Review: Batman: Murder at Wayne Manor: An Interactive Mystery

in a sentence or so: a twenty year old skeleton surfaces at Wayne Manor wearing only a costume mask and bearing an invitation to a party hosted by Dr. and Mrs. Thomas Wayne.

Bruce Wayne took up the mantle of Batman and started his protection of the people of Gotham after his parents were murdered when he was a young boy. Bruce always believed his parents were genuine, helpful philanthropists who poured their hearts into Gotham and were committed to making it a better place for everyone. he has always believed the very best of his parents...before he found the body on his lawn. the body of a girl who people suspected Thomas Wayne had an affair with while she worked at Wayne Enterprises. is his father the man Bruce always thought he was? or was he hiding something dangerous and disappointing from those he loved?

invitation found on the body.

okay, by far the coolest thing about this book are the clues. oh that's right. there are CLUES in the book. pieces of the investigation that Batman finds while trying to find out who the woman who surfaced on Wayne Manor is and why she's ended up on the lawn. a notecard found on the body gets Batman started on his investigation.

throughout the investigation, Batman discovers more and more hidden secrets about his family, and so do you. 

crazy ass photo of the parents Wayne and friends.

throughout it all, you're reading from Bruce's point of view (first person) and nails his voice perfectly. the intelligence, dedication, and the focus of Batman are there, but there's also the personal frustrations of a son who didn't know his parents as well as he thought he did. we see a more introspective side of Bruce, and i loved it.

the clues, the investigation, and the full color pages keep this story moving and keep you wanting to solve the mystery and propel you forward into the wee hours of the night to find out who was buried on Wayne Manor, and why.

yeah, i totally got access. 

fave quote: "People claim to read and enjoy mysteries for the whodunnit factor - figuring out the identity of the killer behind the mask. But to me, infinitely more interesting is the why: the chain of events, the personal apocalypses, the miniature tragedies that lie at the root of all crimes." (50)

fix er up: the re-readability of this one isn't super high for me, but it's definitely one i can lend out to peeps.
title: Batman: Murder at Wayne Manor
author: Duane Swierczynski
illustrator: David Lapham
publishing info: Quirk Publishing, 2008

buy Batman: Murder at Wayne Manor: An Interactive Mystery (Interactive Mysteries) by Duane Swierczynski from Amazon

[ftc notice: i received a finished copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. i was not compensated for this review. thanks, Eric!]