The village would like to complain about this book

A formal objection to The Village Fête Secret — our word search mystery, published against the residents' wishes.

We have received a letter. Greywhistle, we should explain, is a village we invented ourselves. Bear that in mind as you read on. The letter is signed “the concerned residents.” The handwriting is suspiciously familiar. We print it in full.

To whom it may concern,

It has come to the village’s attention that two women, who do not even live here, except apparently every day, have published a book called The Village Fête Secret. We wish to register the following objections.

First. The book claims someone in this village has kept a secret for thirty years. This is outrageous. It has been thirty-one.

Second. The book contains 80 word searches, and hidden inside them is the whole story of what actually happened. We consider this a gross breach of privacy, and several of us have already bought a copy to see exactly what has been breached.

Third. A reader with nothing but a pen may work out the culprit before the village council does. The council has had thirty years and one lengthy subcommittee, and we find the comparison hurtful.

Fourth. The book has no reviews on Amazon yet. We should like it to stay that way, and we are watching.

In conclusion: we demand this book be withdrawn from sale immediately. Failing that, we demand it be read properly, with tea, and no peeking at the solutions.

Yours in considerable irritation,

The concerned residents of Greywhistle

The book they are complaining about is on Amazon. Eight chapters, eighty puzzles, and a secret the village has kept for thirty-one years now. We refuse to withdraw it.

P.S. Not ready to irritate the village? Subscribers get a free prequel case, The Case of the Missing Marrow, the moment they join. The residents object to that too.