Clues & Culprits › Archive › October 2026 › Oct 24, 2026 Hard
Oct 24, 2026 — Hard case
Starlight Express, the 2–1 favourite for the Countess Stakes, walked out of the stalls, ambled thirty yards and lay down on the turf for a nap. By teatime the horse was perfectly well. The bookmakers' losses were not.
This Hard case seats 20 suspects on a 4×5 grid. 16 of them carry a clue; the other 4 only have something to say about themselves. 5 of the steps can only be proven by reading two or more clues together. Every verdict you enter is checked against all the scenarios that still fit the statements on file, so a move only sticks when it is proven.
The opening statement
Cora the milliner starts the case already proven innocent:
The person to my right is a criminal.— Cora, milliner (C1)
The lineup
Suspects stand in alphabetical order, left to right and top to bottom. Each belongs to one of Clues & Culprits’ twelve character classes — the badge on their nameplate. This case uses 6 of them, each cast as a role in the setting: jockeys, grooms, milliners, racehorse owners, stable hands, champagne caterers. Clues about a role (“exactly one of the milliners”) count everyone in it.
| Seat | Suspect | Role in this case | Class |
|---|---|---|---|
| A1 | Arlo | jockey | Courier |
| B1 | Bea | groom | Servant |
| C1 | Cora | milliner | Artist |
| D1 | Dexter | racehorse owner | Noble |
| A2 | Ezra | milliner | Artist |
| B2 | Freya | stable hand | Laborer |
| C2 | Gus | champagne caterer | Cook |
| D2 | Hana | champagne caterer | Cook |
| A3 | Ivan | stable hand | Laborer |
| B3 | Jasper | stable hand | Laborer |
| C3 | Kofi | groom | Servant |
| D3 | Lionel | racehorse owner | Noble |
| A4 | Marco | racehorse owner | Noble |
| B4 | Nico | milliner | Artist |
| C4 | Olive | racehorse owner | Noble |
| D4 | Petra | jockey | Courier |
| A5 | Queenie | champagne caterer | Cook |
| B5 | Rufus | stable hand | Laborer |
| C5 | Sadie | groom | Servant |
| D5 | Tess | jockey | Courier |
Stuck?
The in-game hint first points at the statement to re-read, then at the suspect you can prove, then shows the proof. For a gentler nudge, open the spoiler-free hints for Oct 24, 2026, or press Share to send a friend your exact board. New to the format? The deduction-puzzle guide covers the habits that unlock every step.
More cases
- Same day: Easy case · Medium case
- Previous Hard: Oct 23, 2026 — Sold Out in Four Minutes
- Next Hard: Oct 25, 2026 — An Allergy to Tuesdays
- Clue types in this case: Above, below, left and right · Common-neighbor clues · Neighbor clues · If–then clues
- All October 2026 cases · More cases in racecourses · Meet the cast