Who Killed the Robins Family?: And Where, and When, and How, and Why, Did They Die?

by Thomas Chastain and Bill Adler

Hardcover book This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0688021719
• ISBN13: 9780688021719
• Release Date: January 1983
• Publisher: William Morrow & Company
• Length: 152 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Good Fun--But Not That Great

I read this book when it first came out and I even entered the contest with my solution. I wasn't even close. Reading the book was great fun, but in retrospect the book wasn't all that great of a read. For one thing, once you knew the solution, going back to reread the book you saw how almost impossible it was to solve. Readers had to do a lot of reading between the lines to get to the same solution as the authors. Also, you would have to have read several of the novels that are paid homage to in the book to lead you to the correct solution. Finally, just getting your hands on the solution was (and is) a total pain. To get the solution you either had to send in for it after the contest was over or pruchase the paperback version on the novel. I purchased the paperback. In fact it took me several years to find the solution to the 2nd novel Revenge of the Robins Family. Yes, the paperback version of that novel also contains the solution. However, the publishers of the paperback for Revenge decided to have their own little contest. They had a $25,000 prize to solve a whole new chapter. So, even if you find a paperback for Revenge of the Robins Family, you still have one chapter left to solve. I threw my hands up in disgust. After almost 20 years I could care less how chaper nine of Revenge of the Robins Family was solved. All in all both novels are fun to read once, but if you're reading them to try and solve the puzzle, I say forget it. I tried to solve the 2nd one for years and never could come up with the solution. The clues are just too obscure at times. Too much reading between the lines is required to come up with an even halfway decent logical solution. If you just want the solutions to both novels buy the paperback editions.

great story

I thought that this book was great. I am not a reader of mystery, but purchased this book in its original hardcoer back in 1983. I wanted to solve the case, but never did. I have since miss placed my copy and would love to find another. If anyone can help please do. I could not put this book down, I know I read it at least 10 times, trying to solve it time after time. If I had a copy, now I'm sure that the mind of a 30 yr old is better than the mind of 14 yr old(as I was) when I first read this wonderful book. Any info on obtaining a copy, would be welcom, my e-mail is ladydraak @webtv.net.

Amazing! I couldn't put it down!

I've just read this book for the first time. It took me all of two hours. I REALLY want to know who killed the Robins family. Anyone who can help is perfectly free to write me. PLEASE!

Excellent sleuthing and good memory needed.

I read this book when it first came out. I never learned who killed the Robins Family. I did enter the contest and sent for the answer, but changed address. I heard that two women who put their heads together solved the case. kalay

Interesting spin on the mystery genre

This novel has an interesting concept in that characters are killed off but the reader doesn't know who by. The authors held a contest at the time the book was published whereby readers could submit entries on who they thought the killer(s) were and they could win $10,000. I recently finished the book and now I am going to sit down and try to figure out who the killer(s) is(are). Doing the story this way makes the reader a little more involved in the book in that they have to figure who did it and why. I recommend this book to mystery readers and people who like puzzles as well.