how I solved Cain's Jawbone (the TikTok murder mystery book)

[@nathanwiles2719]

Just got the book and wanted to get some context on how likely I am to be able to solve it. There’s a lot of misinformation about the book out there so this is super helpful, thank you.

[@Hamppuapina]

Thanks for the tips! I started the book last year but got distracted, and just picked it up again.

[@liaribeiro8022]

This book is soooooo intimidating, I have bought it but never even opened cause its just like scary

[@KeenMurphy]

this video was made for you! take it a page at a time and try and look for pages that have stuff in common.

[@RWoodland57]

This is the first thing that made we want to try solving it! Thanks!

[@siobhanmowat]

This is so helpful, thank you! Like most other comments, the “it’s impossible!” vibes were kind of creating a mental block, but you’ve helped me get past that - thank you! If you do end up write one yourself, that would be awesome! x

[@jasonsdodd]

i've loaded this up on a remarkable tablet. this will let me take notes and rearrange the pages easilty.

[@InvisibleZed]

Brilliant video - thankyou for the advice. I didn't listen into the tips section (yet) as you noted, hoping to go in fresh. I was deciding whether to get the book and your video helped me decide I would. I wish there were more lengthy challenging books like this. I was hoping you'd had presented others (if there are any), but it seems you've not done any further videos.

[@katclemons5814]

Just got this as a birthday present, and had I not watched your video I may not have wanted to take a crack at it. So, thanks!

[@KeenMurphy]

Happy birthday! Hope you enjoy trying to solve

[@AriAnaheim]

I purchased this book two days ago and started by reading page 1 to page 100 to see if I could get anywhere. To my chagrin, I got no farther than identifying several pages with poem lines and Googling which lines come from the same poem. 😂😂

[@SilverMoonAscends]

Got this one on my birthday last month because it was on my immediate wishlist! The fun part is that our romanian publishing house who translated this book is having a giveaway that ends at the last day of August, where the winner gets 100 books. Not sure if I'll manage to guess it until then but I'll give it my best. :)

[@bettybatrinu3998]

si eu tot voi incerca sa particip aici, chiar daca incep la mijlocul lui iunie😂

[@SilverMoonAscends]

@@bettybatrinu3998 Si eu la fel! Mult succes! ^_^

[@LittleBeeMadi]

I got into this way too late! Now i feel like if i solve it on my own it's not going to mean as much if i dont do it by the end of the year like it will just look like i cheated and im not a genius 😅

[@jackjohnhameld6401]

Out of print for 80 years, now everyone is talking about it ! We all like the myth surrounding the book as sixsixsix says in the comments. *The Cain's Jawbone Book of Crosswords* by Torquemada (aka Edward Powys Mathers 1892-1939) is just published by Unbound.

[@sixsixsix5347]

I like the myth surrounding this book, I hope a few people have solved it 😂, we want to solve it with my friends and we like difficult things, is it a difficult puzzle?

[@KeenMurphy]

it is difficult, but it is solveable! especially with a group

[@aeroangie]

It's impossible lol.. I've been trying for 9 months or so.. I can't even wrap my head around half the writing. I'm Canadian and most of the language is way past my knowledge. PLEASE teach me lol I'm 47.

[@ЕкатеринаМартюшина]

I am deeply intrigued by the book, but with English being my second language, it does seem like an insurmountable task

[@michaelagampe7685]

You find it in german too! Perhaps also in your language ?

[@NikBone]

I got the english original and german translation, but I am not sure, wether the translation is perfect enough to make the puzzle easier. I will use both text and let you know, when I am finished.

[@CuriosityRocks]

I started trying just trial and error matching the last sentence on each page to the first sentence on the next page and just seeing which page seems to fit

[@bettybatrinu3998]

i found that the book has those things (the ones you said that there are many people who have gotten so far without knowing it) in my second hour of familiarising myself with the book lol

[@prawnstar9213]

Completely agree with everything you said.. who’s speaking on that page.. that was the game I played! And yeah.. the one name! OMG! The one name sir.. that was awful! Hope you got that little pun. And yes.. I’ve dreamt of creating something like this.. wish we knew one another!

[@WhoAmIWhatAmIWhereAmI]

Got this book today and i am so intrigued I'm only 13 but I'm going to work on it this school holidays. Does anyone know what is a good place to start also if I do end up completing it (im not expecting to get that far) am I supposed to contact someone for confirmation or just keep it to myself and is there supposed to be a answer sheet to fill in at the beginning or the end of the book cause I don't have one and there is a bunch of blank pages at the end so I'm looking for some help so yea thanks to anyone who responds

[@josjeschaars144]

I am also interested is this a good book to read when it is in correct order…

[@lujanpose1389]

This was super helpful! Thanks!

[@noahmenendez8293]

I’m 12 and trying to solve it. I’m 25 pages into annotating. The only thing I’m annotating for so far is murder, to-day and names. Do you think I could solve it? If so maybe you could give ma a little nudge in the right direction.

[@noahmenendez8293]

Idk why I said that I’m 13

[@KeenMurphy]

to-day is a really good start, if you keep going with that you should have at least one full chapter. look out for writing styles to find anyone chapter. I would ignore names for now, because a lot of the names aren’t helpful at the start and just the narrators mind wandering.

[@MarciaFerreira-ej7vj]

Hi, @Noah...Try to separate the narrators with their likes, preferences, quotes / favorite authors, place where they narrated. Good Luck!😊

[@WhoAmIWhatAmIWhereAmI]

​@@MarciaFerreira-ej7vj have you completed it?

[@MarciaFerreira-ej7vj]

WhoAmIWhatAmIWhereAmI Yes!😊

[@josjeschaars144]

I have recently bought this book, but English isn’t my mother tongue. Is it also solvable for me…

[@aleffmarques1641]

Same question here

[@anneliseeveringham]

What method would you recommend instead of the murder board?

[@KeenMurphy]

just going through with a pen and taking notes, and then start creating piles of similar pages

[@SupaKoopaTroopa790]

I created a text document to note all the historical background information and clues found per page, that way I could just ctrl + f to find where I'd previously read something. This approach made the process of grouping pages easier as well.

[@camilaugucione3670]

Just the chapthers are out of order our the sentecs in a page can be messy to?

[@BarelyPassingProduct]

Who did you submit your solution to in order to find out you had solved it correctly?

[@KeenMurphy]

three of the confirmed solvers on /r/cainsjawbone

[@marial.3380]

@@KeenMurphy Do you know how many people have solved it so far? :) Four, including two men at the 30s, is probably not up-to-date?

[@KeenMurphy]

nope, the number is probably closer to 1000 at this point in time

[@venuswilliamsinfurs]

Great vid ❤

[@deborahheeps6634]

I have got it for Christmas, so how can I solve it by end of January if it took you at least 3 (if you take away your breaks)

[@ms.procrastination]

The book is really time consuming once you start it, you're drawn in 😂 I think I have some parts figured out, do you mind if I send it to you, to check?

[@KeenMurphy]

yeah, my email should be available on my channel page

[@ms.procrastination]

@@KeenMurphy I can't find it on your about channel page

[@raswartz]

How did you figure out there were "chapters"?

[@KeenMurphy]

I began grouping the pages, and then it sort of becomes clear that there are certain groups of pages that share certain traits that help you solve.

[@reid1710]

how did you know you are correct? did you submit your answers?

[@KeenMurphy]

I have submitted my answer but I wont hear back from the publisher until January, but I have had x3 confirmed solvers, (from last years results) confirm my answer as correct.

[@courtneywright9251]

@@KeenMurphy Online it states only 3 people have actually completed? How come the winner a last year haven’t been announced

[@Dayluj32]

15:56 uh... do you think it's it's possible to solve it in two months?lol And if so, how do you submit it? my book's a translation (bilingual translation so i can still read it in english, but still) and it doesnt come with instructions on that part... thanks for the video! I really needed some tips and its surprisingly hard to find

[@KeenMurphy]

it’s possible, but maybe you’d need a little more help than others to do it that fast. check out reddit and search cains jawbone for help

[@Dayluj32]

@@KeenMurphy oh, okay! I sure will, reddit seems a useful source of help, since it's actual people helping... tysm for answering :)

[@ag4444]

Sounds interesting, but I only have a rather basic English vocabulary and only basic knowledge of English history and literature. I think it would take ages to understand a page.

[@MarciaFerreira-ej7vj]

How long did it take you to solve the murders and sort the pages?

[@KeenMurphy]

took me about 9 months start to finish, but I would work on for it a week or two and then take a month or two off

[@damlainan2358]

I am actievely working on it. How did you start sorting? Did you ordering pages by dates or by narrators?

[@KeenMurphy]

both, if you order by date you'll find a few narrators

[@damlainan2358]

​@KeenMurphy I finished it for a couple of month ago and I got confirmed by one of the previous confirmed people. I love the ending a lot😂

[@timshamberger1260]

@@KeenMurphy Do you plan on trying the CJ inspired 'Researcher's First Murder'? by J. Finnemore. PS I have my own version that I am almost ready to release. It is shorter and hopefully much more fun and approachable.

[@Ethan-sc7gq]

0/10 book, Alistair isn’t a nickname for Alexander

[@KeenMurphy]

hahaha

[@spytemp2011]

Alistair is the Scottish Gaelic equivalent of the Engliah name Alexander.

[@sabrinaabreu2488]

Here in Brazil, 9 people have solved that book. The fist one, was a girl only 16 y, she solved in 10 days.

[@JDesEsseintes-x]

I am a non-native English speaker and I struggle with understanding the text. It seems to me that a lot of it is written in symbolic language. Am I right in thinking this? Do I have to decode the individual sentences to understand the text right? I really don't want to use the Internet too much as I think it's cheating, but this one thing I'd like to know. For instance, when there is talk about a woman, is it always a person or can it be a metaphor? Thanks for any help.

[@KeenMurphy]

You will not be able to decode this without the internet. Even in the 1920s a solver would expect to have access to a large library.

[@JDesEsseintes-x]

@@KeenMurphy Yes, I got my hands on a copy, but i regret it because it's nonsense. What a shame! Thanks for the reply, though!

[@person7896]

okay so I have a question, has anyone posted a full solution online? wait no way they're publishing 'how to solve it' that's so stupid, let people have some more fun

[@ravijenjoysfifa]

What do you think the age rating for this book is?

[@KeenMurphy]

That's a tough question haha! I imagine 12+ would be okay, the themes of murder are fairly light, but I imagine anyone under 15/16 would need more guidance in trying to get through the book, potentially ideally under 16 they'd be solving with a parent.

[@ravijenjoysfifa]

@@KeenMurphy Thank you so much!

[@mahpacheco]

What is the answer? 😅

[@lynxx7515]

(naughty, naughty !!!)

[@danabanana3453]

This book is a major headache. One should not need to Google the solution. This book needs to be solvable on its own.

[@KeenMurphy]

it's fun!

[@raginggamer7207]

Considering it was written in the early 1900s, when Google AND computers didn't exist...you can absolutely solve it without Google. Relax.

[@lilaliner1432]

​@raginggamer7207 it's pretty much impossible if u live in a non English speaking country

[@BookBunnys]

I think this video destroys the meaning of the book. Granted, I didn't watch more than a few minutes but offering help to solve the book - that destroys the mystery and the whole point of the book. You're supposed to solve it alone :( Because a video like this exists the whole experience of solving it becomes meaningless. It's not a huge accomplishment anymore.

[@mynemesderren]

he’s just giving small tips and literally is pushing people to try and solve it by themselves next time i suggest watching more than „just a few minutes” of the video before you start saying smth ;)