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Retropolis

A 1934 murder mystery’s pages were printed out of order. Now the world is obsessed.

Only four people have ever solved the puzzle contained in the pages of ‘Cain’s Jawbone.’ TikTok helped turn the obscure, 100-page British novel into a craze.

By
December 26, 2022 at 7:00 a.m. EST
The reporter’s copy of “Cain’s Jawbone,” which has been cut apart and bound back together in what she fervently hopes is the correct order of pagination. (Hannah Natanson/The Washington Post)
10 min

“Cain’s Jawbone” is seductive.

The lissome little murder mystery retails for $15 and totals 100 pages. The novel’s cover, depicting a murdered man’s legs on a library floor, is an enticing blend of turquoise, bright yellow and pale orange. The book was written in 1934 by a British crossword master, and “the pages have been printed in an entirely haphazard order,” the book jacket’s cover declares, “but it is possible — through logic and intelligent reading — to sort them into the only correct order, revealing six murder victims and their respective murderers.”