Murder on the Bective Express... Fiona dunnit!
Bective woman Fiona Sherlock (30) was inspired to create bespoke murder mystery games when she couldn’t find a suitably themed storyline for her own party. Being unimpressed with what was on offer and having a background in creative writing the talented mum of one decided to take matters into her own hands and make her own.
“About three years ago, my husband and I decided that we were going to have a murder mystery party. I loved games like Cluedo and Murder on the Orient Express but I couldn’t find the right game or script that would suit our group so I decided that I’d just write my own.
So successful was Fiona’s party that she started getting requests to create murder mystery games for friends and family spurring her on to turn her passion into a business.
“The first party I hosted really ignited a creative fire in me,” she says. “It was brilliant for Aisling and Kevin to turn up and be transformed into Sigmund Freud and the countess. I opened my Etsy shop while I was still working full time in PR. Sales of the games were growing and I noticed that all of my customers were in the states and overseas and they were really interested in Irish themed games. They loved things like Downton Abbey but were also very interested in their Irish heritage.
Fiona puts a huge amount of thought and time into each commission to create intricate storylines completely unique to each commission.
Fiona creates personalised murder mystery games
“I have a number of stock games that can suit people otherwise, I create custom games for clients. I have a Mad Men themed game that would be perfect for a fan of the 1960s! - incorporating characteristics, events, names etc. I recently had a client in the UK who was organising a party for her granny’s 80th birthday, so she wanted a murder mystery set at Royal Ascot in 1958, complete with her nan’s horse named.
“Murder at Stackallen Castle is my best-seller. It’s set in a fictional manor house in Meath. The storyline goes that the earl of a lavish family castle deep in the Irish countryside drops dead on the eve of a big gala ball that he was planning and the assembled crowd include ex-lovers and former business associates amongst other suspects. It’s very popular with buyers in the USA, but also in the UK, Australia and Saudi Arabia! The Meath accent comes through quite strongly in some of the characters and Navan, Trim and Drogheda are referenced.
“Another really popular one is The Wizards’ Dagger, a fantasy style game inspired by Harry Potter and Game of Thrones. Jippity Umlot is the 1000-year-old wizard who is due to receive the golden wand award for his contribution to the magical community but on the eve of his big do he drops dead. From there I let the imagination run wild because the cast includes ambassadors from other galaxies and political representatives from half magical half human groups.”
Fiona in the conservatory with the champagne chute!
There is a huge global community for this type of detective based game that Fiona hopes to tap into as she explains.
“I’d like to be the number one go-to place for murder mystery games and to grow a community around people who enjoying hosting these parties as well as introducing people who are unfamiliar with it to a new way of having fun, and show people that they can channel their own creativity for a different sort of experience.
“I love to see how much people enjoy the games when they are acting them out. You might have a shy introverted person who finds it difficult to make conversation at a dinner party and they have the armour of their character behind them that can fuel a lot of confidence. It’s often the quiet person in the corner that really shines.”
Having written and self-published her first novel last year the talented Bective woman has recently been signed to a literary agency in the UK.
The Bective writer has been signed to a literary agency in the UK
“My first novel ‘Dark Green’ was self-published, it’s a thriller set in the 1970s and I launched it at the Hinterland festival in Kells. My latest novel is the first in a quirky detective series. I have been signed by Kate Nash literary agency in the UK and they are approaching editors this week so I’m very excited.”
When asked where she gets the inspiration for these intricate far fetched stories, the budding writer says her imagination is always in overdrive.
“We were getting our house insulated recently and I asked if it would be possible to make it airtight and hide a dead body in there, so yeah every scenario presents opportunities for new stories,” she laughs, adding “if someone saw my internet history, there would definitely be alarm bells ringing.”
Find Bespoke Murder Mystery on Etsy or www.bespokemurdermystery.com