I Solved the Crime, Watson!

[rusty_armour]

Because the British Isles Show was pushed back a month, my mom and I decided to console ourselves by making a return visit to the Mysteriously Yours Mystery Dinner Theatre. We had gone a few years ago to see a Sherlock Holmes themed mystery and thought it would be amusing to see his great grandson Mycroft "Myke" Holmes solve a whodunit. In this case, the Extreme Holmes Makeover: Murder Edition!

This time around, the cast was just as talented, with Jean Daigle returning to play another Holmes. The story and events of the evening were also just as clever and hilarious as I remembered. As we were finishing off our desserts, the various characters (and suspects) stopped at tables to chat, flirt, and collect dirt to use later as Mysteriously Yours is definitely an interactive experience! Thankfully, I was off the hook because it wasn't my birthday and I wasn't celebrating an anniversary like the couple we were sharing a table with. However, I did have my one shining moment in the spotlight as one of the people who solved the mystery and won a prize.

I'd share the solution with you, but I'd hate to give away the ending on the off chance that someone who plans to go to Mysteriously Yours (although this seems highly unlikely) will somehow end up reading this post. I'll just say that I managed to guess who the murderer was and connect enough dots when it came to the clues. Winning a prize was a complete fluke as only five names were drawn and mine happened to be won of them. And here's the fabulous prize:



Pretty impressive, eh? I'm not sure how I'm going to go back to being a mild-mannered editor after this! *g*

As I took the day off, Mom and I went to see Slumdog Millionaire this afternoon and were completely blown away. By the end of the film, we were both crying and I was feeling emotionally overwhelmed. In fact, I didn't fully recover until we went to Indigo and I discovered that a sequel to Gyles Brandreth's Oscar Wilde and a Death of No Importance had finally hit bookstores. I tried to be patient and put it on my birthday list, but there were only two copies of Oscar Wilde and a Game Called Murder on the shelf, so I didn't feel I could take any chances.

Well, I should at least pretend to work on my fic as I stupidly promised someone that I'd post the next installment of In the Family Way in earlyish March. Unfortunately, it is earlyish March, so I should probably so something radical and finish the rough draft.

Comments

[puckrobin.livejournal.com]

I've won some prizes at those mystery dinner theatres too. The first one mystery dinner, I guessed wrong. But I figured out how the formula works, and was able to solve the rest I've been to.

One time, I actually said to someone at my table, "there's a bit of a lull in the story right now. They're bound to jumpstart the plot with another murder. Probably that one." And within about a minute, the person I pointed at dropped "dead". (While I solved the mystery - my name wasn't drawn that night.)

Allen

[rusty-armour.livejournal.com]

Well, it's embarrassing for me to admit this, but it's usually pretty rare for me to solve a mystery. Once in a while, I can guess if I'm watching a mystery program, and that's usually because I can tell a father is confessing to protect his son or vice versa. This is the first time I guessed correctly at a mystery theatre, though I think this is only the third or fourth one I've been to. In any case, while I love mysteries, I don't have the kind of logical mind that is required to solve them.

It's great that you've been able to solve most of the murder mysteries you've been to -- and win prizes to boot. :-)

[windrose.livejournal.com]

Oh, that sounds like a wonderful way to spend an evening. And yay winning a prize!

[rusty-armour.livejournal.com]

It was a lot of fun! I definitely recommend the experience if you get the chance! :-)

[crew4.livejournal.com]

LOL, that's awesome, well done. I've always wanted to go to an night like that, but have never been Sounds like you had a great night :-)

[rusty-armour.livejournal.com]

You should try it some time. It's not just entertaining, but it's a really good meal out. The food was delicious and the dining room was pretty impressive. Of course, having fun is the main reason for going. If you like a good mystery at all then I definitely recommend mystery dinner theatres.

[grondfic.livejournal.com]

I Solved the Crime, Watson!

No shit, Sherlock? (well, someone had to say it)

Congratulations your wondrous prize is no more than you deserve.

[rusty-armour.livejournal.com]

LOL! It's okay. I totally understand the impulse. *g* Thanks for the congratulations. The prize was a nice bonus. :-)

[avictoriangirl]

Go you! It sounds like you had a fun day and winning the prize was the icing on the cake. :)

Hee. I hear you on the fic thing. I keep getting distracted. At this rate I won't finish mine until earlyish March of 2010! :P

[rusty-armour.livejournal.com]

Go you! It sounds like you had a fun day and winning the prize was the icing on the cake. :)

Thank you! :-) Yes, it was definitely a fun day with the prize being the proverbial icing on the cake.

Hee. I hear you on the fic thing. I keep getting distracted. At this rate I won't finish mine until earlyish March of 2010! :P

Well, I'm happy to say that I finished the rough draft of my latest installment a couple of hours ago, though it took some discipline. It meant skipping grocery shopping (which I probably would have put off till tomorrow anyway because it's raining), not washing any dishes, and not returning a friend's phone call when she left a message on my machine. Yes, ignoring distractions can be tough. *g* Anywaaaaay, I'm sure I only finished the rough draft because I'd set a definite deadline and I knew the end was in sight. While it doesn't seem like it now, I'm sure you can finish your fic before March 2010, unless you've made the mistake of starting a gigantic WIP like I did! ;-)

[lazigyrl.livejournal.com]

Congrats on the prize.

And oh, man you're right, it is earlyish March making that February the fastest February ever.

[rusty-armour.livejournal.com]

Congrats on the prize.

Thank you very much! :-)

And oh, man you're right, it is earlyish March making that February the fastest February ever.

I know! February just flew by! I mean, I know it's a couple of days shorter than other months, but it seemed fast even by this standard.

[pyrateanny.livejournal.com]

Sounds like you and your mom had a great weekend, Rusty! And I'm sure you'll look quite fetching in your prize cap!

I love mysteries. I used to read a lot of mystery novels, but I sort of got out of the habit because I'd caught up with all my favourite authors and then got rather disgruntled with some of the sillier American 'cozies' available at the public library. But the Oscar Wilde series sounds interesting, so I should give those a try. And I still watch British TV mysteries when I get the chance.

I've never been brave enough to try dinner theatre, because the thought of 'audience participation' kind of freaks me out. But, I did go see stage productions of the Mousetrap and Arsenic & Old Lace several years ago and really enjoyed them.

Hmmm... not sure if I'll be able to manage Slumdog Millionaire if it's that emotionally overwhelming. Popcorn flicks are really more my speed. I usually choose very lightwieght action movies or costume dramas.

[rusty-armour.livejournal.com]

Hey, pyrateanny! I'll lend you the first Oscar Wilde book (Oscar Wilde and a Death of No Importance) next time I see you. I haven't actually started reading the second book because I'm trying to work my way through some Edgar Allan Poe first. I read some of Poe's stories and poems years ago, but I'd like to cover the material I didn't get around to reading.

If audience participation freaks you out then you might want to avoid Mysteriously Yours and stick to stage productions. Same goes for Slumdog Millionaire. While I think it's a wonderful film, I definitely wouldn't define it as a popcorn flick, despite the one Bollywood number at the end. *g*