Murder Mystery Events

Murder mystery events continue to gain in popularity. I really enjoy presenting my Victorian mystery, 'Who Killed George Hargrave?', and the event will have another outing at Douglas on the Isle of Man on 25 June. The idea of an event was suggested to me years ago by Ann Cleeves, who did a very good event called 'Body in the Library', and like Ann I've presented the show a good many times. The interactive nature of the event does generate a 'feelgood' factor in the audience, I think.

I was prompted to mention murder mystery events because I've been asked to mention a forthcoming event at the Natural History Museum, and although I don't normally advertise other events on this blog, (especially events featuring live maggots - eeek!) I'm happy to make an exception this time for what seems like an interesting occasion. Because museums, like libraries, deserve a lot of support in the current economic climate. I set out below an extract from their promo material.

'Join us for a unique, immersive event at the Natural History Museum and put your detective skills to the test as a scenes of crime officer. On Friday 24 June you will have the opportunity to meet three of the Museum’s very own forensic experts. Learn how they use their knowledge to assist the police and solve crimes. They’ll teach you the tricks of their trade so that you can comb the crime scene, collect the evidence and process the clues. Then you’ll take your evidence to trial where real barristers, police officers and a judge will demonstrate just how important forensic evidence is to a verdict.

The event includes:

· collecting insect evidence in the garden crime scene with scientists Martin Hall and Cameron Richards, and hundreds of live maggots

· fingerprint collection and identification workshop

· victim identification masterclass in the Attenborough Studio with Heather Bonney: learn how to identify sex, age and height by studying skeletal remains

· a mock court case in the Museum’s theatre

Arrive from 18.30 for a 19.00 start. Tickets cost £40 per person and must be booked in advance by calling 020 7942 5792 or 020 7942 5589.'