.jpg)
Invite: I created the invitation on PhotoShop compiling knife, fingerprint, and crime scene tape images I found online. I incorporated some popular novel titles into the wording. The Guest List, Behind Closed Doors, and The Woman in the Window were all great novels. I asked guests to bring a new or gently used mystery or thriller novel (wrapped for even more mystery) to exchange to add more fun to the evening.
Decorations: I set the dining table like a crime scene - a black plastic tablecloth that I drew the outline of a body with a wide-tipped paint pen. I set out some suspenseful books around the body and made yellow evidence number signs to place next to them.
I made mini evidence bags to hold the napkin. I purchased mini ziplock bags from Michaels Craft Store and created a label on PhotoShop. The label had each guest's name as the detective and then the item collected was listed as Subject A's napkin, or Victim A's napkin, or Witness A's napkin, etc. The date collected was the party date and the case number was 226. Why? Because this monthly dinner is the 226th one I have hosted for these ladies!
For place cards, I made small evidence folders. I took large manilla folders and cut smaller versions out of them. I wrote each guest's name on the top of the folder and created a Top Secret label to place in the middle.
Inside the folder, I had funny things about each guest. An alias, motive, and last scene phrase that matched their personality or something about them. It was fun to read these aloud while we ate our dinner. Some of the write-ups shown here are a guest who had her last chemo treatment the day of the party, an avid wine drinker, and a junior high English teacher.
When I designed my wine labels, I searched for mystery/suspense book titles with white or red in the name. I found Little White Lies by Philippa East and used that cover for the white wine. I changed the author to Sharda Nay (chardonnay) for added fun, and created a new tagline - "Deceptively Crisp. Deliciously Good."
For the cabernet, I decided to use the cover of James Patterson's novel Confessions of the Dead. I liked the alliteration of Cabernet Confessions, so I added Cabernet to the title. Again, I swapped the true author to a fake one -- C.A. Bernet (cabernet) and the tagline to be "Spill it All -- Just Not the Wine" to go with the idea of spilling confessions.
For wine charms, I printed out mini book covers for other suspenseful books.
Menu: Since books were the focus on this theme, I also created my menu to be summertime related, but also related to mystery books. I served grilled hamburgers with all the fixings for guests to add on - bacon, grilled onions, cheese, lettuce, tomato. I swapped out the word dragon for burger in the novel, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.
Along with the burgers, I served grilled vegetable kabobs with zucchini, yellow squash, mushrooms, and red, yellow, and orange peppers. I swapped out the word woman for kabob in the book The Woman in Cabin 10.
As one side, I made coleslaw changing the manslaughter to manSLAWter in the novel Murder, Manslaughter, and Mayhem.
The final side was watermelon. For this, I swapped out the word woman for watermelon for the novel The Woman in the Window and added a evil looking watermelon face into the cover.
For dessert, I made chocolate mousse. We topped the plate and the whipped cream of each serving with an edible fake blood mixture made with mainly cornstarch and dye. I used my Cricut cutting machine to make mini cleavers with blood splatter to use like cupcake toppers. The book title I used for this was Murder on the Orient Express and just swapped murder for chocolate.
Favor: Since we were having a mystery book exchange during the party, I decided to make a bookmark as my parting gift. I used PhotoShop to create a crime scene body outline and added some blood splatter to it. I added the phrase "For my partners in crime (fiction). Always love our killer nights." I used my Cricut to cut the image out as well as blob of red cardstock behind to add to the murder scene idea. Added a string with a bead at the end. I slid some of the favors into or on top of suspenseful books for added decor.
We really had a great time at this dinner party, and I cannot wait to read the novel I got in the book exchange. I have only a couple weeks left of my summer, so I better get reading!
