The case file from TikTok
ALIBI-X: Solve the Murder Advent Calendar
24 Days of Solving Clues & Puzzles, One Murder, a Whole Village of Suspects
A murder mystery advent calendar in one book: one small case each December evening, until a single name is left standing.
- 24 doors
- 72 names behind every door
- 152-page paperback
Paperback. Also in German, Spanish and Dutch.
We publish this book. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
As shared in the TikTok videos.
Is this the murder mystery advent calendar from TikTok?
Yes. The navy cover with the snow globe, the red string and the gloved hands on the case board: this is ALIBI-X: Solve the Murder Advent Calendar by Cork & Pin Press. The videos like to say it is not a book, but it plays like a case file. It is a real, published book: a 152-page paperback (ISBN 979-8172241130), sold on Amazon in the US, with German, Spanish and Dutch editions on amazon.de, amazon.es and amazon.nl.
Look inside the case file
These are pages from the book. Every door is four pages: the case, three clues, a witness bench and a register of 72 names. It is a murder mystery puzzle you work with a pencil, not a story you sit back and read.
- 152 pages
- 4 pages per door
- 6 x 9 in, black and white inside
Seven places in the book. Tap a page to read it larger.
- Page 1
The title page. The case has a name: Murder at the Starcrown Festival.
- Page 3
Before you start: twenty-four doors, one murder and a whole village.
- Pages 4 and 5
A fair-play promise, and the inspector you work under.
- Pages 6 and 7
Seven rules on one page, then a single clue at work on an invented crowd.
- Page 12
Your investigation board: one row per door, filled in by you.
- Page 40
The village register. Zone by zone, everyone who came through the north gate.
- Door 7 · Page 48
Door 7, The Silent Bell. Someone has wedged the clapper of the great bell.
How it works: remove everyone who is not
Inspector Vale Quintero has a single method, and you will hear it often: "We do not hunt for the murderer. We remove everyone who is not." This advent calendar mystery runs on that rule, one evening at a time. Think of it as a brain teaser advent calendar with a body count of one.
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Step 01
Open a door.
Each December evening has its own door: a small case from the Starcrown Festival, four pages long, with its own culprit hiding in a register of 72 names. Read the case card, then pick up a pencil.
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Step 02
Rule them out.
Three clues and a witness bench do the work: a time, a sign hidden in a word grid or a cipher strip, and one witness whose oath is the only one left standing. Cross out every name a clue contradicts until one name remains.
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Step 03
Close the great case.
Six of the doors also hand you a proven mark of the festival killer's name. Four investigation evenings take those marks into the village register of 2,026 names, and on the last one, after Door 24, a single name is left.
The method in miniature
One clue at work
The mystery puzzles change as December goes on: times and duty rosters, signs hidden in 7 by 7 word grids, cipher strips, site plans of the village, and a witness bench that grows from 16 to 20 rows as the marks get finer.
Fair play is a promise printed on page 4. Every mark you need is on the page, nothing depends on a fact only the author knew, and when every clue has been run, exactly one name is left.
If you like murder mystery logic puzzles, this is the long form: twenty-four small ones, all feeding one great case.
Free sample, Door 1 of 24
Try Door 1 tonight: a free murder mystery puzzle
Four pages, three clues, one name left.
Door 1 is called The Show Star. On the first evening of the festival the golden show star vanishes from a market stall, and the thief has signed the goods list under a borrowed name. Here is the first clue, word for word:
Exhibit: Clue 1, The Bell
"The boy saw the hand at the shelf as the tower bell struck 18:00; before that the show piece still lay in the display. The Time column gives the time the goods list shows for each witness. Rule out every row whose time is before 18:00."
That is the whole skill: one honest fact, and every row that contradicts it goes. The second and third clues, the witness bench and the register are on the four pages below. Open them full size and work them with a pencil and scrap paper.
We will not print the answer here. When you have one name left, check it in the free Killer Checker, the same one readers of the book use. It answers yes or no, and gives a hint only if you ask for one.
Who this murder mystery puzzle book is for
- You like logic puzzles and whodunits, and you would rather solve the crime than read the reveal.
- You want a December ritual: one quiet slot in the evening, a pencil and tonight's door.
- You are after puzzle books for adults with a real story running through them, not a stack of unrelated grids.
- You solve as a pair or with teens at the kitchen table, and you want something worth arguing about.
- You are comparing the best puzzle advent calendars for someone who already owns every puzzle book.
Who it is not for
- You want a boxed calendar with cardboard flaps, objects or chocolate. This is a paperback; the doors are chapters.
- You are shopping for young children. The reading and the logic are pitched at adults and teens.
- You want to be handed the answer. The book makes you do the ruling out, and the solutions stay sealed at the back.
- You want graphic true crime. This is a festive village whodunit with nothing gruesome on the page.
Free with the book: the Evidence Locker
Every copy opens a free online locker. Inside: the Killer Checker for all 24 doors and the finale, which tells you whether your name is right and spoils nothing; a printable field kit with a mark card, a clue card and a warrant; and an extra cold case to solve once the great case is closed.
No sign-up and no email. The whole book is solvable on paper, so the locker is a bonus, never a requirement.
The short link and the QR code printed in the book lead to the same locker.
What solvers say
Solvers leave their verdicts on Amazon. Read them there, in their own words.
We publish this book. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
A note from the case room
Every door was built so that its clues leave one name, and only one. If you ever find a second name that survives, we would like to hear about it.
The imprint
About Cork & Pin Press
Cork & Pin Press is a small studio of puzzle constructors and mystery writers, not a single author. Every ALIBI-X case begins on a wall of corkboard, string and pinned evidence, which is where the name comes from. We plot each case so it can be solved from the page alone, then test it until it plays fair. We make books for people who would rather solve a crime than scroll past one.
Other ALIBI-X case files: Murder on Halloween Night, Murder at the Campus and Murder at the World Championship.
Cork & Pin Press is an imprint. Its books are published by Kalderno (Quicktale Limited).
Case notes
Questions about the ALIBI-X advent calendar
Is this the ALIBI-X murder mystery advent calendar from TikTok?
Yes. ALIBI-X: Solve the Murder Advent Calendar by Cork & Pin Press is the book shown in the TikTok videos, with the navy cover, the snow globe and the red string. It is a 152-page paperback with 24 doors, sold on Amazon.
Is ALIBI-X a real book, and where can I buy it?
Yes. ALIBI-X: Solve the Murder Advent Calendar by Cork & Pin Press is a 152-page paperback, published in September 2026 and sold on Amazon. The German, Spanish and Dutch editions are sold on amazon.de, amazon.es and amazon.nl.
What is a murder mystery advent calendar?
A murder mystery advent calendar gives you one part of a crime to solve on each day from December 1 to 24, so the case closes on Christmas Eve. In ALIBI-X every day is its own small case, and the answers build toward one big question: who poisoned the Lightmaster at the Starcrown Festival.
Is it a book or a boxed calendar with doors?
It is a book. The 24 doors are four-page chapters, not cardboard flaps, and there is nothing to unbox or assemble. You open the paperback at tonight's door and solve it with a pencil.
Is it for adults, teens or kids?
It is written for adults and teens. The clues use word grids, ciphers and close reading of witness statements, so it suits confident teen readers and up, and it is not designed for young children. If you want puzzle books for adults with a story running through them, this is one.
How does it work, and how long does each day take?
Each door gives you a short case, three clues, a witness bench and a register of 72 names, and you rule out every name a clue contradicts until one is left. Most doors fit into one quiet evening slot. The four investigation evenings, after doors 6, 12, 18 and 24, take longer, because you work through the village register.
How do I check my answers without spoiling the ending?
Use the free Killer Checker: type the name you are left with and it tells you only whether you are right. It covers all 24 doors and the finale, needs no sign-up, and gives a hint only if you ask for one. The full solutions are also in a sealed section at the back of the book.
Can we solve it together as a couple or family?
Yes. It works well at a shared table: one person reads the clues aloud, another works the register, and everyone argues about the witness bench. Print an extra field kit from the free bonus so each solver can keep their own marks.
Is it available in other languages?
Yes. The same calendar is available in German on amazon.de, in Spanish on amazon.es and in Dutch on amazon.nl. Each edition is written in its own language and sold in its own store.
Deutsch (amazon.de)Español (amazon.es)Nederlands (amazon.nl)
Do I have to start on December 1?
No. December 1 is the natural start, because then the great case closes on Christmas Eve, but every door stands on its own. Start late and catch up two doors at a time, or keep the whole case for the quiet days after Christmas.
Who is Cork & Pin Press?
Cork & Pin Press is the imprint behind the ALIBI-X puzzle series: a small studio of puzzle constructors and mystery writers, published by Kalderno. It also makes ALIBI-X case files set on Halloween night, on a campus and at a world championship.
We publish this book. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
The gates are sealed. Door 1 is waiting.
For yourself, or for the puzzle lover on your list. Have it on the table before December 1 and open the first door on the first evening.
We publish this book. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
Also in German, Spanish and Dutch
Cork & Pin Press is an imprint. Published by Kalderno, Quicktale Limited.
