7 Mystery Crime Riddles Only a True Detective Can Solve

We are all familiar with the good old IQ tests that rate your intelligence level after you answer 40 standardized questions. But there are more ways to find out what your inner genius can do.

Bright Side found several brainteasers that only a few people can figure out. Test your detective skills with these riddles.

Riddle № 1. Jailbreak

Jack is placed in a cell with a dirt floor and only one window positioned so high no one could reach it. The cell is empty except for a shovel. It’s dry and hot in there, but Jack won’t get any food or drink anytime soon. He has only 2 days to break out of the jail. If not — he’ll die.

Digging a tunnel is not an option because it’ll take more than 2 days. How should Jack escape the cell?

Riddle № 2. A stolen necklace

Mrs. Smith went to the police claiming that her vintage necklace was missing. When the police arrived, they saw no signs of a break-in. Only one window was broken. There was a total mess inside the house and dirty footprints all over the floor.

The next day, Mrs. Smith was arrested for fraud. Why?

Riddle № 3. Murder at school

On the first day of the school year, a geography teacher was murdered. The police had 4 suspects: the gardener, the math teacher, the coach, and the school principal. They all had alibis:

• The gardener was cutting bushes.
• The math teacher was holding a mid-year test.
• The coach was playing basketball.
• The principal was in his office.

The killer was arrested immediately. Who killed the geography teacher, and how did the police solve the mystery?

Riddle № 4. A lonely man

A lonely old man lived in his house in the suburb of a city. He never left the house for long. It was a midsummer Friday when the mailman walked by and called out for the man. There was no answer. The mailman looked into the window and saw him in a pool of blood. When the policeman arrived, he found Tuesday’s newspaper, 2 bottles of warm milk, and 1 bottle of cold milk.

The next day, the killer was arrested. How did the police find out who it was so quickly?

Riddle № 5. 2 pills

A serial killer kidnapped people and made them take 1 of 2 pills: one was harmless, and the other was poisonous. Whichever pill a victim took, the serial killer took the other one. The victim took their pill with water and died. The killer survived.

How did the killer always get the harmless pill?

Riddle № 6. Frozen windows

Once on a winter day, John found his friend dead in his own house. John called the police and said that he was just passing by Jack’s house and decided to come in.

He’d been knocking and ringing the bell for a long time, but all was silent. However, he could see the light in the room through a frozen window. He breathed on the iced window glass and saw Jack on the floor.

The police arrested John as the main suspect. Why?

Riddle № 7. Chemical substances

A famous chemist was murdered in his own lab. There was no evidence except for a piece of paper with the names of chemical substances on it. On the day he was murdered, the chemist had only 3 visitors: his wife, Mary, his nephew Nicolas, and his friend Johnathan.

The police arrested the murderer right away. How did they know who it was?

Answers

Riddle № 1

Jack should use the shovel to make a pile of dirt under the window, climb on it, and escape from his cell.

Riddle № 2

The police were sure that Mrs. Smith lied to them because the window was broken from the inside. If it was broken from the outside, little pieces of glass would be on the room’s floor.

Riddle № 3

The killer was the math teacher. According to his words, he was holding a mid-year test, but the crime happened on the first day of the school year.

Riddle № 4

It was obviously the mailman. He knew that no one in this house would read a newspaper on Wednesday or Thursday.

Riddle № 5

Both of the pills were harmless. The poison was in the glass of water the victim drank.

Riddle № 6

John wouldn’t be able to unfreeze the window glass because it’s usually icy on the inside.

Riddle № 7

The piece of paper had a clue on it. If you combine the short names of the chemical substances on the paper, you’ll get a name: Ni-C-O-La-S.