The Adventure of the First Problem

A Salem's Cipher Mystery #0.5

by Jess Lourey

Before Salem's Cipher, there was the first problem.

In this short story, future world-famous cryptanalyst Salem Wiley must crack a 150-year-old code to rescue a dying child trapped inside a tomb. She also meets her Moriarty.

Genres: Mystery

39 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 8, 2016

About the author

While I write across genres, there's one universal connecting all my books: secrets. I grew up in a house choking with them, and I remain fascinated by the thoughts and actions we hide from the world.

My beginnings as an author were pretty grim, something I speak about in my TEDx Talk (https://youtu.be/a5vSLh3oPXI). I've come a long way since that first book, and I'm proud to call myself an Amazon Charts bestselling, twice Edgar-nominated, twice Goodreads Readers Choice Awards shortlisted, ITW Thriller and Minnesota Book Award and Anthony Award-winning author of nonfiction, children's books, young adult, book club fiction, and crime fiction. I've reached over a million readers since 2020. I also love to teach creative writing in international workshops.

I live in Minneapolis with a rotating batch of foster kittens (and occasional foster puppies, but man those goobers are a lot of work). Pop on over to Lourey's Literati, my VIP Reader group on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/38538...) and/or sign up for my molasses newsletter (https://jessicalourey.com/newsletter) , for the latest news, giveaways, and insider information.

You can find the Unspeakable Things epilogue here: https://jessicalourey.com/survey-two.

Reviews

[Dez the Bookworm · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was pretty good! I enjoyed the writing style and mystery here. This is a short story prequel to a mystery series that are much longer reads and I wanted to see of I enjoyed this before diving in.

After reading this, I absolutely will be reading the other two novels. I enjoyed "The Quarry Girls" by this author as well and am looking forward to seeing if the trend continues.

If you like suspense and mystery with a strong female lead that has her own demons to contend with, you might enjoy this.

[Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Puzzle Locks and Murder

Salem and her best friend Bel are just hanging out. There has been a lot of water under the bridge in the time those two have been friends, but things haven’t been the Same for Salem since her father killed himself in front of her. She’s enrolled in Cryptology because ciphers are her thing, but Salem has lost her nerve in so many ways. She wants to crack the lock on a mausoleum, which is why they had been in the cemetery drinking, and Salem was thinking about the girl who went missing.

Then they hear a scream and a woman says her daughter is locked in the mausoleum, how did she get in there? Bel says she should crack the code, and the weird guy that she vaguely remembers from somewhere asks her if she is a code breaker. Is she?

This short story is the prologue for the real mystery, but what a prologue! That was a five star tease!

[Ken Finlay · Rating 3 out of 5]

"The Adventure of the First Problem" is too short (18 pages on my Ereader) to make an accurate judgement but it packed a lot in.
A troubled young woman, Salem Wiley, tries to rescue a child trapped inside a 150-year-old mausoleum. There's just one catch, it has a puzzle lock with almost infinite combinations.
Though she knows who locked the child inside the tomb she has no proof.
I'd never heard of the Dorabella Cipher before and it made for some interesting reading.
It's a prequel to the Salem's Cipher Mystery series and I will certainly be reading on.
3 Stars.

[William · Rating 5 out of 5]

Entertaining fantasy listening 🏙🤔🤗

This kindle e-book novella is from my Kindle Unlimited account prequel to Salem's Cipher

Salem and a friend are in the cemetery when a woman comes up needing help. Her daughter is trapped in a mausoleum. Then Salem is trapped. She and the daughter escape after finding a dead body.

I would recommend this novella and author to readers of fantasy world 🌎 adventure thriller novels 😉🎇 2024 😮👒✨

[Kristi Lamont · Rating 3 out of 5]

BOOK REPORT
Repeating myself here a little bit….I’ve been fan-girling on Jess Lourey of late….which led me to signing up for her newsletter, which gave me the benefit of getting some downloads of short stories.

I think I probably would’ve enjoyed this one more had I already read some in this series.

That said, it was an intriguing read, enough so that I want to read the series, now.

[Randy Ransom · Rating 5 out of 5]

I CANT WAIT TILL I GET TO READ THE REST!

Salem’s Cipher comes out in a mere few days and I’m totally stoked. I didn’t know this short story existed until I was looking for other of Jess Lourey’s books on Amazon KU. This really set the stage for this new 2 book series “Salem’s Cipher”. So far I have LOVED everything I have read from Jess Lourey. Great prelude!

[Gale Costa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Short Story

I wish I had read this prior to the “Salem’s Cipher”, but that’s OK it’s still a great short story. Don’t miss it! The author does a great job with this very exciting series!

[James Clevenger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting and well written short story that is a prequel, as I understand, to the Salem's Cipher series. I cannot wait to get started on those books!!

[Cindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A slightly spooky read. Investigating a cemetary in the dark makes for a great story.

[Melanie Cook · Rating 3 out of 5]

Loved it, but it was very short!

[Tonya Bryner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good short story

[Brandi Collins · Rating 4 out of 5]

This fun short story is a prequel to "Salem's Cipher," which I also recommend. In this story, Salem Wiley goes to a local cemetery crypt containing a puzzle lock no one has ever opened. When a child gets trapped inside, it's up to Salem to crack the code.

This is a well-written and fast-paced mystery. My only wish was that it were longer!