Two-Minute Mysteries

Two-Minute Mysteries #1

by Donald J. Sobol

Whether testing their own sleuthing abilities by working against the clock or enjoying the intrigue of unraveling the case, readers get lots of spine-tingling mystery in these thrilling puzzlers.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Short Stories, Young Adult, Childrens, Middle Grade, Mystery Thriller

160 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1967

About the author

Donald J. Sobol was an award-winning writer best known for his children's books, especially the Encyclopedia Brown mystery series. Mr. Sobol passed away in July of 2012.

Reviews

[Sheri · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun read for me as an adult, but I don’t think kids will really enjoy this. Most of the cases are too difficult and require knowledge beyond a child’s years – knowledge of wine, bullet trajectory, trains, army drill team marches, and other not so common knowledge, even for adults.

These mini mysteries would be fun read-alouds on a multi-generational road trip as the older generations will offer a different perspective and just might have the knowledge to solve these cases.

[Glen · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of short mysteries with the solution to be figured out by the reader. The author is Donald J. Sobol, and as a result, these are all basically Encyclopedia Brown stories without Bugs Meaney. Not bad, but a little too simple for those who like to solve mysteries.

[alittlelifeofmel · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a sentimental read for me more than anything. I loved these as kids but now I find the conclusions quite ridiculous. They expect children to know how wine should be served and specific scientific and mathematical things that even I don't know. So the sentimentality is there for sure but I didn't enjoy this.

[Linda Cordovite · Rating 4 out of 5]

Me encantó.
De todos nada más adiviné como 5 jajaja :(
Pero está muy bueno. Soy fan de los thrillers y de todo ese rollo.

[Stef · Rating 2 out of 5]

The author truly does make plenty of assumptions of the reader's knowledge. To solve these mysteries, you are expected to know things such as how much a middleweight boxer weighs and the names of cities in Texas. And these puzzles are geared toward children?

Not to mention, Dr. Haledijan can be rather annoying in his constantly correct deductions.

[Giulia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this as a young detective. Nostalgia made me find this book and reread:)

[Keniesha Merritt · Rating 2 out of 5]

These were kind of fun to do with my boyfriend, but some of the author's facts were incorrect or just plain stupid.

[Michele · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought the three books in one. I was at a workshop and the presenter began the workshop by starting to read one of the mysteries. Before she was finished, everyone (all adults) were listening to her finish the story and asking her to read it again so we could solve it. She smiled and said, "I have just shown you the easiest way to get your students' attention." She was right! I have used this book over and over and shown others the "magic" of it. When I was at a private high school, students would love to hear one each day and compete for the sticker that the first one to guess the solution got. Some of the terms are out-dated, but that is a great way to bring vocabulary and history into some of the stories. Give it a try!
I'm setting reading it as today because I use it so much.

[Christopher · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of them are products of their time and are impossible to know if you're younger than say 40. Some of them are impossible to know unless you just happen to know the particular esoteric twist - for example, what a Pullman car is and how it's loaded. Some of them are just retreads of Encyclopedia Brown stories but with much fewer words and those aren't that interesting. And some of them are so easy you don't even finish reading them - and they ARE two minute-mysteries, even!

That said, there's a few of them where you actually feel smart for getting the clue. The book's a lot of fun to read with my son because we see who can figure out the answer first. Though mostly I figure it out and give him clues.

[Kendalyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really quick read, pretty fun. A little violent at times. Really creative. I had a hard time solving these mysteries I probably only got one or two. Age rating: 11-12+(some murders are descriptive)

[Doug Braam · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a total nostalgia kick - I remember loving this book as a kid and my wife gave it to me recently after finding a copy in a pile of old books. It's pretty uneven - some of the mysteries as good while others are completely unsolvable without arcane knowledge. A bit of light fun, nothing more.

[Russell Hayes · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book had a pretty good selection of mysteries to work your brain. It would probably be better to slim it down a little though. Many of the mysteries were literally impossible without knowing some bit of obscure background information. If not for those, I would have rated this higher.

[Kara · Rating 1 out of 5]

Perfect bathroom reading. However this was clearly written in the 1940s -- 1970s, because the "common" knowledge that helps solve the mysteries is hopelessly out of date.

[Jackson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bomb-ass book.

[Ella あいみ M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of short mysteries that challenge the reader to solve them. The answers are also given.

I love mysteries, and this book was so much fun. It's a great way to kill time, and I loved watching for clues and solving the mysteries. Some of them were a little hard and required some specific knowledge of certain things, but overall, this book was filled with stories that are, with enough concentration and an apt eye for detail, solvable for the average reader.

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

I honestly don't know why this has the scholastic mark. It's too challenging for my 7 year old to grasp. Although we did enjoy some of the stories, I ended up just reading it alone. The level of the vocabulary is pretty high. The problems themselves require the reader to have a pretty high command of the English language since a lot of them use play on words or subtle differences in language. I might have given it 4 stars had I not purchased it with the intention of reading it with my daughter.

If you are looking for some mildly entertaining mind benders that are short and sweet, this might fit the bill. But I don't recommend it for younger kids.

[Chandni · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun way to pass time.
Some of the later mysteries had 50s/60s references, but I could follow the rest.
Still haven’t solved my friend’s mystery unfortunately (Do this to create me, do this to destroy me)

[Thobe · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love these. Read 'em if you wanna give your mind a test

[Jeremy Spevack · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good brain teasers!

[C. (Comment, never msg). · Rating 3 out of 5]

Donald J. Sobol is a used discovery. I do not know “Encyclopedia Brown”. Canadians needed no more adventures by boys. Kim Campbell was prime minister in 1993. Elizabeth May ran for office since 2006. We have an Aboriginal premier, had a gay mayor long ago. We mix originality up! True to form, my favourite songs are not hits and most of my literature favourites are not what those authors are known for, like Dorothy Gilman.

I have the whole sleuthing 1967 to 1975 trilogy. “Still More Two-Minute Mysteries” received a low two stars because many cases hinged on American and city specific items. They derived from farther back in history than these publication dates, which already predate my existence. Surely authors think outside their area codes and write for North American children at large and international children as a whole.

Universally known facts and history are dandy. I especially love story embedded clues, be they sounds or wordplay, that are easy to hone in on with a modicum of an attention span and smallest observational effort. I knew some answers and guessed in the right directions.

The début compilation from 1967, “Two-Minute Mysteries” was unexpectedly, easy to solve almost entirely. It felt gratifying to make the visual and logical connections. It is an encouraging lesson that listening opens doors to gathering most of the information we need.

Our generation did not need to be told to lift our heads, look around, and take in what we see, hear, sense around us. I hope our present generations understand this. Anyone deeming these cases difficult needs to slow down and read the very few sentences of details.

Nick The Nose is fun. Readers know he is dishonest and easily sift out why each time. Nick getting “the bum’s rush” is always funny.

[H · Rating 2 out of 5]

I dropped it early in because while, I enjoy short mysteries with solutions, I didn't think all these were truly logical, fair, or deep. Ex in the first case, a marine thief mentioned he had never "been in" or near a restaurant but that a police officer took him"back" to the restaurant, which was a contradiction hence why he was actually lying and thus guilty. Umm, no??? That's not how it effing works. He could have passed close to the restaurant given the chef with the knife chased him away, and then the police officer took him back to the spot, and by that point, he'd've known he was being brought "back" to the restaurant. Similarly with the second case - just because the car was on the hose/pump line doesnt mean the water can't run. There could be more than one "hose" or a different water source that was being used. Anyway it's just really weak "logic" and "deduction", and overall, these cases are a bit easy since they're for kids and I'm an adult, so it's not as cereberally stimulating. Still didn't hate it since I like mysteries but not particularly good. I like that they're short and easy to read at least with lots of cases. Lastly, I do wish the cases had something overarching to work toward and more interconnection rather than their one-off nature. I think that's why cases like ATTWN or MOTOE by Agatha Christie were more satisfying and exciting since they were longer term and gave me greater attachment.

[Matt Mazenauer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Incredibly formulaic 2 page mysteries. It's easy to spot the one "extraneous" detail included in the setup that must be the needed clue, but often the stories are old enough that they are now impossible to solve (the murderer's alibi is foiled by some 1960s fashion faux pas or outdated technology). A frustrating read.

[Rachel B · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good one to read just a few pages at a time when I wanted to challenge myself. Some of the cases were very easy and some were rather impossible, especially considering my edition was written in 1960 and some of the details that may have been common knowledge back then are not now.

[Ami · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of these were quite dated. Who has any clue how Pullman trains are set up any more? But others we were able to logic out. It was fun to be able to share this with my kids, even if we didn’t get all of them.

[Kerri · Rating 2 out of 5]

A range of puzzles to solve, some super easy and some only possible to solve if you happen to have some pretty random facts in your head (about Pullman cars, wine, boxing, etc.). I really enjoyed reading these when I was young though.

[Gabby · Rating 4 out of 5]

it was an amazing mind boggling experience

[Jerry (Rebel With a Massive Media Library) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining and challenging mysteries.

[Andy Hickman · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Two-Minute Mysteries” by Donald J. Sobol

Fun collection of short mystery stories requiring the reader to solve the case. The answers require knowledge of old-fashioned, out-of-date items, but still enjoyable. I used it as a focal point for my weekly study group.

Angry Chef
Hawkins, the marine, stared in amazement at Inspector Winters. "I never heard of a restaurant called Pasquale's Pizzeria," he objected. "I wasn't ever in it, I didn't rob it, and I certainly didn't shoot anybody." "A marine answering your description wounded the owner and cleaned out the cash register," said the inspector. "You didn't know?" "Am I supposed to?" protested Hawkins. "There must be several thousand marines in this town." "But only one was running along 42nd Street five minutes after the holdup," snapped the inspector. "Sure I ran," retorted Hawkins. "Look, I was standing idly in a doorway wondering what to do when this fat guy wearing a white apron and chefs hat comes charging at me. He's waving a butcher knife and he's screaming, 'He shot the boss!' So I ran." 2 "You were innocent, but you ran?" "He had that big knife." "Then what did you do?" "A cop saw us and grabbed me. It wasn't any use to argue. So I went back to the restaurant with the cop, and a couple of customers said I might be the marine who held up the place. They weren't sure."
That night Haledjian read the transcript of the questioning. "Hawkins is your man," he said. "No mistake about it!"
How did Haledjian know?

Answer - Hawkins asserted he'd never heard of the restaurant or been in it. If true, he could not have gone "back" to it, as he said. A fatal slip of the tongue! 3

Attempted Murder
"Jack Alden's account of the attempted strangling of Mrs. McHenry is pretty farfetched," Inspector Winters told Dr. Haledjian. "Yet he passed a lie detector test. "Alden drives a delivery truck for Best Cleaners," explained the inspector. "At five minutes before noon Tuesday he drove to the McHenry House and stopped the truck in the driveway. "He spent about two minutes filling out his delivery reports for the morning. Then he got out with a dress and two suits. "As he closed the cab door, he noticed his front wheels were parked on the garden hose which ran from an outlet by the garage around to the back of the house. Alden claims he got back into the truck and drove forward a few feet so that his engine was in the McHenry's empty garage. "Here he noticed the door between the kitchen 4 and the garage was open. He saw Mrs. McHenry lying on the floor by the stove. "He rushed to her, he says, and was trying to revive her when Mr. McHenry came through the open door of the garage.  
"McHenry had taken the day off to water his backyard garden. He had been hosing down his flowerbeds and hedges for half an hour when he noticed the truck in his garage. He walked over to investigate. "We can't get McHenry," concluded the inspector, "to state definitely whether he thinks Alden was trying to throttle his wife or revive her." "No wonder the lie detector test didn't trap Alden!" said Haledjian.
Why not? Because Alden told the truth. Haledjian deduced that McHenry, while throttling his wife, had been surprised by the arrival of the deliveryman and had hurried to the backyard and his alibi of hosing his garden. Had he been there all the time, he would have investigated why the water stopped flowing. The truck wheels were parked on the garden hose for "about two minutes," remember?
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[tony dillard jr · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dozens of minute mysteries by Donald J. Sobol; the creator of that pint-sized detective Encyclopedia Brown. Wannabe Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Haledjian (how do you pronounce that?) is on the case, solving murders, thefts, and more.

Sobol uses a number of the plots from his Encyclopedia Brown series. That kinda fells like a cheat. This book was originally written in 1967. So a number of solutions rely on a knowledge of fashion standards and gentlemanly ways that have fallen out of the norm for quite a long time. To have read this book in 2019 and not solved as many of these mysteries as I did isn't a slam at my knowledge or lack thereof.

Another aspect of Two-Minute Mysteries that seems outdated is the level of violence in some of these whodunits. There's quite a few victims that bought the farm due to gunshots, stabbings or assaults. There's also one or two puzzles which deal with heroin smuggling.

This book, as it's sister volumes and subsequent second, third and fourth printings have all been by Scholastic Press, a leading publisher of children's literature! I'm really surprised that these books haven't been meet with some sort of protest by parents, especially since I remember first reading these books at my elementary school library. I'm not saying that these books should be banned. I am just shocked that somebody hasn't tried to get these books removed from school shelves. (Don't you dare get any ideas, people!)

A nostalgic read but full of unfair solutions, many of which are outdated by about 25 years.

[Adrian (Changeling Reader) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5, I think. Not the first time I read this. Some fun little mysteries. Definitely provide a learning experience when the answers necessitate knowledge of things that aren't really common knowledge now. I will say there's some iffy things where the deductions or answers wouldn't actually be sufficient for conviction, some of the "mistakes" or "slip-ups" could be explained by other things, and a couple are poorly written/explained. (I also was unimpressed with the April Fool's one).

There's one in particular that I literally spent time trying to recreate the solution related to right-handedness and how one puts on or takes off pants, and the solution basically says the way I naturally put on pants would have me being the suspect as well. The solution explanation just also doesn't make sense for what the story says, and the story also contradicts itself in a way that would have the teller be a suspect if they were in another mystery. Idk, that particular one has been stuck in my brain for some reason.

Still, both as a child and now adult, I've enjoyed figuring lots of them out and learning about the things I had no knowledge on when reading the explanation, so 3.5 it is for now.