Book #71: Clue #1: Who Killed Mr. Boddy?
A.E. Parker
Released: August 1st, 1992
My 14th book for 2025 was A.E. Parker's “Clue #1: Who Killed Mr. Boddy?”.
General Summary:
Here's something I'll bet you didn't know, there were a series of books written back in the mid-1990's about the Parker Brother's game Clue. I grew up loving the Clue books. They were set up in a similar manner to Encyclopedia Brown. You would have an introduction where Mr. Boddy would introduce himself and welcome you to the mansion. With the exception of the first book, he would typically explain how he survived death in the previous book. He would then go on to introduce each of the 6 guests (including his maid). Usually this would segway into the first chapter by a loud crashing noise, or some other startling interruption. Readers are treated to 10-13 mysteries per book, and each chapter was a different story. At the end of each chapter, you were given either a Clue list (just like the ones used in the game) or a different format depending on the nature of the mystery.
Way back in Fall 1997, I discovered these books at the Summitview Elementary School library when I was in 3rd grade. They have provided countless hours of entertainment and are great rereads when looking for something to do.
I think the thing I love the most about these books are how it expands upon the story. Biographies aside, the other things I truly enjoy reading are books based on other classic franchises.
Originally, there were only 16 books, but 2 more were published in later years before they finally stopped. There was also a side series known as "Clue Jr.", but I never got into that series. The first 4 books are in the classic 80's illustration of the board game. Book #5 starts the new illustrations based on the 1990's version.
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Book #1 was the second one I ever read. I discovered Book #6: Booby-Trapped, and fell in love with it. I had to find more.
I found Book #1 next, and then suddenly that was all the Clue Books the library had. I needed to find more.
I had parents and relatives scour around looking for these books for Christmas and other holidays. I remember once on a trip to the Outer Banks, my mom, my sister, and I went shopping in the DC area. We went to the Montgomery Mall and I picked up Book #5. I even used to bid for them on eBay and even found some in local book shops like the long-time shop By The Books in Waynesboro, PA. I found them all :)
My favorite stories from this book would be Happy Birthday Mr. Green, and Miss Feather's Gossip Column.
The first is an amusing tale about Mr. Green's birthday party. His birthday gifts are all the Clue weapons (smart use of that for the books). Except when it comes to Professor Plum. The most forgetful man in the world has presented Mr. Green (and everyone else) with an additional surprise. He planted a live bomb, capable of destroying the entire mansion, and forgot where he planted it. On the plus side, he does remember that according to his watch, they only have about 90 seconds left before it goes off. This scramble is ridiculous. All the guests run from room to room hunting this bomb down. The others try and shake it out of Plum, leading to more absurd answers. Classic Clue Story.
The second documents a time when Mr. Boddy is presented an upcoming newspaper column ahead of press time that reports damaging comments on him and his guests. The appropriately named Miss Feather's Gossip Column "Big Doings in Little Falls" is not only a showcase of the Mrs. Peacock character, but a great chance to get the full names of all the characters, get some background about the Boddy Mansion location in some town called Little Falls. We also see more into Mrs. Peacock's background, as she evades attacks from the others guests in classic Clue style. I loved all the information this chapter gave, and it only made my love and interest in Clue grow all the more.
I have seen the legendary Clue movie, but I truly wish they would have looked into doing a sort of anthology film series where they could project 13 mysteries over a 2-hour. Have them be about 12 minutes each. And let them flow into one another. This is similar to my feelings on the Simpsons Comics. I always felt they had some super strong stories in the comics and have always wished they would go back and adapt them to cartoon format in the same way franchises like Garfield have.
It's funny because as I've gotten older, I often reference these books to people, and they are left bewildered. Nobody knows that Colonel Mustard challenges people to duels, Miss Peacock is a prude for manners, and that Professor Plum forgets his entire life.
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I'm intrigued by some of the personality traits of the characters, so starting here, I'm going to having a running counter of reoccurring traits of Colonel Mustard's Duels, Professor Plum's forgetfulness, and Mrs. Peacock's manner rules. I will also include unique features around the Boddy Mansion.
Mustard's Duel Challenges - 7 (7 Overall):
1. For dropping a hat.
2. For threatening a woman.
3. For squeezing his hand too hard.
4. For insulting Mrs. Peacock.
5. For writing a column that insults him.
6. For laughing at him.
7. For attempting to arrest him.
Plum's Forgetfulness - 13 (13 Overall):
1. Forgot he was talking to Mr. Boddy in the middle of a sentence.
2. Forgot he was holding Miss Scarlet, and dropped her.
3. Forgot he was supposed to be at a birthday party
4. Forgot where he put Mr. Green's present.
5. Forgot he got Mr. Green 2 presents.
6. Forgot what room he left the bomb in.
7. Forgot what room he left the bomb in.
8. Forgot to set the bomb.
9. Was hiding and forgot to come out.
10. Forgot which room he checked for Mrs. White in.
11. Forgot his employer gave him a key.
12. Forgot his matches.
13. Forgets to use his napkin.
Peacock's Manners - 5 (5 Overall):
1. Believes the word “Dead” is rude.
2. Believes calling someone a “donkey” rude.
3. Finds it rude that Mr. Green asks Bessie if she will “wait faithfully, until Mr. Boddy joins her in the afterlife.
4. Considers “tommyrot” a bad word.
5. Feels calling something “a little nasty” is dirty language.
Unique features on the grounds of the Boddy Mansion - 4 (4 Overall):
1. Boddy Family Cemetary.
2. A 12-Gabled House.
3. Miniature Golf Course
4. Pond
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As I give the information I learned from the book, I will do it by chapter read. This novel contains the following mysteries:
Allow Me To Introduce Myself...
1. Who Killed Pitty-Pat?
2. Who Stole Miss Scarlet's Diamonds?
3. Happy Birthday, Mr. Green
4. The Ghost of Mrs. Boddy
5. Hide and Seek
6. Where There's Smoke, There's Fire!
7. The Secret Changes Hands
8. The Sleepwalking Killer
9. Miss Feather's Gossip Column
10. Who Was Fiddling Around?
11. The Night the Maid Became a Zombie
12. April Fools
13. Who Killed Mr. Boddy?
Here is what I learned:
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- The Clue Books were first written in 1992
- A.E. Parker is a pen name. The writer of Books 1-6 was Eric Weiner.
- The cover features Mr. Green, Colonel Mustard, and Miss Scarlet.
Allow Me To Introduce Myself...
- Reginald Boddy is the host and owner of the Clue Mansion.
- Mr. Boddy has six friends who come to join him on weekends stays.
- Mr. Gerald Green is a fine business man, but a bit of a bully. His bark is worse than his bite.
- Mr. Green once tried to club Professor Plum on the head with a wrench in the Billiard Room.
- Mr. Green once bit Mr. Boddy.
- Colonel Martin Mustard challenges people to a duel at the drop of a hat.
- Mrs. Peacock is very prim and proper.
- Professor Paul Plum is a very forgetful man.
- Professor Plum once forgot he was talking to Mr. Boddy in the middle of a sentence.
- Miss Charlotte Scarlet is a beautiful woman whose looks can be deceiving.
- Mrs. Wilhelmina White is Mr. Boddy’s maid, and has served him for years.
- Mrs. White once poisoned Mr. Boddy’s coffee.
- Mrs. White’s maid uniform has a lace collar.
- Pitty-Pat was Mr. Boddy’s beloved parrot.
- The grounds of the Boddy Mansion feature the Boddy Family Cemetary.
- Mrs. Peacock believes the word “Dead” is rude.
- Miss Scarlet has long dark red nails.
- Professor has balding red hair.
- Pitty-Pat once pecked Mr. Green’s ear.
- Col Mustard challenges Mr. Green to a duel for “threatening a woman”.
- Mustard attempted to duel in a cemetary.
- Pitty-Pat once pooped on Professor Plum’s book.
- Pitty-Pat once stole Col Mustard’s anchovies.
- Pitty-Pat once ate Miss Scarlet’s red rouge.
- Pitty-Pat once tried to nest in Mrs. White’s feather duster.
- Pitty-Pat once called Mrs. Peacock a bad word.
- Miss Scarlet wears a red boa.
- Mr. Boddy keeps a large gray metal safe, behind the duck painting, in the Study.
- The combination to the Boddy safe has been a secret in the Boddy family for generations.
- The mansion is a 12-gabled house.
- Mr. Green sleep walks.
- Professor Plum drops Miss Scarlet because he forgot he was holding her.
- Mrs. White is a millionaire.
- Mr. Green receives the Clue weapons for his birthday.
- Professor Plum forgot he was supposed to be at a birthday party.
- Mrs. Peacock finds calling someone a “donkey” rude.
- Professor Plum forgot where he put Mr. Green’s present.
- Professor Plum forgot he got Mr. Green 2 presents.
- Professor Plum got Mr. Green a time bomb with enough strength to blow the entire mansion to smithereens, because he felt it would “liven up the party”.
- Professor Plum forgot what room he left the bomb in.
- Mr. Boddy keeps a priceless Ming vase in the Dining Room.
- Professor Plum is researching the sleeping habits of snails.
- Professor Plum forgot Mr. Boddy is counting down seconds until the bomb explodes.
- Professor Plum forgot to set the bomb.
- Mr. Boddy allows Professor Plum’s to return despite planting a live bomb in his house.
- Mrs. Peacock performs seances.
- Professor Plum doesn’t believe in seances.
- Col Mustard challenges Mr. Green to a duel for squeezing his hand too hard.
- Mr. Green’s first name is Gerald.
- Mr. Boddy’s late wife was named Bessie.
- Professor Plum scratches his foot with knives.
- Miss Peacock finds it rude that Mr. Green asks Bessie if she will “wait faithfully, until Mr. Boddy joins her in the afterlife.
- Mr. Boddy hosts games of hide and seek with his guests.
- Mrs. White fantasizes about the other guests working for her.
- Professor Plum was hiding and forgot to come out.
- Col Mustard set the Library on fire with his flare gun.
- Mrs. White burns her pancakes to a crisp, and then cooks them for an additional 15 minutes.
- Professor Plum forgot which room he checked for Mrs. White in.
- Mr. Boddy’s mansion catches on fire often.
- Mr. Boddy throws parties to celebrate his house being restored from fires.
- Mrs. White forgot she was boiling potatoes before she went to bed.
- Mrs. Peacock enjoys photos of rabbits.
- Mr. Boddy hosts a photography club.
- Mr. Green enjoys photos of pro football.
- Col Mustard challenges Mr. Green to a duel for insulting Mrs. Peacock.
- Col Mustard drinks tea.
- Professor Plum was hired to spy on Mr. Boddy for money.
- Professor Plum is researching which animal in nature blinked most often on an average day.
- The government has stopped funding for blink research.
- Professor Plum attempted to open a drawer by biting it.
- Professor Plum forgot his employer gave him a key.
- Mr. Boddy is a consultant for a local gumdrop company.
- Mr. Boddy discovered a way to make gumdrops last in your mouth for hours.
- Mr. Green does amateur magic tricks.
- Professor Plum forgot his matches.
- Col Mustard carries a silver lighter.
- The guests are sleepwalkers
- Green, White, Plum, and Peacock enjoy Peach pie.
- Mustard, Peacock, and White enjoy blueberry jam.
- Green, Plum, and White enjoy chocolate milk.
- Scarlet enjoys passion fruit juice.
- Mr. Boddy owes only $10 million in taxes.
- The town Clue is set in is called Little Falls.
- Mr. Boddy is the richest man in Little Falls.
- The Little Falls Gazette is the local newspaper.
- Mrs. Peacock authors a newspaper column “Big Doings in Little Falls”, under the pen name Miss Feathers
- Mr. Green chews food with his mouth open.
- Miss Scarlet’s first name is Charlotte.
- Miss Scarlet eats from men’s plates and throws herself at them.
- Col Mustard’s first name is Martin.
- Col Mustard fires his revolver during meals.
- Col. Mustard challenges the author of the column to a duel for insulting him.
- Mrs. White’s first name is Wilhelmina.
- Professor Plum’s first name is Paul.
- Professor Plum forgets to use his napkin.
- Mrs. Peacock considers “tommyrot” a bad word.
- Mrs Peacock studied Judo, Karate, Acrobatics, and Ventriloquism as a young girl.
- Col. Mustard challenges Mrs. Peacock to a duel for laughing at him.
- Mr. Boddy plays the violin.
- Mr. Boddy owns a million-dollar Stradivarius.
- The grounds of the Boddy mansion feature a miniature golf course.
- All the guests play the violin.
- Peacock, Scarlet, and White play the viola.
- The women and Plum play the cello.
- The women and Mr. Green can play piano.
- Col Mustard dresses up as women.
- Mr. Boddy owns an ancient Persian statuette made of pure gold. He bought it for $2 Million.
- The grounds of the Boddy mansion features a pond.
- Mr. Green read a book on hypnosis.
- Mrs. White makes a delicious Baked Alaska.
- Col Mustard challenges Mr. Green to a duel for attempting to arrest him.
- Mr. Boddy is a multibillionaire.
- Mr. Boddy feels lonely without his friends.
- Mrs. Peacock feels calling something “a little nasty” is dirty language.
- There was no living heir to the Boddy fortune.
- Mr. Boddy updated his will to leave his money divided evenly to all six guests.
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