Armchair PuzzlesCalm, large-print word searches
The Overdue Book
The Overdue Book

A Friend's Hands

Print

Chapter 2 of 10

Laid flat on the workroom table, the dummy gives itself up slowly. The boards are bound in buckram dyed to age, the gilt on the spine is real gold leaf, and the text block is blank paper, sewn in proper gatherings, trimmed with a sharp plough. The weight is right, the smell nearly. It would have stood behind that glass for years. Ruth turns it under the lamp, uneasy. A forger for money buys cloth and hopes; this binder mitred the corners like a prayer and matched a spine from memory. She says what the room is thinking, and wishes she had not. Whoever made this loved books, had held the true one often, and owned a bindery knife, a sewing frame and patience. The town has perhaps three such pairs of hands. Two are in this building every day.

E
H
C
O
R
N
E
R
S
A
W
G
L
O
S
B
M
R
G
H
O
U
C
G
I
I
A
A
N
O
R
O
I
I
R
N
R
N
I
R
K
L
C
L
Y
D
F
A
R
T
R
P
A
T
I
E
N
C
E
H
O
B
U
C
K
R
A
M
H
R
O
E
L
U
N
Y
I
D
T
A
M
E
T
T
I
A
M
M
A
I
T
F
T
I
T
O
B
U
G
S

Use the arrow keys to move between letters. Press Enter or Space on the first letter of a word, then again on the last letter. Press Escape to cancel.

armchairpuzzles.com · free large-print word searches

About this case

A chapter of The Overdue Book, a mystery told in word searches. Each chapter leaves you one clue; the finale needs them all.

How a mystery chapter works

  1. 1
    Read the scene first.Every chapter opens with a scene from the case. The word list is drawn from it, and so is the clue.
  2. 2
    Find the words.Tap a word's first letter, then tap along to its last, or press and drag. Found words colour themselves in and cross off the list.
  3. 3
    One listed word is not in the grid.Find the other nine and the word left over is the chapter's clue. Note it down, or let the case page keep it for you.
  4. 4
    The finale needs every clue.The last puzzle's word list is the clues you collected, and once you find them all, the leftover letters spell out who did it, and why.

Prefer pen and paper?

Print The Overdue Book as one large-print booklet: every chapter and its puzzle, a clue ledger, and the ending sealed on the last page.

Print the case bookletPrinting tips →

All chapters of The Overdue Book

More to explore:All Mystery Cases word searchesPrintable Mystery Cases word searches

↑ Back to the puzzle