The Clues

The killer appears in a chapter with a place in its title.

The flag names a category of what the chapter title contains or represents — e.g. a "place" can be a town, a building, or a natural feature named in the title. Chapter titles are listed in the book's table of contents. Only the chapter TITLE counts, never its body text.

The killer is within 15 pages of a Fields of Study.

Page distance is measured by printed page number, not reading order. Exact spelling required for set members — see the reference list appendix.

The killer is within 15 pages of a Library Relics.

Page distance is measured by printed page number, not reading order. Exact spelling required for set members — see the reference list appendix.

The killer's chapter contains every member of the Gothic Features set.

All members must appear somewhere in the same chapter as the killer, on any page, in any order. Exact spelling required — see the reference list appendix.

The killer's chapter contains every member of the Secret Rites set.

All members must appear somewhere in the same chapter as the killer, on any page, in any order. Exact spelling required — see the reference list appendix.

The page facing the killer's page contains a Gothic Features.

Facing page = the book laid flat, i.e. the page sharing the same physical spread (2-3, 4-5, ...). Page 1 faces nothing and this clue is never used there. The last page also faces nothing when it is even-numbered — like page 1, it cannot satisfy this clue. A page at the very edge of a Part faces the Part divider, not a numbered page — like page 1, it cannot satisfy this clue either. Exact spelling required for set members.

The killer is on a page with fewer than 2 names starting with V.

A single numbered page. Count every name on that page whose first letter matches, duplicates included. The book title header and chapter-title names never count.

The killer shares at least one letter with the first name on the page.

Compare against the first printed name on the killer's page only, in reading order. Letters anywhere in either name count, not just initials.

The killer appears on a page between Pythia and Lynette.

Anchor pages themselves do not count as 'between' — the killer's page must be strictly between the two anchor pages by page number. Exact spelling required for anchor names.

The killer is on a page with fewer than 2 names starting with O.

A single numbered page. Count every name on that page whose first letter matches, duplicates included. The book title header and chapter-title names never count.

The killer is on a page with fewer than 2 names starting with G.

A single numbered page. Count every name on that page whose first letter matches, duplicates included. The book title header and chapter-title names never count.

The killer is on a page with fewer than 2 names starting with F.

A single numbered page. Count every name on that page whose first letter matches, duplicates included. The book title header and chapter-title names never count.

The killer is on a page with fewer than 2 names starting with E.

A single numbered page. Count every name on that page whose first letter matches, duplicates included. The book title header and chapter-title names never count.

The killer's name does not start with U.

Only the first letter of the name counts. Exact spelling required — no nicknames, diacritics are distinct.

The killer's name does not start with Z.

Only the first letter of the name counts. Exact spelling required — no nicknames, diacritics are distinct.

The killer's name does not start with N.

Only the first letter of the name counts. Exact spelling required — no nicknames, diacritics are distinct.

The killer's name does not start with A.

Only the first letter of the name counts. Exact spelling required — no nicknames, diacritics are distinct.

The killer's name does not start with R.

Only the first letter of the name counts. Exact spelling required — no nicknames, diacritics are distinct.

The killer's name contains at least 2 vowels.

Only A, E, I, O, U count as vowels — Y is never a vowel. Accented vowels (é, à, ...) do NOT count — only the unaccented letters A/E/I/O/U count. Duplicate vowels are all counted (e.g. 'Aaron' has 3).

The killer's name is not exactly 6 letters.

Only the letters of the name count: spaces, apostrophes and hyphens are ignored. Exact spelling required — no nicknames, and diacritics are distinct (Zack ≠ Zackary, Khloe ≠ Khloé).

The killer's name contains the letter I.

The letter may appear anywhere in the name, including more than once. Exact spelling required — no nicknames.