7.1 Before You Read
Before You Read A dying man leaves four strange words and an empty space where a fifth should be. Hidden inside them is the location of a fortune in stolen jewels. Could you spot the pattern? As you read, try to crack the code before Encyclopedia Brown does.
About the form: a detective story
A detective story is a kind of fiction built around a mystery that must be solved. It usually has:
- a puzzle or crime at its centre (here, a five-year-old jewellery robbery);
- clues scattered through the story;
- a detective who observes closely and reasons carefully (Encyclopedia Brown);
- a solution that suddenly makes all the clues fit together.
The pleasure of such a story is watching small details add up to a surprising, logical answer.
The people in the story
- Encyclopedia Brown (Leroy): a brilliant eighth-grader and amateur detective.
- Chief Brown: his father, the Chief of Police of Idaville.
- Tim Nolan: an ex-convict, suspected in the old robbery, who dies of a stroke and leaves the strange message.
- Daniel Davenport: Nolan’s partner in crime, who vanished after the robbery.
Key Idea A good detective does not guess — he reasons. Encyclopedia solves the case not by luck but by noticing a hidden pattern and following it logically. The same skill helps in mathematics, science, and everyday problem-solving.
Think and discuss
- What makes a mystery story exciting to read?
- Have you ever solved a riddle or code? How did you crack it?
- Why might a criminal hide a clue in a puzzle instead of writing it plainly?