Deadlier Allusions is another installment of text-based who-dunnits for armchair detectives. The criminal capers are all murders where the victim has left behind clues that — if interpreted correctly — will point to the “perp.” It’s the players job to suss out the truth and solve the murder through multiple choice.

Each mini mystery takes less than a minute to read, but depending on your base of knowledge could take much longer to solve. Deadlier Allusions offers a “small hint” or a “large hint” to help point players in the right direction. If you’re really stuck you can just guess. There’s no penalty for wrong answers. Although purists might say, you’re only cheating yourself.

Trivia buffs will fare better than most as some of the clues are pretty esoteric. Then again, that’s sort of the point of Deadlier Allusions. Take your clues to the Internet and you may just find the information you need to piece together the puzzle.

I’m not very good at these types of brain puzzlers that require taking random bits of information to arrive at a conclusion. In fact, not even my guesses were on target! However, for me the joy of Deadlier Allusions is the writing style of author Sherban Young.

Young takes a break from writing novels to create the Deadly Allusions series of trivia-based mysteries. The puzzles are available as three separate iPhone apps: Deadly Allusions, Deadlier Allusions and Deadliest Allusions. Kindle users can also download the trio as a single book with 25 extra mysteries.

Young’s crime story narratives remind me a bit of Douglas Adams’ Dirk Gently detective series. The stories are humorously matter of fact, clever but not too clever. The Allusions are immensely enjoyable to read, whether I can solve them or not.

Deadlier Allusions and it’s counterparts are text-based games, similar to a reading comprehension quiz with dead bodies. They won’t appeal to everybody — such as app lovers looking for fancy graphics or an adrenaline rush. That said, the Allusions series of murder mysteries is witty and engaging. I’d take the Allusions over yet another photo hunt any day.

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category: Editor's Picks, Games, Puzzle, Word