World Mysteries and Thrillers discussion

Quiz Time! Guess the murder mystery location of the picture being used as my 'photo' to the left.

First - Which country? (2 clues: A. It is next to water, and B) My first thought I had when I saw this locale was, 'This can't be here. This looks like places I usually see on the other side of the globe.'

Then - When someone gives the correct country...

Second - I will give a clue to help them narrow in further...

Until - Someone guesses the name of the actual real and specific locale.

Functionality: Yes, it is a very small image. Options: Zoom in. Cut/paste screen shot into power point/zoom in/enlarge. Click onto my page. ***Note. I have passed this through one of the moderators. Recently I have begun writing a mystery series. But I am very far away from publishing. The first (which is the image provided for the quiz) will not be published until at least mid-2016. The image will be replaced way before then in order to avoid any resemblance to self-promotion. I love travelling by mystery, it is my #1 hobby too!

Picture has few clues. Vegetation and roofs. Stonework. Vegetation looks Mediterranean. I've seen roofs like that in southern Italy. But also seen them in China.

Could be Greece, but I haven't been to Greece yet so I can't say. Crumbling stonework by the water, could be Mexico, even. Or the Caribbean.

The photo should have at least one clear clue, so that someone has a reasonable chance of making the correct deduction. I don't see one..

Actually...
I love how you listed clues you saw. I wasn't expecting that...but that engages me in return.

You said, vegetation looks Mediterranean. If one zooms into the vegetation, it is a type that generally only grows in the Med. Yes, the roof tiles can be found in Mexico, US-California, Caribbean...and???

You did indeed say the country name...but I will be a stickler here and say the vegetation is probably your best clue...though the stone color could also help narrow...

Which (pick one) of the countries that you mentioned would be your guess?

Between Greece and Italy I say Italy.

Amalfi coast? Portofino? Naples/Capri? Sorrento? Sicily?

Since you mentioned it once...I'll give you that in fact it is GREECE. It is a place with architecture we would not normally associate with Greece ... in fact when I saw it I thought it had to be in Mexico or Central America.

Here are some more clues to guess the specific location:

1. When I first glimpsed it I thought it would be a perfect locale for an Agatha Christie style mystery. (enclosed environment).

2. Maybe it is an island -- maybe not.

3. The buildings in the picture face south and they are not easily seen from any other body of land ... best by boat (or a very good swimmer).

4. The Venetians left their mark on this locale.

They didn't get Cyprus (I don't think) so you're probably talking about that finger of land that sticks out from Greece out into the Adriatic, where the big battle was fought? Still some kind of castle there? I forget exactly why but I had reason to look this up myself recently. Has something to do with it being the most impregnable fortress in Europe? The key to possession of the Greek mainland?

It was also something to do with Othello, (or the source for the original story of Othello)? Because when 'Othello' takes place the Venetians own the castle and are trying to fend off the Turks? That's why it would make a good mystery story locale (because you could weave in the 'Othello theme' and just add some tourists a la 'Evil Under the Sun')?

Feliks...you could win the prize for most hilarious reader to look for clues and contemplate mystery locales!!

At this point we need to see if there are any Greeks on goodreads who could chime in. I will look for some and in about 24 hours I will put a new clue on.

Some ways of twisting google search words could help to narrow in...and google maps could help solidify from there.

It's probably Corfu

Not Corfu

the answer is...the Murchison Murders in Western Australia, 1929!

seriously, here is the info on that fortress in Corfu. do you insist this is still not the answer?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_For...

http://www.greeka.com/ionian/corfu/co...

Seriously :) Not Corfu.

Is the story Pascali's Island, and the island...one of the Ionian islands?

H'mmm. She's using the phrase 'Venice made its mark' as a play on words. Veiled reference to 'St. Mark'! Watch out

One reminder...this is the setting locale of an upcoming murder mystery (not yet published).

John...it may be an island and it may not be.

Hint: what is really close to being an island...so close but not quite. Often these have been islands off and on in history.

Volcanos? Talking about Santorini, then?

Peninsula as in..Peleponnese?

Ohhhh. John is getting warmer. Not a peninsula. Peloponnesus is very warm and getting very hot.

Hint: this type of land mass (close to an island but not quite) also has a biology definition "a cluster of cells found in the pancreas".

If one used all my earlier clues and used google maps...focused in on John's super warm guess...wowsie!

Isthmus..Isthmus of...

or Islets of Langa..lango..

(I consider it cheating to turn to Google)

ISLET!

But which one? They do serve a fascinating and unique drink on this islet. On the menu it is called "Volcano drink". I don't think that clue will help you... more a point of interest. (Though it would have been interesting to see what Feliks would have done with that one). I have a feeling John is going to guess it first.

No more clues. I will summarize critical clues though: Greece. John's guess Peloponnesus. South facing. Venetians. Feliks' islet.

The Hebrides! Scotland is the answer

Feliks will have us travel the entire globe a few times around during this quiz alone. Well...I guess that defines this group pretty well.

They drink Ouzo in Greece I think...nasty stuff too

p.s. you're sure its not Corfu

Feliks...you won the court jester award long ago. I hope John jumps in again else Feliks will have my head spinning forever more.

Ouzo is delicious, Feliks! Raki is the nasty stuff!

Could you mean some of the islets near Santorini?

They serve fizzy colas on this islet too.

Peloponnesus and islet is a scalding hot guess. Santorini is getting much colder.

Thanks Fizzy! (what a great name)

I actually dislike any viand or elixir which tastes of ...licorice. Bleh! Isnt Ouzo in that same family of flavor? Been too long since I tried it

...this is unbearable! Ungodly! Insufferable! The suspense is killing me!


(...I hope it continues..)

Sorry, I had to leave for a few hours. Isle of Pelops?

A member doesn't have to be Greek to guess this but wouldn't it be neat to have some chime in?

I wonder if this group has any Greek members. I did not see an easy way to find any.

They keep Polo-Ponies on Pelops

--Ed Norton

the Ampullae of Lorenzini

Argos?

Move southward from Argos, Greece and look hard for an islet!

OMG. Just putting in search words: Peloponnesus/Islet/Venetians brings up the answer fairly easily.

Tease! Tease!

Even I'm not this strict in my own quizzes.

You are a harsh Quiz-Mistress!

I think I am being teased by the gamers playing this quiz...not the reverse

FYI, some of don't even use Google. 'DuckDuckGo' search engine, doesn't track search activity like Google..

Ok. Ok. I used your fancy Duckduckgo.com search engine. Put in the words peloponnesus islet and it was the top result!!! In fact, the first link is a great one for taking a reader from the entrance of this one as if in a story.

It can't get any easier than that...I am a nearly broken-down quiz mistress after this...nearly.

Monemvasia. But I prefer some answers by Feliks. I need to make dinner, but I'll check again later.