Sherlock Holmes Escape Book: The Adventure of the British Museum

Charles Phillips is the author of more than 40 books, whose How to Think puzzle series sold more than 1 million copies and was translated into 18 languages. He was the editor of Biographic: Sherlock.Melanie Frances specializes in developing interactive stories featuring games and puzzles. She is co-artistic director of interactive, digital arts organization Produced Moon, with whom she has created a range of immersive and interactive experiences, including escape rooms and app-based audio adventures.Together they have written The Alcatraz Escape Book and three Sherlock Holmes Escape Books, The Adventure of the Analytical Engine, The Adventure of the Tower of London and The Adventure of the British Museum, published by Ammonite Press.

If you feel as if your brain is shrivelling under the restraints of COVID regulations, this could be the solution toward keeping those little grey cells active. This is the second title in a series of Sherlock Holmes Escape Books, in which the reader must solve the puzzles to escape the pages. (The first, The Adventure of the Waterworks, was reviewed in the Winter 2019 Journal.) There are codes, ciphers, riddles and red herrings, plus a Hieroglyphic Code Wheel set into the cover to assist you in your quest. It is 1901 and, trapped in the British Museum, the player takes the role of Sherlock Holmes. Assisted by Dr Watson, you must solve a perplexing mystery — and stop a potential threat to the crown. Many of the objects described can still be seen in the British Museum, and the map provided is based on a genuine floor plan of the Museum from this period.