Right in the middle of Edward Packard's best streak as a Choose Your Own Adventure author, he gave us Who Killed Harlowe Thrombey?, a murder mystery...for kids. Last year you solved a robbery at your aunt Marinda's house. Since then, you've built a private detective business, assisted occasionally by Jenny Mudge, the eccentric girl down the street. Your first major case comes via Harlowe Thrombey, president of Thrombey Plastics Company. A wealthy man, Thrombey suspects his wife Jane plans to murder him. He asks you to visit his mansion and assess the risk yourself, but you find Jane to be perfectly pleasant. Should you stick close to Thrombey in case his fears are justified, or go home until he presents real evidence?
Angela, Thrombey's niece, is expected to marry Dr. Robert Lipscomb. Thrombey's nephew, Chartwell, seems decent enough. Jenkins the gardener is in the hospital on the night you come to the Thrombey house, and Helga the maid serves dinner. The evening goes fine...until you leave Thrombey alone with his snifter of brandy. He staggers out clutching his throat, dying of arsenic poisoning. Your initial round of suspect interviews is interrupted by Inspector Prufrock, a police detective with a history of incompetence. He interrogates everyone at the party, but you'll have better luck launching your own investigation. Angela and Jane were in the music room at the time the arsenic was poured into the brandy bottle, but each claims the other left for ten minutes. One has to be lying. Robert Lipscomb was shooting pool in the game room, so he seemingly couldn't be guilty. You are as baffled as Prufrock, but go over the alibis closely and you'll find a crack that widens as you pick at it. The murderer can be outed, but choose wisely where and when you level your accusation, or you'll wind up dead as Thrombey.
As the mystery thickens you might wish to bring Jenny Mudge in on the case. She can be irritating but has a knack for solving crimes, and she's friends with the maid, Helga. Jenny has her own theories as to whose hands are stained with Thrombey's blood, and you'd do well to hear her out. You might pick up a secondary lead by researching John J. Keane, a convict known as Henry Hawk or the Falcon. His ancillary involvement in Thrombey’s death appears likely. The Falcon has spent time in the klink and would kill to stay free, so try not to corner him in isolated places. If you're sensible, you can elicit enough information from him to prove who laced Thrombey's drink with arsenic. Are you about to close your biggest case?
Who Killed Harlowe Thrombey? may be the most evocative gamebook I read in grade school, but it doesn't quite hold up. The way the story is layered—everything running together in the middle instead of dividing into distinct paths—it's easy for even the author to get confused. In some sections of reused text, you suddenly know things you have no business knowing, because it's possible to arrive at that spot through a different route. The book has minimal replay value because every storyline funnels into one main narrative. I rate Who Killed Harlowe Thrombey? two and a half stars; the atmosphere of paranoia at the beginning is wonderful, and Paul Granger's illustrations are magnifique, but the book doesn't rise to its destiny as one of the great Choose Your Own Adventures.