Murder Mystery Party

Some friends and I have been talking about doing a murder mystery party for months. I decided to use my birthday party as an excuse to throw one. When my mom asked me what I wanted for my birthday, I asked her if I could have the party at her house. She agreed, we picked a date and we were ready to go.
I was limited on my guest list due to expense and logistics, so that was frustrating as I wanted so many people to come, but I finally got a guest list and picked a fun murder mystery to fit us all.
The one I picked was called Murder at the Four Deuces and was set in the 1920's. We all rented costumes and really transformed ourselves. Each person was assigned a character and I sent them their character booklet a few weeks before the party.
The party was set at a Speakeasy so my mom and I worked to transform their house into one. For the evening, we came up with a great soundtrack of jazz music. We lowered the lights and decorated the tables with scarves, big bouquets and beads. We put red light bulbs in the rooms for rent and draped those rooms with lingerie and high heel shoes. We put several pairs of men's boots outside the doors. I taped notices on the doors that read, "one patron at a time, please inquire with management about rooms".
We sent out a pass phrase to our guests so that they could get in the doors of the speakeasy. We had our "bouncer" Al Capone arrive early so he could greet guests at the door, check the pass phrase, and pat them down. When they came inside I greeted them with packets that included a notebook, pencil, money, and nametag. Then Michael took them to the bar and fixed them a drink. Then we all mingled and drank cocktails and munched on some fabulous appetizers in the big living room.
We had signs up announcing our jazz singer performance, but right as she walked on her for her performance, our guest of honor was murdered! We carried off his body and then the buffet opened. I handed out confidential packets with more information for each character and we all enjoyed dinner.
After dinner the inspector read the evidence he had collected. We filled out puzzle sheets and used those clues to go on a scavenger hunt for weapons. Then the scheming and murdering began! And of course, we had dessert, which was delicious.
Three more murders occurred before the end of the party. Everyone filled out whodunnit sheets and only one person guessed who killed Big Jim, our guest of honor. I handed out certificates for best costume, wealthiest player, best performance, and super sleuth.
It was a really fun party. It was also a lot of work! I really hope someone else has one so that we can do it again. There is a learning curve to doing these things and I think we would really rock the next one since now we know what we're doing. Also, if you are considering getting one of these, pay the extra money and get the kit. It'll be worth it.
I hope you enjoy the pictures. XO and Happy Birthday to me!