Geocaching Murder Mystery Novel

[+Cybercat]

Has anyone read the new novel by Mark Gessner entitled First to Find? It's a murder mystery---a real nailbiter!

[+DragonsWest]

Has anyone read the new novel by Mark Gessner entitled First to Find? It's a murder mystery---a real nailbiter!

 

How interesting.

 

I was driving home from work, a day or two back, and was thinking about how Murder Mystery Parties were all the rage while I was in college.

 

Meanwhile, here were Philo Vance, Nick Carter (who evidently never met a deus ex machina he didn't like), Nero Wolfe, Phillip Marlow and Richard Diamond, all over the OTR radio station. Even Lum and Abner engaged in a little mystery solving.

 

Seemed like I could probably write up an adaptation of a mystery for a puzzle cache.

 

I'd like to read it, but I'm not buying a Kindle any time soon. Perhaps when there's an eReader for my Oregon 450 and I can download it to that.

[+TheAlabamaRambler]

I'd like to read it, but I'm not buying a Kindle any time soon. Perhaps when there's an eReader for my Oregon 450 and I can download it to that.

You don't need an expensive laptop without a keyboard Kindle, get the free Kindle reader for your PC.

 

Kindle software applications exist for Windows, iOS, BlackBerry, Mac OS X and Android.

Edited July 23, 2010 by TheAlabamaRambler

[+DragonsWest]

I'd like to read it, but I'm not buying a Kindle any time soon. Perhaps when there's an eReader for my Oregon 450 and I can download it to that.

You don't need an expensive laptop without a keyboard Kindle, get the free Kindle reader for your PC.

 

Ah, lovely. I can load that on my tablet. Thank ye!

[+uxorious]

There is no way I would sit and read a book on my computer screen. That seems a little silly to me. (I must be getting old.)

 

I have no intention of getting a kindle, so I guess I will just have to wait until it comes out in a real book.

[+TheAlabamaRambler]

There is no way I would sit and read a book on my computer screen. That seems a little silly to me. (I must be getting old.)

 

I have no intention of getting a kindle, so I guess I will just have to wait until it comes out in a real book.

I didn't think that I would ever do this either, but I got the Kindle PC app and discovered the large number of free or very cheap books available so I tried one. Now I read books online quite frequently.

 

It's different but it works, mostly because I run three monitors on my PC and the primary is a large easy-to-read flat screen. Thus I can sit back in a comfortable chair without having to be hunched over the keyboard / mouse.

 

I usually have email on one monitor and this forum on another so I can read the book on the center monitor and still keep tabs on you guys at the same time!

Edited July 23, 2010 by TheAlabamaRambler

[+DragonsWest]

There is no way I would sit and read a book on my computer screen. That seems a little silly to me. (I must be getting old.)

 

I have no intention of getting a kindle, so I guess I will just have to wait until it comes out in a real book.

I didn't think that I would ever do this either, but I got the Kindle PC app and discovered the large number of free or very cheap books available so I tried one. Now I read books online quite frequently.

 

It's different but it works, mostly because I run three monitors on my PC and the primary is a large easy-to-read flat screen. Thus I can sit back in a comfortable chair without having to be hunched over the keyboard / mouse.

 

I usually have email on one monitor and this forum on another so I can read the book on the center monitor and still keep tabs on you guys at the same time!

 

Sounds like you should be out geocaching.

[+uxorious]

There is no way I would sit and read a book on my computer screen. That seems a little silly to me. (I must be getting old.)

 

I have no intention of getting a kindle, so I guess I will just have to wait until it comes out in a real book.

I didn't think that I would ever do this either, but I got the Kindle PC app and discovered the large number of free or very cheap books available so I tried one. Now I read books online quite frequently.

 

It's different but it works, mostly because I run three monitors on my PC and the primary is a large easy-to-read flat screen. Thus I can sit back in a comfortable chair without having to be hunched over the keyboard / mouse.

 

I usually have email on one monitor and this forum on another so I can read the book on the center monitor and still keep tabs on you guys at the same time!

 

I guess a lot depends on how one reads their books. If I was in collage, or reading tech books a kindle or PC might be necessary, but I read for relaxing. I like to take a book to bed and read a bit before sleep, or maybe out to the hammock to rest a bit. I also want to be able to take a book to a doctors appointment for the waiting room, or even to the bathroom.

 

I suspect I will eventually end up with a kindle, but the idea of it bothers me in some ways. However, I sure can't see me reading my PC in the doctors waiting room even on my laptop.

 

(edited because I pushed the reply button before I replied. ):-)

Edited July 23, 2010 by uxorious

[+Alfiegeorge]

 

Seemed like I could probably write up an adaptation of a mystery for a puzzle cache.

 

 

If you are serious about having a murder mystery puzzle cache, have a look at this series of multis for inspiration ...

 

link for the final is below, links to the preceding stages are in the cache description;

 

http://coord.info/GC101CD

 

The format is that you find cache 1 which has the first chapter of a murder mystery story in it (chapter sounds a bit extreme - its just one sheet of double-side typed paper actually) and part of a puzzle to find cache 2 (the rest is on cache 2's cache description). Similarly, you need cache 2 to be able to find cache 3, cache 3 to be able to find cache 4 etc., you pick up additional chapters along the way.

 

When you have the 5 initial finds you have 5 chapters of the story and enough info to "solve" the murder. You also have a list of 6 suspects - this last info is in cache 5.

 

Each suspect has individual co-ords. At 5 of the suspect's co-ords there is a cache that says "sorry wrong guess ..." and an alternative final chapter of the book that explains why you are wrong, at 1 of the suspect's co-ords (the murderer's co-ords) there is the real ending of the story and co-ords for the actual final cache ... only a signature in this final, final cache's log-book permits you to legitimately claim the find !!!

 

I completed the series about a fortnight ago, it took 3 outings (each a fairly full afternoon's caching) to complete it.

 

A great piece of work but no doubt a maintenance obligation and a half for the cache owner !!

 

Have a look see what you think.

[+Snoogans]

Has anyone read the new novel by Mark Gessner entitled First to Find? It's a murder mystery---a real nailbiter!

 

My old buddy old pal lowracer wrote a novel and he didn't send me a signed advanced copy?!?!

 

I know Mark well enough to know it HAS to be good.

 

Where can I get a copy? Scratch that I'm gonna hit him up right NOW!

 

BTW He has promised to adopt me if he ever becomes a b-b-b-BILLIONAIRE.

[lowracers_baby]

My Dad says the book is available now in trade paperback and jacketed hardcover:

 

Kindle:

http://tinyurl.com/first-to-find

 

Trade Paperback:

http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/first-to-find/11478860

 

Hardcover:

http://www.lulu.com/product/hardcover/first-to-find/11485602

 

And he says there's a facebook page for the book where you can discuss the book with the author and read deleted chapters, but wait to read them until after you've read the book:

 

http://www.facebook.com/pages/First-to-Fin...59961775?ref=ts

Edited July 23, 2010 by lowracers_baby

[+atmospherium]

and read deleted chapters

 

I had to laugh at that. Books are morphing into movies. You read them on a screen, you can see author interviews and commentary, you can read deleted chapters. Coming soon, a behind-the-scenes "Writing of" documentary book.

[+Cybercat]

It's really well written. It's set in Austin and references lots of things there, even caches that I've done! I recognize several of the characters, also..........Austin cachers, of course! Although the names have been changed to protect the innocent.

[knowschad]

and read deleted chapters

 

I had to laugh at that. Books are morphing into movies. You read them on a screen, you can see author interviews and commentary, you can read deleted chapters. Coming soon, a behind-the-scenes "Writing of" documentary book.

<post deleted>

[+Sioneva]

and read deleted chapters

 

I had to laugh at that. Books are morphing into movies. You read them on a screen, you can see author interviews and commentary, you can read deleted chapters. Coming soon, a behind-the-scenes "Writing of" documentary book.

<post deleted>

 

[sioneva] This is a very interesting thread. What you may not have realized is that while I was writing this post, I was drinking coffee, and scratched my nose. Edited out of the final cut, of course.

[+nekom]

Spoiler: SNAPE FINDS DUMBELDORE'S CACHE

[+Snoogans]

It's really well written. It's set in Austin and references lots of things there, even caches that I've done! I recognize several of the characters, also..........Austin cachers, of course! Although the names have been changed to protect the innocent.

 

Did any of the characters remind you of me?

 

Oh, I was the killer wasn't I.

[+Cybercat]

It's really well written. It's set in Austin and references lots of things there, even caches that I've done! I recognize several of the characters, also..........Austin cachers, of course! Although the names have been changed to protect the innocent.

 

Did any of the characters remind you of me?

 

Oh, I was the killer wasn't I.

 

I'm stumped at to who the killer was modeled after. He was so weird I hope he was just total fiction. But for those who know Wayne and Candy, their characters are really very recognizable.

[+Snoogans]

It's really well written. It's set in Austin and references lots of things there, even caches that I've done! I recognize several of the characters, also..........Austin cachers, of course! Although the names have been changed to protect the innocent.

 

Did any of the characters remind you of me?

 

Oh, I was the killer wasn't I.

 

I'm stumped at to who the killer was modeled after. He was so weird I hope he was just total fiction. But for those who know Wayne and Candy, their characters are really very recognizable.

 

Cooool! I knew they had to be in there.

[+Snoogans]

Hey Mark you need any of these to hand out at book signings? Maybe we can work out a trade.

 

[lowracers_baby]

My dad says it's funny how different readers are *sure* that such and such a character is someone they know. In reality, every character is, as I am known to say, "made of art." Bits and pieces of people he knows, as well as a fair amount of his own experience and personality, go into each character.

 

My uncle Scott, who is a psychologist, says he helped my dad craft the character of the killer.

 

Dad actually finished the book two years before I was born and started on a sequel immediately, and mom says he has recently taken it up again. He's been very busy running his business so it's hard for him to find the time. But he says if the first book sells well, that will be an incentive for him to keep at the sequel.

 

Unfortunately he won't let me read the book until I turn 18.

[+BikeBill]

I saw this thread and downloaded the book to my Kindle. I'm only a few chapters into it, but so far it's keeping my interest!

[+hukilaulau]

I left my Kindle at work but I will definitely check it out when I go back Monday night...

[+TheAlabamaRambler]

My dad says it's funny how different readers are *sure* that such and such a character is someone they know. In reality, every character is, as I am known to say, "made of art." Bits and pieces of people he knows, as well as a fair amount of his own experience and personality, go into each character.

 

My uncle Scott, who is a psychologist, says he helped my dad craft the character of the killer.

 

Dad actually finished the book two years before I was born and started on a sequel immediately, and mom says he has recently taken it up again. He's been very busy running his business so it's hard for him to find the time. But he says if the first book sells well, that will be an incentive for him to keep at the sequel.

 

Unfortunately he won't let me read the book until I turn 18.

Give him a challenge - suggest that he write the next mystery about something other than murder! I am an inveterate reader and love fiction, but for whatever reason most fiction today is built around murder.

 

I guess publishers know what sells, but there are other interesting plot lines which would find an audience.

[+Cybercat]

But this is murder AND geocaching! There IS no more perfect plot!

[lowracers_baby]

Dad says the stories pretty much write themselves. He said it was the creepiest thing, the story would sometimes wake him up at 3 or 4 AM and pour itself out into the computer through his fingers. So if the story's about murder, it's about murder, because thats what the story demands. (These days if he wakes at 3 AM due to demands to pour something, it's just me demanding a glass of ice water.) The next story hasn't possessed him yet though he says its very close, he hears the voices whispering the story and as the whispering gets louder he'll have no choice but to write it.

 

The sequel (working title "Cut Crystal") has at least one murder in it, but the focus is not on murder. Dad says there are crimes even more heinous. Dad says the bad guy in the sequel is one of the characters in the first book, but he won't say which one. This one also takes place almost completely in Austin, he says. First chapter on that one's already been written. Dad says geocachers will have a role in this one but it will probably not be as heavy as in the first book, hard to say at this point, as one of the main characters in the first book will become less interested in caching, while at the same time one of the other characters in the book will become utterly obsessed with it.

 

At the same time, Dad's also working on a third novel (possibly a novella) working title "Diesel Fried Chicken" the subject of which is grand larceny, located in Dallas Fort Worth but mostly in west Texas out around Van Horn or thereabouts and he believes at this early stage that there will be no murder in it, or if there is it will be incidental and very tragic, and near the end of the book. He says he's 25 pages into that one. If there's any geocaching in that one he can't say at this point, too early and the story's not saying one way or the other.

[+TheAlabamaRambler]

Dad says the stories pretty much write themselves. He said it was the creepiest thing, the story would sometimes wake him up at 3 or 4 AM and pour itself out into the computer through his fingers.

There is no telling when one's muse will come calling!

[lowracers_baby]

There is no telling when one's muse will come calling!

 

Dad says caffeine helps. Mom used to work at Starbucks and got him hooked on Caramel Macchiatos. But it makes him grumpy so she made him go decaf. That's about the time he stopped writing.

[+Team Luvbassn]

Just downloaded it to my Iphone. Will let everyone know how it was.

[+Chrysalides]

You don't need an expensive laptop without a keyboard Kindle

Kindle does have a physical keyboard. Albeit a pretty crappy one. Perhaps you're referring to the fruity one?

 

and read deleted chapters

 

I had to laugh at that. Books are morphing into movies. You read them on a screen, you can see author interviews and commentary, you can read deleted chapters. Coming soon, a behind-the-scenes "Writing of" documentary book.

Been happening for a while now. Some authors re-published their old works with the original ending - changed, they say, by editors hoping to make an unknown author's book more sale-worthy. Interviews with the author / author's notes is fairly common too.

 

I don't know if lowracers_baby is really the author's child (on the Internet no one knows that you're a dog and all that), but the posts are hilarious and great fun to read. If you're really the author's child, you definitely inherited his talent for crafting words. I don't know if caffeine can be a muse, but it certainly can get you out of bed at 3 a.m. in the morning

 

I'm glad there's no post by anyone saying they will not read the book because they find the title distasteful (like that magazine).

 

I'll keep my eye out for this book.

[lowracers_baby]

If you haven't checked out the podcacher podcast this week, they've got part one of dad's interview on there. Talking about caching (what else?) and his geocaching mystery novel "First to Find."

 

Check it out:

http://www.podcacher.com/2010/11/show-296-...murder-mystery/