Customer Reviews

Batman: Murder at Wayne Manor: An Interactive Mystery (Interactive Mysteries)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This one of the more interesting ideas for a mystery book. Imagine, the reader can actually examine the same clues that the detective does. I love the idea! This is a fun story, that shows Batman's, and Bruce Wayne's, skills at unraveling the "Why" of a murder. I only give it four stars because the story is short. It was an easy read in about an hour. Other than that slight flaw, I would recomend this for anyone looking to try their skills against the Dark Knight Detective.

This interactive mystery was better than I expected. The basic premise is that while some landscapers are doing some work on the grounds of Bruce Wayne's home, they stumble upon a skeleton. They discover that the body was a victim of murder and that it took place roughly 30 years ago. What's worse is that Bruce's parents are now the prime suspects and Bruce must solve the mystery to clear his parents' names as well as prove to himself that his war on crime to avenge his parents' murders isn't for nothing.

I was drawn in by the story and mystery that is up to you to solve. I thought this book was well written and the physical clues were a nice added touch. Basically anything that Batman gets his hands on you are able to hold and study, whether its a coaster with an address written on it, a party invitation, a journal entry, etc. There's a newspaper you can unfold that in addition to having a related story, there are many other subtle references to future Batman storylines or villains including No Man's Land, Catwoman, etc.

This story takes place roughly a year into Batman's career and does a good job of adding to the Bat mythology and not contradicting any of the pre-existing continuity but is also careful not to play with it too much with any major disruptions in Batman's world. I liked their choice of villain who I won't ruin for you, but he was a great choice to tie into Bruce's childhood.

The ending isn't all that difficult to predict, and a lot of other reviewers have noted that this book is more for kids, however some of the subject matter might not be suitable such as infidelity.

A good read, some nice artwork throughout and the chance to step into Batman's shoes and take part in the detective work should make this a nice gift for any Bat fan.

This book is well written, includes several "clues" as artefacts. It describes a murder mystery featuring Batman/Bruce Wayne as the detective. It reminds me of the great Dennis Wheatley Murder Mystery "dossiers" of the late 1930s (republished in the late 1970s, long out of print) in that the story and the clues are there to lead the reader to draw conclusions as to whodunnit. The one complaint I do have is that it is overpriced. I paid full price for my copy from Barnes & Noble.

Although the entire mystery is somewhat simple to solve, the author uses the "same clues" (tucked creatively away until needed)The Dark Night Detective finds during his investigation. It is a quick read, but I found it entertaining as well. I wouldn't mind seeing more Batman stories told along these lines, although a little more of a challenging mystery would be welcome. I probably will look into the author's other offering of this type, as I am also a fan of Sherlock Holmes as well.

I have always had a fondness for pop-up books and books with pockets and pullouts.

Couple this with my absolute love of Batman and this book is a dream come true.

It was interesting how the tale gave more of a detective spin by showing the way Bruce Wayne reacts to peril while maintaining his secret identity.

A must for the true fan.

Younger readers will love this interactive mystery but most adults will not be challenged by it.

in a sentence or so: a twenty year old skeleton surfaces at Wayne Manor wearing only a costume mask and bearing an invitation to a party hosted by Dr. and Mrs. Thomas Wayne.

Bruce Wayne took up the mantle of Batman and started his protection of the people of Gotham after his parents were murdered when he was a young boy. Bruce always believed his parents were genuine, helpful philanthropists who poured their hearts into Gotham and were committed to making it a better place for everyone. he has always believed the very best of his parents...before he found the body on his lawn. the body of a girl who people suspected Thomas Wayne had an affair with while she worked at Wayne Enterprises. is his father the man Bruce always thought he was? or was he hiding something dangerous and disappointing from those he loved?

okay, by far the coolest thing about this book are the clues. oh that's right. there are CLUES in the book. pieces of the investigation that Batman finds while trying to find out who the woman who surfaced on Wayne Manor is and why she's ended up on the lawn. a notecard found on the body gets Batman started on his investigation.
throughout the investigation, Batman discovers more and more hidden secrets about his family, and so do you.

throughout it all, you're reading from Bruce's point of view (first person) and nails his voice perfectly. the intelligence, dedication, and the focus of Batman are there, but there's also the personal frustrations of a son who didn't know his parents as well as he thought he did. we see a more introspective side of Bruce, and i loved it.

the clues, the investigation, and the full color pages keep this story moving and keep you wanting to solve the mystery and propel you forward into the wee hours of the night to find out who was buried on Wayne Manor, and why.

fave quote: "People claim to read and enjoy mysteries for the whodunnit factor - figuring out the identity of the killer behind the mask. But to me, infinitely more interesting is the why: the chain of events, the personal apocalypses, the miniature tragedies that lie at the root of all crimes." (50)

fix er up: the re-readability of this one isn't super high for me, but it's definitely one i can lend out to peeps.

title: Batman: Murder at Wayne Manor
author: Duane Swierczynski
illustrator: David Lapham
publishing info: Quirk Publishing, 2008

All in all, others have done a great job of summing up what makes this little page-turner fun. In the same way that Mr. Swierczynski gave the reader a chance to try their hand at playing Sherlock Holmes' game in The Crimes of Dr. Watson, here we get the chance to follow along as Batman, the Detective of Detective Comics and arguably the most intelligent man in the DC Universe, digs into his own family's past in order to solve a decades-old murder case. It's particularly interesting (and fun for Bat-fans) that about half the investigation is done via Bruce Wayne talking to his Gotham society friends. The clues are good, and the tactile side of, say, turning over a bar coaster to see what's written on its back, is just as pleasing here as the envelopes and photographs found in the little pockets and compartments of the author's previous outing. These books are part puzzle, part scavenger hunt, and great fun for a lazy weekend afternoon.

But just as one thing about the Holmes book didn't sit right with the mystery fan in me*, there is an important section here that falls flat. The problem is a structural one; maybe the author felt it was a bit of sleight-of-hand that would be satisfying. Once the "trick" is revealed, it feels very much like a cheat, and something that, if played straight, would pretty much expose the solution before the end of the story. I was disappointed, and it diminished the quality of the mystery side of things, for me.

This may constitute a SPOILER so by all means STOP READING NOW if you intend to work your way through the story and want to attack it fresh.

Without being too specific, there is an interview at a critical point of the investigation which appears to point solidly in a specific direction. The impact of this is totally undermined later, when it is revealed that there was a previous conversation, which happened off the page, that utterly changes the meaning of what the reader witnesses. And this isn't anything like a torn-out journal page, or a missing police report; the fake-out is in the narrative itself, as it's being presented to the reader. It's not anything we could possibly be expected to know, or look for, because it's not part of the story at all until it's revealed later.

I'd consider it a cardinal rule of mystery writing that the detective narrator and the reader should, at all times, have access to the same information. The exception might be those times it serves the story or increases the sense of tension if the reader is aware of some impending threat or parallel action taking place while the detective is kept in the dark. For the detective to know something that matters, and which is kept from the reader for no reason except to add confusion and obscurity, I'm afraid I can't think of that as anything but simply poor mystery-writing.

The fact that I was so disappointed about this is testament to how much I'd been enjoying the interactive story up until then. Swierczynski has a good handle on both the Batman and the Bruce Wayne sides of things, and there are lots of small character touches and details that reveal he's a knowledgeable fan. Unfortunately, in failing to construct the mystery in a satisfying way, and in resorting to "aha, wait, what you didn't know was THIS!" as a tactic, he stumbles. This particular story is one that not even the World's Greatest Detective could have solved, given the evidence as it was presented**.


* Without spoiling too much, I'll just say that anagrams can be tricky, and Mr. Swierczynski seemed to me to be reaching with this one.

** Except of course that it's a fundamental law that Batman Always Wins. Better to say that the rest of us, having been essentially misled rather than given a set of clues to interpret, have a valid objection to make.

I received the item just in time for Christmas like I was hoping even though the expected arrival date was several days after Christmas. The item was in perfect condition just like it was described. The person loved the book and I would definately do business with them again.

Great for the 10 - 13 age group.
Nothing like other books by the author