleyafter Arthur Conan Doyle

    Dartmoor, 1889 · 60–90 min · 5 suspects

    Sir Charles died at the gate to the moor, his face twisted with terror. Beside him, the footprints of a gigantic hound.

    • Forensics
    • Deduction
    Coming soon: The Hound of the Baskervilles
  3. A mail carriage at night, sacks slit open on the floor under a swinging lamp
    Coming soon

    Difficulty: 3 of 5, Fair.

    The Night Mail

    by Theo Okafor

    The London train, 1936 · 45–60 min · 4 suspects

    The sorting clerk was found at Crewe with the registered sacks slit open. Four men worked that carriage. None of them saw a thing.

    • Interrogation
    Coming soon: The Night Mail
  4. Little chalk stick figures, dancing, along the edge of a stone sundial
    Coming soon

    Difficulty: 4 of 5, Tricky.

    The Dancing Men

    adapted by Priya Nairafter Arthur Conan Doyle

    Norfolk, 1898 · 45–60 min · 3 suspects

    Someone keeps chalking little dancing figures on the sundial. Each time they appear, Mrs Cubitt goes white.

    • Ciphers
    • Deduction
    Coming soon: The Dancing Men
  5. An empty ballroom after the dance: an open piano, and sheet music and a glove on the floor
    Coming soon

    Difficulty: 2 of 5, Gentle.

    Death at the Winter Garden

    by Margot Lindqvist

    Brighton, 1924 · 30–45 min · 6 suspects

    The band stopped mid-waltz. By the time the lights came up, the singer was dead and her pearls were in the punch bowl.

    • Interrogation
    • Forensics
    Coming soon: Death at the Winter Garden
  6. A bedroom at night by candlelight: a bell-pull, a small grille high on the wall, an iron safe
    Coming soon

    Difficulty: 5 of 5, Diabolical.

    The Speckled Band

    adapted by Tom Hadleyafter Arthur Conan Doyle

    Surrey, 1883 · 45–60 min · 3 suspects

    Her sister died whispering of a speckled band. Now Helen hears the same low whistle in the night.

    • Forensics
    • Deduction
    Coming soon: The Speckled Band
  7. A lighthouse lamp room in the rain, a coat on a hook and the log open on the table
    Coming soon

    Difficulty: 3 of 5, Fair.

    The Keeper's Log

    by Hollis Reed

    Cornwall, 1911 · 30–45 min · 3 suspects

    The light went out at midnight. At dawn the keeper was gone, and one page had been torn from his log.

    • Deduction
    • Legwork
    Coming soon: The Keeper's Log
  8. An office desk with an open encyclopaedia, a stack of copied pages, a pen and ink
    Coming soon

    Difficulty: 1 of 5, Elementary.

    The Red-Headed League

    adapted by Enigmeeafter Arthur Conan Doyle

    London, 1890 · 30–45 min · 4 suspects

    A pawnbroker is paid four pounds a week to copy out the encyclopaedia. Then, one morning, the League is gone.

    • Legwork
    • Deduction
    Coming soon: The Red-Headed League
  9. A séance parlour by candlelight: a lace-covered table, chairs pushed back, an open cabinet
    Coming soon

    Difficulty: 4 of 5, Tricky.

    The Empty Cabinet

    by Clara Benn

    Edinburgh, 1902 · 45–60 min · 7 suspects

    Seven sitters held hands round the table. When the candles were lit again, the medium had gone from a locked room.

    • Interrogation
    • Deduction
    Coming soon: The Empty Cabinet

Most cases play free, with no sign-up. A free account opens the members’ cases, lets you hear the suspects’ voices, and keeps your place in every case.

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