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Choose Your Own Adventure #9

Who Killed Harlowe Thrombey?

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Someone murdered Harlowe Thrombey. Only you can find out who did it.

Millionaire Harlow Thrombey hired you to find out who was out to get him. But before you even got started, someone laced his bedtime brandy with arsenic. Now you have a murder case on your hands!The suspects include his wife jane, his nephew Chartwell, and his niece Angela - all heirs to his enormous fortune.

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122 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 1981

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About the author

Edward Packard

169 books125 followers
Edward Packard attended and graduated from both Princeton University and Columbia Law School. He was one of the first authors to explore the idea of gamebooks, in which the reader is inserted as the main character and makes choices about the direction the story will go at designated places in the text.

The first such book that Edward Packard wrote in the Choose Your Own Adventure series was titled "Sugarcane Island", but it was not actually published as the first entry in the Choose Your Own Adventure Series. In 1979, the first book to be released in the series was "The Cave of Time", a fantasy time-travel story that remained in print for many years. Eventually, one hundred eighty-four Choose Your Own Adventure books would be published before production on new entries to the series ceased in 1998. Edward Packard was the author of many of these books, though a substantial number of other authors were included as well.

In 2005, Choose Your Own Adventure books once again began to be published, but none of Edward Packard's titles have yet been included among the newly-released books.

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5 stars
193 (27%)
4 stars
227 (32%)
3 stars
214 (30%)
2 stars
61 (8%)
1 star
14 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 54 reviews
Profile Image for Jeffrey Caston.
Author 11 books196 followers
December 24, 2022
One of the better CYOAs I've managed to rescue from a lonely bookstore shelf. it had lots and lots of choices, and the structure was complex, more complex compared to most, which fit the detective theme. Some of them though did not quite mesh with the prior page. But all in all so glad I have this one again.
Profile Image for Dane Barrett.
Author 8 books11 followers
January 13, 2019
Don't expect a murder mystery from this book. The first time I played it my choices skipped quite a bit of the investigation stuff and then suddenly my character successfully identified the killer to everyone and solved the case, without me actually having a clue how or why anything had actually happened.

The book basically spoon-feeds the identity of the killer to you and instead you're just expected to find various endings (the usual way you do in a Choose Your Own Adventure book) without worrying about actually deducing anything to do with the case. The writing is good as always, but I'll admit to being disappointed that this one doesn't really allow you to solve a crime. At the very least I would've liked to have made the final accusation myself, rather than having the book do it for you.

At least they didn't shoe-horn an encounter with extra terrestrials in this one which tends to be a staple of these books, and I do have to admit I did enjoy the silliness of the completely incompetent detective.
201 reviews
January 22, 2022
I bought this book from the Salvation Army thrift store on whim, and I’m so glad I did! I sort of remember reading a choose-your-own-path book as a child, but I don’t think I’ve ever read a mystery in that format. For sure, the whodunnit aspect made the adventure even better!

In searching for Harlowe Thrombey’s murderer, I got killed twice, upstaged by an oaf of a detective a couple times, and even found the culprit once myself — all in just under an hour. These books really are genius the way readers can reach the same ending despite taking many different turns along the way. I’m already looking for more of these 1980s treasures!
Profile Image for Monica.
821 reviews
December 10, 2015
Una de las escrituras más desarrolladas. lógicas y serias de Packard, con mucho contenido. Eres un detective y debes guiarte por tus instintos, para resolver el caso de la muerte de Thrombey, lo que da pie a situaciones lógicas ( bueno, excepto que un joven sea detective, xdd... amén del genial film ' El secreto de la pirámide' y los primeros pinitos de un Holmes mozuelo) y conversaciones e investigación bien llevadas. Una rara ave avis en el historial de éste autor. Una lástima que muchas de las personas en aquel momento no le dieran una oportunidad.
Profile Image for Adam Cleaver.
288 reviews2 followers
June 8, 2018
Remember this belonged to my Brother and was another fun to read Choose Your Own Adventure title. Love the setting and the chance to find out 'Who done it'?
Profile Image for Josiah.
3,485 reviews157 followers
January 27, 2025
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.
Profile Image for Charles.
Author 76 books133 followers
June 22, 2020
You gotta work to disappoint me on a CYOA book but this one is a pretty big let down. The organization is a huge mess, the book can basically be read front to back, and there are only a few endings. When you make Give Yourself Goosebumps look real good by comparison, you've slipped a bit. Sorry.
Profile Image for Juan Saucedo.
1 review
September 28, 2016
Will you solve the crime?

Before i tell you about the book you probably already know that most books you just read and they already set up the rising action, climax, and falling action and if you read it again there is no difference in the book. But this book they don't decide your fate you get to decide the path that you want to take. I think as this book special because you become the character or detective in the book or in shorter reasons it's a... rpg book. Here is an example of what it would look like in the book, on page 9 a guy asks you if you like to come to visit his house, and on the bottom of the page there are two answers do you go with him or not, so if you choose not to go or to go you would look at the bottom of the page and look for your answer and right next to the answer is a page number. You go to the page number and see what happens remember there are 14 ways to finish this book. Now you probably think there is no thinking or solving in this book but there is, you can get killed by the murderer, captured, other people can solve the case, and you can solve the case. So I explained what makes this book special and how it works but i haven't told you about the case so let's get started. “You start as a young detective who gets invited to a billionaire house and this guy is called Harlowe Thrombey he suspects or feels like someone is trying to kill him later that night he dies” and this is where you get to choose your path remember the “sky's the limit”.
Profile Image for Josiah.
3,485 reviews157 followers
January 26, 2025
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.
Profile Image for Swankivy.
1,193 reviews150 followers
June 12, 2013
Another mystery-genre Choose Your Own Adventure, and it suffered from the aspects of mystery that I tend to dislike even in "normal" mysteries. I actually think this could have been much better if the mystery of who killed the title character was different depending on what path you took (though that would have caused the different endings to have to be more separate and more sophisticated). As it was, if you get to an ending that reveals the mystery, there's not much sense in traveling the other routes (as I'm sure all of us who read these books loved to do, sticking fingers in the pages with choices you wanted to re-do). If you're just following the same clues in a different order, there's no surprise. Whenever I read mysteries as a kid, I usually "missed" clues because I didn't like reading books in an analytical way to "solve" them like a puzzle, so actually when some of the stuff leading to the solution didn't make sense to me, I figured I'd just missed stuff again. It wasn't until I tried a few different endings that I realized OH, actually this is the first time this bit was mentioned, and it wasn't in the first ending! So I think what happened in editing is that too many people read it too many times and couldn't keep the storylines straight well enough to make sure they all made sense.
Profile Image for Phil.
119 reviews1 follower
September 27, 2020
I think this was the first Choose Your Own Adventure book I ever read. Reading it after all these years is pure nostalgic joy. Definitely geared towards younger readers, but always a pleasure to pick up and read a quick story or three.
Profile Image for Alex.
108 reviews9 followers
July 5, 2016
Oh si, The Beatles siempre salvan el día. Es lo único que diré.
Profile Image for Rachel Piper.
931 reviews41 followers
Read
August 4, 2019
Fun concept, but doesn’t work as well as some others because when interrogating suspects you sometimes refer to past actions you didn’t witness/investigate.
Profile Image for Cindi.
1,463 reviews4 followers
December 9, 2020
This is the book mentioned in the movie "Knives Out". i read it as a kid, but thought I'd re-read it now, and it was a lot of fun.
Profile Image for Remo.
2,553 reviews181 followers
July 5, 2020
La serie de Elige tu propia aventura es, literalmente, un clásico de nuestra infancia. He releído algunos, años después, y me parecen un poco cortos de miras, limitados en las posibilidades, pero cuando tenía 10 años cada uno de ellos era una maravilla lista para ser explorada hasta que hubiera dado todo lo que tenía dentro.
Al final siempre sabías que ibas a recorrer todos y cada uno de los caminos posibles. La emoción estaba, por tanto, en ganar y pasarte la historia al primer intento. Si no podías, pues nada, seguro que en el intento 18 acababas encontrando el camino. A veces los autores iban "a pillar", poniéndote los resultados buenos detrás de decisiones que eran claramente anómalas.
Recuerdo haber aprendido tanto palabras como hechos y datos en estos libros. No nadar contra la corriente cuando quieres llegar a tierra, dónde colocarse cuando un avión va a despegar, un montón de cosas interesantes y un montón de historias vividas, decenas por cada libro, que convirtieron a las serie en una colección fractal, donde cada vez podías elegir un libro nuevo entre los que ya tenías.
Llegué hasta el tomo 54 y dejé de tener interés por la serie, pero la serie siguió hasta superar los 100 títulos. Tal vez mis hijos quieran seguir el camino que yo empecé. Si quieres que lo sigan, pasa a la página 7.
Profile Image for SadieReadsAgain.
479 reviews39 followers
September 7, 2019
I read this for the Popsugar challenge, as I struggled to track down any CYOA books in my library and this was lying about in my parents' house. My childhood memories of CYOA was a Disney Snow White one which I read to death, but this is obviously aimed at an older audience than my beloved picture book. Not that this is particularly gory or pacey, as the name might suggest. As murders go, it was pretty tame. But it was cool to flick about the pages and chose my own options. I did get frustrated though, as often the strands of the book didn't weave together very well as obviously some pages were trying to straddle across more than one story option at a time. So sometimes you'd have a character talking to you quite familiarly, even though in your particular path through the book you hadn't actually met them before... Still, it was a fun way to spend an hour, and it brought back a lot of memories. I wish these were still as popular, as I'd love to share them with my kids.
Profile Image for Bridgette.
491 reviews
March 18, 2019
**read for #buzzwordathon round 3
AND
**read for the Popsugar Reading Challenge 2019 (#42)- A choose your own adventure book

What a fun trip down Nostalgia Lane!

I have a few Choose Your Own adventure books on my shelves. Yes I was a child of the 70s/80s. This one fit perfectly into the #buzzwordathon round 3 and was a quick fun read. Proud of myself for solving the mystery and not getting shot on my first trip through (as anyone who knows me knows.. i'm the queen of bad choices... haha)

Profile Image for Judy Tarver .
856 reviews1 follower
October 18, 2023
These books were fun to read as a kid but I didn’t like this one as much as some of the other ones. As with any series, some plots are better than others but I definitely found it very intriguing to be able to choose how the story went and would re-read these books in this series to see all the different outcomes which led to many hours of entertainment. This book was interesting. It just wasn’t one of my favorites of the series.
Profile Image for Nichole.
42 reviews4 followers
January 1, 2020
Decided to pick this up after watching Knives Out, as the movie is loosely inspired by this book.

Simple and short. I loved the Choose Your Own Adventure books growing up. It was nice to revisit one of them.

A few friends and I are all going to track and compare our adventures. Should be entertaining.
Profile Image for Sam Cole.
31 reviews
May 18, 2025
This was a perfect read for someone like me who’s always loved mysteries and dreamed of being a detective. It was my first introduction to the Choose Your Own Adventure format, and I was immediately hooked. It’s clever, suspenseful, and a ton of fun—and it left me wanting to read more books just like it.
Profile Image for Caponato.
174 reviews11 followers
January 29, 2019
Un libro de elige tu propia aventura que no te deja elegir a dónde no ir. Este tipo de libros tuvieron mucho gancho en los 80, pero eran un absurdo. No sé si ahora se siguen editando este tipo de cosas.
Profile Image for Lisa.
Author 8 books18 followers
October 26, 2020
Reliving my youth through this book. I used to LOVE reading the Choose Your Own Adventure books! So, I recently came across two of them and purchased them for reading. Just as interesting as I remember!
Profile Image for Riccardo Bartoletti.
66 reviews
December 4, 2021
SCEGLI LA TUA AVVENTURA raccoglie alcune semplici avventure a bivi, giocabili anche da neofiti e senza dadi o schede personaggio.

Questo giallo scorre piacevolmente, per una serata in compagnia di un mistero da risolvere come nei più classici gialli della Christie
Profile Image for Amy (Gabs).
258 reviews2 followers
July 8, 2023
This CYOA will always have a special place in my heart. I have remembered it since childhood because adults are cruel. However, the storyline is still fun for a quick read now as it was then. This book will have a place on my permanent shelf.
Profile Image for Nate.
817 reviews11 followers
March 24, 2020
Just awful. Page 101 has 12 choices! Ugh.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 54 reviews

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