Murdle reading order
Murdle Books in Order: Where to Start and Which Ones Are Standalone
The original trilogy, the detective-school prequel and the separate adventures, with the differences that matter before opening a casebook.
For the original Murdle trilogy, the reading order is Volume 1, Volume 2, then Volume 3. That is the clearest starting route: the cases introduce Deductive Logico and develop the world around the puzzles. The School of Mystery is a prequel, while The Case of the Seven Skulls, Merry Murdle and Murdle Heist each have a separate adventure or theme.
The quick answer
Murdle books in publication order
- Murdle: Volume 1 (2023)
- Murdle: Volume 2 (2023)
- Murdle: Volume 3 (2024)
- Murdle: The School of Mystery (2024)
- Murdle: The Case of the Seven Skulls (2025)
- Merry Murdle (2025)
- Murdle Heist (2026)
This is the U.S. publication order for the seven main Murdle puzzle titles covered below, not a requirement to finish all seven. Follow 1, 2 and 3 for the original trilogy, then explore the named books by their premise. The School of Mystery takes place earlier, but there is no need to move it ahead of Volume 1 on a first pass.
At a glance
How the seven Murdle books compare
The dates below are U.S. publication dates. Tap a title for its description; the numbers in the trilogy are not difficulty ratings.
| Book | U.S. publication | Puzzles and format | Place in the series |
|---|---|---|---|
| Murdle: Volume 1 | June 13, 2023 | 100 murder-mystery logic puzzles | Original trilogy, first |
| Murdle: Volume 2 | September 19, 2023 | 100 new murder-mystery logic puzzles | Original trilogy, second |
| Murdle: Volume 3 | April 30, 2024 | 100 new murder-mystery logic puzzles | Original trilogy, third |
| Murdle: The School of Mystery | October 15, 2024 | 50 logic puzzles with interactive elements | Separate prequel at Deduction College |
| Murdle: The Case of the Seven Skulls | July 29, 2025 | 64 logic puzzles in an artifact-recovery adventure | Separate named adventure |
| Merry Murdle | October 14, 2025 | 25 festive murder-mystery logic puzzles | Christmas adventure |
| Murdle Heist | October 6, 2026 | 56 capers about planning thefts | Crime-planning spin-off |
Inside the casebooks
The numbered volumes and the separate adventures
All seven are by G. T. Karber. The trilogy establishes the recurring detective world; the later titles give that world a more concentrated setting, a seasonal mystery or a different job for the solver.
The main numbered volumes
Each volume contains 100 original mysteries, ranging from elementary to impossible. The repeated format is written clues and deduction grids, with a story running through the cases.
1
Murdle: Volume 1
The first 100 cases
Volume 1 introduces the basic pleasure of Murdle: crossing written clues against suspects, weapons and locations until the grid leaves one explanation. You investigate alongside Deductive Logico, with illustrations, codes and maps adding material beyond the clue list.
There is also a buried secret connecting the murders and a message unlocked by completing the cases. That gives a practical reason to begin here and work forward within the book, even if the immediate attraction is solving a short mystery at a time.
2
Murdle: Volume 2
100 further mysteries in Logico's world
The second volume keeps the clue-and-grid format and gives Logico another 100 original cases. Its settings include the Violet Isles and Drakonia, with an ancient scholar's riddles among the mysteries. Pictures, maps and codes remain part of the casebook.
Illustrations and maps sit alongside the written evidence. The attraction is returning to the same deductive procedure in a fresh set of places, rather than learning a different kind of puzzle.
3
Murdle: Volume 3
The third collection of 100 mysteries
Logico's vacation provides the starting situation for Volume 3, but the cases quickly draw him back into detective work. The larger intrigue involves a secret agency and TekTopia. Individual murders still demand deductions about who acted, how and where.
The individual murders sit within a broader intrigue. Codes and maps accompany the clues, keeping some variety within the familiar grid-solving format.
The standalone adventures and special books
These are separate themed books in the same fictional world. Here, standalone means an adventure with its own premise rather than another numbered volume. It does not mean that every puzzle inside a book is disconnected from the others.
4
Murdle: The School of Mystery
50 puzzles · A Deduction College prequel
The School of Mystery goes back to Logico and Irratino's time at Deduction College. Its 50 murder-mystery logic puzzles share a school setting of tunnels and secret societies, with a larger enigma running through the investigations.
Interactive illustrations and interlocking puzzles connect the investigations, so a lower puzzle count does not mean fifty entirely isolated exercises. Working through the book's own sequence lets those connections unfold.
5
Murdle: The Case of the Seven Skulls
64 puzzles · A missing-artifact mystery
Seven bejeweled skulls have disappeared before the Museum of Mysticality opens, and Logico's search takes him around the world. The 64 cases use suspects, weapons, locations and written clues, with apparently supernatural happenings surrounding the missing objects.
The artifact hunt supplies a connecting adventure, while the solving remains logical elimination on a grid. Its spooky settings change the atmosphere, and the missing skulls give the succession of murders a shared purpose.
6
Merry Murdle
25 puzzles · A Christmas mystery
Santa Claus is missing, and Logico has a holiday investigation on his hands. Merry Murdle puts 25 murder-mystery logic puzzles into that Christmas setting, with deduction grids, codes and illustrations carrying the activity.
The holiday thread links the cases, while each deduction still has suspects and conditions to test. The festive presentation does not turn it into a Murdle Jr. book: these are still murder mysteries.
7
Murdle Heist
56 capers · Planning the crime
Murdle Heist reverses the assignment. Instead of finding a murderer, you help master swindler Miss Ruby organize thefts: assembling a crew and determining who will scale a wall, hack a mainframe or disable the lasers. A rival thief, the Red Mask, complicates her ambitions.
The goal is a workable theft plan: assigning the right people to the right jobs while navigating the obstacles. The 56 capers give deduction a different purpose from Logico's murder investigations.
Do you have to read the Murdle books in order?
For the story, follow Volume 1, Volume 2 and Volume 3. The puzzles give you concrete clues to reason from, but the recurring cast and larger mysteries provide continuity. Beginning with a later volume means meeting that world further along, even when an individual case is a manageable place to practice deduction.
The named books can be approached by their own premise: detective school, a skull-recovery adventure, Christmas or heists. They are not four additional numbered prerequisites. Still, separate adventures are not the same thing as unrelated puzzle pages. Volume 1 has a message tied to completing its cases, and The School of Mystery explicitly builds in interlocking puzzles. Following the printed progression within a book preserves those connections.
Which Murdle book should you start with?
Volume 1 is the straightforward introduction if you want the main series: it begins the original trilogy and contains the full range from elementary to impossible. Starting there does not commit you to buying every later title.
A particular premise may matter more than completing the trilogy. The School of Mystery concentrates on detective training and interactive elements; Merry Murdle offers a shorter festive collection; Heist makes the crime itself your assignment. Those differences say more about the experience than publication order alone.
Murdle Jr. is a separate branch
The Junior books introduce younger detectives and have their own sequence. The three main U.S. puzzle books are Murdle Jr.: Curious Crimes for Curious Minds, Murdle Jr.: Ready, Set, Solve! and Murdle Jr.: Wild Goose Case. Each contains 40 puzzle mysteries; Wild Goose Case was published in July 2026.
There are also Junior mini activity books, including Summer Fun! and Holiday Hijinks!, and a companion mystery-novel line beginning with Sleuths on the Loose. These formats should not be counted as interchangeable puzzle volumes. A child following the Junior detectives does not need the adult trilogy as background.
What is next after Murdle Heist?
Murdle Beach is announced for April 27, 2027, in the United States. It brings Logico and Irratino to the Oasis Hotel and broadens the activities to include word searches, mazes, cryptograms and other puzzles alongside Murdles. It is an upcoming variety-puzzle book.
The wider range also includes Murdle Detective Notebook, a lined notebook with an embedded mystery. That is a companion for notes rather than another 100-case volume. These distinctions are why a single total for every product carrying the Murdle name can be misleading.
Comparing Murdle with other mystery puzzle books
Murdoku and The Killer Isn't Alice belong outside this reading order. Murdoku, by Manuel Garand, makes you place suspects in illustrated scenes. Alice, by Iris Starling, asks you to narrow one large list of suspects. They offer other ways to solve a mystery rather than continuing Logico's adventures.
How Murdle, Murdoku and The Killer Isn't Alice differ · Seven mystery puzzle books explained as gifts · More interactive books like The Killer Isn't Alice
Quick answers
More questions about the Murdle books
How many Murdle books are there?
As of October 26, 2026, Macmillan's main U.S. Murdle series page lists seven puzzle books: three numbered volumes and four named titles. The Junior books, Detective Notebook and other companion products sit outside that seven-book list. Murdle Beach is announced for 2027.
Are Volumes 2 and 3 just harder versions of Volume 1?
No. Each contains 100 original mysteries, and each spans elementary to impossible. The volume number identifies its place in the trilogy, not a single difficulty level. They add new cases and story material rather than repackaging the first collection.
Do you need to play the daily website puzzle before starting the books?
No. The three numbered volumes contain 100 original mysteries each. The daily website lets you try the solving style, but it is not a reading-order prerequisite. The books provide their own cases to work through.
Sources
Sources for this guide
Titles, puzzle counts and U.S. publication dates checked on October 26, 2026. The author identifies the original trilogy and the school prequel; the starting route above follows that distinction.
- Macmillan: Murdle series
- G. T. Karber: the official Murdle books and companion range
- Murdle: Volume 1: St. Martin's Griffin
- Murdle: Volume 2: St. Martin's Griffin
- Murdle: Volume 3: St. Martin's Griffin
- Murdle: The School of Mystery: St. Martin's Griffin
- Murdle: The Case of the Seven Skulls: St. Martin's Griffin
- Merry Murdle: St. Martin's Griffin
- Murdle Heist: St. Martin's Griffin
- Murdle Beach: St. Martin's Griffin
- Little, Brown: Murdle Jr. books, novels and mini activities
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