A Death at Hartsmere

One shot fired. One gun cleaned. Three sets of prints. No confession.

Era

North Yorkshire, October 1908

Difficulty

Hard

Playtime

Rating

New

The boathouse at Hartsmere Tarn, October 1908: Sir Aubrey Calverley lies dead. His Purdey has been discharged and meticulously cleaned. Three boot-prints lead from the water to the house. The constabulary must read the evidence before it fades.

Content advisory

Recommended 16+

Contains: depiction of homicide and crime-scene description · graphic violence and forensic detail.

Fictional case file · AI-generated and editorially reviewed

What is in the envelope

20–30 evidence documents

Police reports, witness statements, autopsy notes.

Period correspondence

Letters, telegrams, handwritten notes.

Pen-and-ink illustrations

Mugshots, crime scenes, evidence shots — period-appropriate.

5+ suspects

Each with motives, alibis, and red herrings.

A definitive solution

Sealed at the back — read only when you are ready.

What you will be solving

A body. A cleaned shotgun. Three distinct boot-prints crossing wet beech leaves in the pre-dawn dark. These are the facts at the heart of Sir Aubrey Calverley's death at Hartsmere Tarn in October 1908. The baronet's matched Purdey has been fired once and then scoured of evidence with deliberate care. The footman who laid the breakfast fires saw no one rise. The household offers no motive, no quarrel, no confession. Eight guests remain in the hall. Twenty-two staff move through corridors and kitchens. The constabulary must work backward from the physical record — the footprints, the gun, the scene — to find the truth. Every detail matters. Every omission is a clue.