# Which fictional mystery would you like to be solved? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 18, 2017, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-fictional-mystery-would-you-like-to-be-solved/777498 "2017-01-18T22:50:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2017, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-fictional-mystery-would-you-like-to-be-solved/777498/21 "2017-01-19T03:11:30Z")
So what’s keeping Godot, anyway? ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2017, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-fictional-mystery-would-you-like-to-be-solved/777498/22 "2017-01-19T03:13:27Z")
Why did Gretchen need to make ‘Fetch’ happen so badly? ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2017, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-fictional-mystery-would-you-like-to-be-solved/777498/23 "2017-01-19T04:07:02Z")
> [@Sefton](#): > > Who wrote the Book of Love? (And can I get a copy?) Why? It’s long and boring and no one can lift the damn thing. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2017, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-fictional-mystery-would-you-like-to-be-solved/777498/24 "2017-01-19T04:13:54Z")
Who put the bomp / In the bomp bah bomp bah bomp? / Who put the ram / In the rama lama ding dong? Who are you? Who, who, who, who? Why do fools fall in love? ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2017, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-fictional-mystery-would-you-like-to-be-solved/777498/25 "2017-01-19T04:25:29Z")
And what about Naomi? ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2017, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-fictional-mystery-would-you-like-to-be-solved/777498/26 "2017-01-19T05:58:53Z")
Who killed Adena Watson. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2017, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-fictional-mystery-would-you-like-to-be-solved/777498/27 "2017-01-19T06:08:17Z")
> [@Stephe96](#): > > What was thrown of the Tallahatchee Bridge? According to the song’s [lyricist](https://www.quora.com/Song-Meanings-What-actually-happened-in-Ode-to-Billie-Joe), she doesn’t even know what happened. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2017, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-fictional-mystery-would-you-like-to-be-solved/777498/28 "2017-01-19T06:21:22Z")
> [@Sangahyando](#): > > I’d like to know particulars about Conan Doyle / Holmes’s Giant Rat of Sumatra. Beat me to it! That’s what I was gonna suggest! And (C. N. Parkinson notwithstanding) did Horatio Hornblower push Captain Sawyer down the ladder? (Well of course he did!) ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2017, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-fictional-mystery-would-you-like-to-be-solved/777498/29 "2017-01-19T07:20:16Z")
> [@Sefton](#): > > Who wrote the Book of Love? (And can I get a copy?) > > What happened to Love Potions 1 through 8? What is the Venus Butterfly? ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2017, 8:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-fictional-mystery-would-you-like-to-be-solved/777498/30 "2017-01-19T08:45:34Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > Who assaulted Ronette Pulaski? Yes, I know it was Killer Bob, but who did he possess when he did it? He possessed [SPOILER ALERT] Leland Palmer when he killed Laura Palmer, but is that who he possessed when he assaulted Ronette Pulaski, or was it someone else. > > Also, did Ronette ever come out of her coma? How’s Annie? ---
**Author:** ![Meurglys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/258eb7/32.png) [@Meurglys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meurglys)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2017, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-fictional-mystery-would-you-like-to-be-solved/777498/31 "2017-01-19T11:54:11Z")
What did Aunt Ada Doom see in the woodshed? ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2017, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-fictional-mystery-would-you-like-to-be-solved/777498/32 "2017-01-19T12:01:45Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > And what about Naomi? Funny, I[just answered that an hour ago!](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=19931571&postcount=215) ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2017, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-fictional-mystery-would-you-like-to-be-solved/777498/33 "2017-01-19T14:21:15Z")
Who was the queen the jester sang for? ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2017, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-fictional-mystery-would-you-like-to-be-solved/777498/34 "2017-01-19T14:25:45Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > Who was the queen the jester sang for? Joan Baez? She dated Dylan. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2017, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-fictional-mystery-would-you-like-to-be-solved/777498/35 "2017-01-19T14:46:54Z")
What was Agent 99’s real name? And Penny’s family name? ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2017, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-fictional-mystery-would-you-like-to-be-solved/777498/36 "2017-01-19T14:47:58Z")
I want to know what happened in Sherlock Holmes’ _Adventure of the Lighthouse, the Politician, and the Trained Cormorant_. It’s one of the many “unrelated” cases that Doyle has Watson refer to. This one is mentioned in _the Adventure of the Veiled Lodger_, but never explained or referred to again. No doubt there have ben pastiches of it over the years (I’m not familiar with any). I’ve composed some in my head. I doubt if Doyle ever really had anything in mind, and if he ever did try to write it later he might botch it. (The _Adventure of the Second Stain_ was originally one of those only-referred-to cases. When Doyle actually wrote one of that title, it was a good story on its own, but inconsistent with what he had originally written). It’s the interesting possibilities conjured up by that trio that make me curious. And what might come of it. I’m convinced that Frederick Forysyth conceived of parts of _Day of the Jackal_ after ruminating on the untold Sherlock Holmes story of _The Affair of the Aluminum Crutch_. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2017, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-fictional-mystery-would-you-like-to-be-solved/777498/37 "2017-01-19T14:54:21Z")
The Mystery of Edwin Drood. Of course. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2017, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-fictional-mystery-would-you-like-to-be-solved/777498/38 "2017-01-19T15:17:36Z")
> [@chrisk](#): > > Exactly what did Calvin perpetrate in “The Noodle Incident?” (Or if in some freak chance he wasn’t responsible, who was?) Calvin was [framed](http://freefall.purrsia.com/ff200/fv00125.htm). ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2017, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-fictional-mystery-would-you-like-to-be-solved/777498/39 "2017-01-19T15:57:08Z")
Here’s a list of pastiches of the Holmes mystery. It’s by no means complete – there are at least two radio play pastiches, too. > [@](#): > > Politician, The Lighthouse and the Trained Cormorant, The (VEIL) > “The Adventure of the Pius Missal” (Ralph A. Ashton) > “The Adventure of Bell Rock Light” (Rick Boyer) > “The Affair of the Politician, The Lighthouse, and the Trained Cormorant” (Howard Collins) > “The Politician, The Lighthouse, and the Trained Cormorant” (Craig Shaw Gardner) > “The Dundas Separation Case” (Paul D. Gilbert) > “Adventure of the Opera Ghost” (Steven Philip Jones & Aldin Baroza) 53 > Death By Gaslight (Michael Kurland) 52 > “Holmes In Scotland” (W.R. Duncan MacMillan) > The Headless Monk (Kel Richards) > “The Adventure of the Barnegat Burglaries” (H.W. Starr & Orville Horwitz) > “The Case of the Abandoned Lighthouse” (June Thomson) > “The Fairy Thieves” (Dana Martin Batory) 143; “As to ‘An Exact Knowledge of London’” (Tony Broadbent) 35; “The Puzzle of the Vanishing Laboratory” (Peter Calamai) 25; Sherlock Holmes and the Alice In Wonderland Murders (Barry Day) 33; Sherlock Holmes and the Apocalypse Murders (Barry Day) 29-30; Sherlock Holmes and the Copycat Murders (Barry Day) 88; “The Adventure of the Forgetful Assassin” (M.J. Elliott) 99; Sherlock Holmes Vs. Dracula (Loren D. Estleman) 11; Prisoner of the Devil (Michael Hardwick) 114; All-Consuming Fire (Andy Lane) 14; “Codeine (7 Per Cent)” (Christopher Morley) 424-425 > The Statesman, The Beacon Keeper and the Tame Cormorant: Druid’s Blood (Esther M. Friesner) 217-243 [http://www.schoolandholmes.com/untoldcases.html](http://www.schoolandholmes.com/untoldcases.html) ---
**Author:** ![Labtrash](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/labtrash/32/528_2.png) [@Labtrash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labtrash)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2017, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-fictional-mystery-would-you-like-to-be-solved/777498/40 "2017-01-19T16:04:18Z")
> [@Bayard](#): > > Who killed Adena Watson. I came here to ask this too [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-fictional-mystery-would-you-like-to-be-solved/777498.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-fictional-mystery-would-you-like-to-be-solved/777498.md?page=3)