Courtesy of the Roanoke County Library

Left to right: Rose Guzi, Brett Ostby, James Channell, David Wilson, Sarah Haley, Mike Haley, Keri Ostby, Ken Vaughan, Amy Webb, Darlene Smithwick, Marsha Weaver.

The Roanoke County Public Library recently held its annual Mystery Night. Darlene Smithwick, Reference & Adult Services Coordinator, provides this account:

" 'Murder at the Juice Joint' was the title of our 2008 murder mystery. The setting was a speakeasy in 1926. The cast consisted of rival mob bosses, a grieving widow, gold-digging flappers, a bootlegger, and crooked politicians and police. Our cast were the suspects and our guests were the investigators. After an opening drama in which the murder took place, the investigators formed teams and had five minutes to investigate each suspect. Each suspect had a scene with clues set up somewhere in the library. After each team had questioned each suspect, we regrouped in the meeting room for refreshments and the teams discussed their findings and came to a conclusion. Each team made their accusation before we revealed the killer. Winning teams were awarded a certificate.

This was our third annual murder mystery. In 2006, we did "Murder on the Petulant Express," which took place on a luxury train in 1938. In 2007, our play was "Evil Never Dies," which was about a town that had been cursed 100 years previously.

Mystery night has been very successful. Our staff (who volunteer their time) and volunteers work very hard to put on a good show. We sell 40 tickets and our guests get involved and enjoy the evening."

Submitted by Darlene Smithwick