The last word has been a common element of mysteries going back to the emergence of the genre. In Hercule Poirot's first case, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, Mrs. Emily Cavendish Inglethorpe's last word was "Alfred." But was her husband's name said for comfort or as an accusation? In Nayland Smith's first engagement on British soil with The Insidious Dr. Fu-Manchu, Sir Creighton Davey's last words were "the red hand." Was there meaning to the puzzling phrase or was it a symptom of a dying mind? Then, of course, is the greatest last word ever, Citizen Kane and "Rosebud."

For your puzzle solving pleasure, Mysteries to Die For presents: A Word Before Dying. Nuts. Hiawatha. In Vino Veritas. El Melena. Bad Luck. Sue Her. Best Friend. Ghost. Shadow. Nine enigmatic phrases. Nine stories arranged for you to deduce the truth before the detective takes center stage.