Mystery Riddles

Grab your magnifying glass and put on your thinking cap because you will have to become the world’s top detective to solve these mystery riddles! Decipher the hidden clues, examine the wordplay, collect all the evidence, and let your brain take you on an exciting and mind-boggling adventure! From theft, betrayal, and deception to murder mystery riddles, there are many enigmas waiting for you to crack. Can you solve all these mystery riddles with answers, detective?

31 Mystery Riddles With Answers

Riddle: A dead female body lies at the bottom of a multistory building. It looks as though she committed suicide by jumping from one of the floors. When the detective arrives, he goes to the first floor of the building, opens the closed window, and flips a coin towards the floor. He goes to the second floor and does the exact same thing. He continues to do this until he gets to the top floor of the building. When he comes back down, he states that it was a murder and not a suicide. How does he know that?

Answer: She couldn’t have jumped from any of the floors because when the detective went to each floor, all of the windows were closed.

Rating: 100%

Riddle: A certain crime is punishable if attempted but not punishable if committed. What is it?

Answer: Suicide

Rating: 100%

Riddle: A man and a woman were driving in their car when it broke down. The man decided to go for help at a gas station a few miles back. He made sure nobody was in the car, rolled all the windows up, and locked all of the sedan's doors. He went off, but when he came back, his wife was dead, and there was a stranger in the car. No physical damage was done to the car, so how did the stranger get in?

Answer: The stranger was a baby and the woman died in childbirth.

Rating: 100%

Riddle: A man was just about to put his key in the door when he heard his wife scream “No Charlie, don't do it!”The man walked into his house to find his wife dead on the floor next to a doctor, a lawyer, and a police officer. None of them had name tags and the man did not know who any of them were. The only thing the man knew was that the police officer did it. How did he know?

Answer: His wife yelled, “No Charlie.”The doctor and lawyer were both women, so the police officer had to be Charlie

Rating: 100%

Riddle: A detective told his wife he’d be home at 8:30 and came home at 8:30. Then why was the detective’s wife angry with him?

Answer: He said he’d be home at 8:30 P.M and came home at 8:30 A.M!

Rating: 100%

Riddle: A girl was at her mother's funeral, where she met an interesting man and fell for him right away. Before they could exchange numbers, he was nowhere to be seen. She didn't even know his name. Later the police arrested her for killing her older brother. Why did she kill him?

Answer: She hoped the man would show-up for her brother's funeral too.

Rating: 100%

Riddle: A wife and her husband were driving in their car on the highway. All of a sudden, they ran out of gas. So the husband said to the wife, “Now, you stay here. I will go down the highway to the nearest gas station and return in about 1 hour. Just listen to the radio and read some books, and remember to lock all the windows and doors. I will leave the keys with you.” So, off the husband went, and the wife first locked ALL the windows and doors. Next, she turned on the radio, and this is what she heard on the news report: “THERE IS A MURDERER ON THE LOOSE. HE WAS LAST SEEN ON THE HIGHWAY, WEARING ALL BLACK, ABOUT 5 FOOT 11 INCHES. PLEASE, BE AWARE AND CONTACT THE POLICE IMMEDIATELY.” The wife got very scared. She turned off the radio and double-checked the locked doors. Then she saw the murderer, only a couple of feet away from the car. An hour later, the husband returned to his car. Inside the car, his wife was DEAD, she had been murdered. All the windows were still locked, and the doors. No windows were broken, and the car was in PERFECT condition. No scratches or anything, it was the same way as when he left it. How did the murderer kill the wife?

Answer: The car was a convertible, and the roof was open.

Rating: 100%

Riddle: Detective Marty had been trailing three men suspected of committing several fur robberies. He received a message in a sealed envelope delivered by Roscoe, an underworld contact, and decided to call Detective Sam, his partner. “I think I found out where the merchandise is stored,” said Detective Marty. Obviously, Marty didn't want Roscoe to know what was in the envelope, so he read it to Sam in code. This is what Marty had said: “Flame mate weighty soak shave comedy debut stake scared.” What did the message say?

Answer: Am at Eight Oak Ave, come but take care. Read through it again to see!

Rating: 100%

Riddle: A Japanese ship was leaving the port and on its way to open sea. The captain went to go oil some parts of the ship and took his ring off so it wouldn’t get damaged. He left it on the table next to his bunk. When he returned, it was missing. He had suspected three crew members could be guilty and asked them what they had been doing for the ten minutes that he had been gone. The cook said, “I was in the kitchen preparing tonight’s dinner.” The engineer said, “I was working in the engine room making sure everything was running smoothly.” The seaman said, “I was on the mast correcting the flag because someone had attached it upside down by mistake.” The captain immediately knew who it was. How?

Answer: It was the seaman. It was a Japanese ship and a Japanese flag is white with a single red dot in the middle. It can’t be hung upside down.

Rating: 100%

Riddle: A man was found murdered on Sunday morning. The police questioned the wife and the staff and got the following alibis: The wife said she was sleeping. The cook was making breakfast. The gardener was picking vegetables. The maid was getting the mail. The butler was cleaning the closet. The police immediately arrested the murderer. Who did it, and how did they know?

Answer: It was the Maid. She said she was getting the mail, but there is no mail on Sunday!

Rating: 100%

Riddle: A man is late for an appointment and, in his haste, takes a corner so fast that only two wheels are on the pavement. A policeman is standing on the corner, but he does not give him a ticket. Why?

Answer: He was on a motorcycle.

Rating: 100%

Riddle: A man lay dead in a room with 51 bicycles around him. What happened?

Answer: The man was playing a poker game and cheated. The bicycles are a type of card.

Rating: 100%

Riddle: A man was found dead with a cassette recorder in one hand and a gun in his other hand. When the police came in, they immediately pressed the play button on the cassette. They heard the man say, “I have nothing else to live for. I can’t go on.” Then there was the sound of a gunshot. After listening to the cassette tape, the police knew that it was not a suicide, but a homicide. How did they know?

Answer: If the man shot himself while he was recording, how did he rewind the cassette tape so that the play button worked immediately?

Rating: 100%

Riddle: A man was shot to death while in his car. There was no gunpowder residue on his clothing, indicating that the gunman was outside the car. However, all the windows were up and the doors were locked. The only bullet holes found were on the man's body. How was he murdered?

Answer: The victim was in a convertible. He was shot when the top was down

Rating: 100%

Riddle: A man is lying drowned in a dead forest, far from water. How did this happen?

Answer: A firefighting plane filled its tanks with water from a lake, sucking a scuba diver in. He drowned while the aircraft was in flight and was dumped into a burning forest with the water.

Rating: 100%

Riddle: A man was found dead out in a field of snow. The only tracks that were left were a set of footprints between two parallel lines. Who should the police be looking for?

Answer: A man in a wheelchair.

Rating: 100%

Riddle: I was framed, yet I didn't commit a crime, and the person who framed me committed no crime. How is this possible?

Answer: I am a picture, and I was put in a picture frame

Rating: 100%

Riddle: At a party, a billionaire is poisoned and dies. The police narrow it down to six suspects who had the opportunity to tamper with the wine. They all drink from the same bottle without dying. How did the billionaire die?

Answer: The poison was in the billionaire’s glass, not the wine bottle.

Rating: 100%

Riddle: A truck driver is going down a one-way street in the wrong direction. A police car drives past him but doesn’t stop him. Why?

Answer: Because he isn’t driving down the street - he’s walking.

Rating: 100%

Riddle: Dave and Brad, two popular politicians, met at a club to discuss the overthrow of their party leader. They each ordered a vodka on the rocks. Brad downed his and ordered another. He then drank his second in a gulp and decided to wait before he ordered a third. Meanwhile, Dave, who was sipping his drink, suddenly fell forward dead. Both men were set up for an assassination. Why did Dave die and Brad live?

Answer: Both Dave and Brad were given drinks with poisoned ice cubes. Brad drank his drinks so quickly that the ice didn't have time to melt and release the poison.

Rating: 100%

Riddle: Guarding secrets and tales untold, I am a chamber, both ancient and old. What am I?

Answer: The Chamber of Secrets

Rating: 100%

Riddle: Inspector Morse was outside a milkbar when a lady screamed 'NO, JOHN, NO!' Inspector Morse ran inside the milkbar, and inside there was a woman dead on the floor. In the bar, there was a lawyer, a milkman, a singer, a teacher, and the shop owner. Without hesitation, Inspector Morse arrested the milkman. Why is this?

Answer: Because the milkman was the only male.

Rating: 67%

Riddle: One night, a woman was sitting inside a house with no light. She did not even have a lamp or candle, nothing at all. Yet how was she reading?

Answer: This woman was reading braille as she’s blind.

Rating: 100%

Riddle: Romeo and Juliet are found dead on the floor in a bedroom. When they were discovered, there were pieces of glass and some water on the floor. The only furniture in the room is a shelf and a bed. The house in is a remote location, away from everything except for the nearby railway track. What caused the death of Romeo and Juliet?

Answer: Romeo and Juliet are fish. The rumble of the train knocked the tank off the shelf.

Rating: 100%

Riddle: A woman was murdered on Orient Street. It was said that the woman was walking on the pathway when she was suddenly shot in the face. A man named Dean Miller claimed to have witnessed the murder. According to the police, the killer had black hair, brown eyes and wore a baggy suit. The detective asked Dean to tell him what he saw on that day. Dean said, “ I was walking in the park when the killer suddenly appeared behind the woman and shot her.” The detective then asked Dean to describe the killer. Dean said, “He had blonde hair, blue eyes and wore a baggy suit.” The detective knew Dean was lying. How?

Answer: The killer couldn’t have shot the woman in the face if he came up from behind her.

Rating: 100%

Riddle: Ray Whitcombe was found dead in his office at his desk. The police have narrowed the suspects down to three people: Mrs. Barbara Whitcombe, Ray's wife; Mr. Jason McCubbins, Ray's business partner; and Mr. Harold Nichols, Ray's best friend. All three visited Mr. Whitcombe on the day of his murder, and they explained the reason for their visit to the police. The police found Mr. Whitcombe with his wristwatch still on his right arm, a torn-up picture of his wife lying on the floor beside the trash can, and an ink pen in his right hand. On the desk, the police found a nameplate, a telephone that was off the hook, and a personal calendar turned to the July 5th page with 7B91011 written on it. After examining this evidence, the police knew their suspect. Who was it?

Answer: Jason McCubbins, Ray's business partner. The calendar is the clue to solving this murder. The police realized that since Mr. Whitcombe was wearing his watch on his right arm, he must be left-handed. But the pen was found in his right hand. Realizing that the number on the calendar was written in a hurry and with his opposite hand, the police matched the written number with the months of the year. So the B was an 8, thereby giving us 7-8-9-10-11: July, August, September, October, and November. Use the first letter of each month and it spells J-A-S-O-N

Rating: 100%

Riddle: Tool of thief, toy of queen. Always used to be unseen. Sign of joy, sign of sorrow. Giving all likeness borrowed.

Answer: Mask

Rating: 100%

Riddle: There's a body lying dead on a bed, and on the floor beside it is a pair of scissors. The scissors were instrumental in his death, yet there's no trace of blood. The body reveals no signs of any cuts or bruises. How could the person have been murdered with the pair of scissors?

Answer: The person slept on a waterbed. His killer used the scissors to cut the bed open and drown him.

Rating: 100%

Riddle: John went to a cafe and asked for a cup of tea. He was served the tea but sent it back because there was a fly in the cup. He was served a new cup of tea, but he realized it was the same cup of tea and not a fresh one. He got angry and shouted at the waiter. How did John realize that it wasn’t a fresh cup of tea?

Answer: He had added sugar to the first cup. When he tasted the second cup of tea, it tasted sweet. If it was a fresh cup of tea, it would’ve tasted bitter. The waiter had served John the same cup of tea thinking he wouldn’t realize it.

Rating: 100%

Riddle: Late one night, two brothers were watching a horror flick on tape. One of the brothers fell asleep and dreamt that he was being pursued by the insane man from the movie who was attempting to murder him. He hid in a cabinet in his dream. and couldn’t hear anything but his heart thumping, and he had no clue where his insane captor was. He was terrified! The video ended at that point, and his brother placed his hand on his sleeping sibling’s shoulder to rouse him up. The shock of the situation was enough to cause the sleeping brother to have a massive heart attack and die immediately. Is this story true or false?

Answer: False – how would anybody know about his dream if he died suddenly?

Rating: 100%

Riddle: You're in a mansion and the power is out. You see a green door and a red door and choose the red one. Now you see a purple door and an orange door and choose the latter. Now you see a door with a golden handle and one with a silver handle and choose the golden one. Finally, you find the last three doors before exiting the mansion. The first says "Death by drowning," the second says "Death by machine guns" and the third says "Death by electric chair." Which door would you choose?

Answer: The door with "Death by electric chair", because the power is out.

Rating: 67%

Mystery riddles with answers are among the most exciting and enjoyable enigmas. They are not necessarily hard riddles, but they are certainly challenging. They tend to be long riddles to set up the right mysterious mood and atmosphere, which in turn means more opportunities to hide fake clues, add more trickery to the wordplay, and send the players in the wrong direction overall. Kids are also welcome to try to solve these riddles with their detective skills. Sometimes, the purest minds are the quickest to see past deception! On our part, we can only say: good luck Sherlocks!

Last Updated: Thursday, January 23, 2025