A Bookish Treasure Hunt: Have You Got What it Takes?

Hello all, I have something a little bit different for you today!

I’ve always been a fan of treasure hunts, as well as puzzles and games where you have to work clues (I secretly consider myself a bit of a Sherlock, brainiac, crime fighter on the quiet.) 😉 So when I was approached to help host a genius little treasure hunt based around a recently released, intriguing sounding book I was only too happy to oblige.
The basic idea is that several bloggers are presenting one clue on their blog, and that if you, the readers, manage to guess the clues correctly you can submit your answers into a prize draw to win a free copy of the novel. Pretty awesome, huh? I know I’m looking forward to giving it a go and trying to work it out!

So what is this mystery book?

At the age of thirty, Campbell Johnstone is a failure. He’s stuck behind the bar of a shabby pub, watching from the sidelines while everyone else makes a success of their lives. The most visible is Eve Sadler, a childhood friend and rising Hollywood star.
When Campbell tries to rekindle their relationship, he longs for the glitter of her success to run off on him, but a single shocking night – the novel’s shattering twist delivered with a knockout punch – changes everything. Campbell is about to discover the bittersweet taste of fame, and in the process, struggle to save his soul and overcome his own self-delusion.

The Last Treasure Hunt explores our obsession with fame and celebrity with great intelligence and sly wit – it’s a modern media morality tale with bite.

So, here’s clue number 11!

He’s a couple of chocolates short of a box
And he’s had to contend with life’s hard knocks
His sweetheart wants him to put down his gun:
He sees her here, before he starts to run.

  I think I have an idea what this one is, do you? 🙂

How the hunt works:

• Each clue refers to a landmark or iconic location in a film. The landmark/location is the answer – when you figure it out, make a note of it!
• (If you need a hand, check out the #treasurehunt hashtag on Twitter or Instagram for a hint to the landmark’s location…)
• Clues will be revealed by some fantastic book bloggers from March 26th until April 21st. Keep checking back on Jane Alexander’s dedicated treasure hunt page (janealexander.net/join-the-hunt) or on the #treasurehunt hashtag for links and new clues.
• When all the clues are revealed, the first letter of every answer will make an anagram. Solve the anagram and you have your final answer!
• Email this answer and all the landmarks you figured out to hermes@saraband.net by April 30th to be entered into the prize draw. Two entrants will win a signed copy of The Last Treasure Hunt – and if you’ve guessed the most landmarks and locations, you’ll win a goodie bag and something special from Jane personally! On top of that you’ll get bragging rights on Twitter and we’ll publicly dub you queen/king sleuth.
• Good luck!

About the Author
Jane Alexander’s short stories and creative non-fiction has been widely published in a number of anthologies and literary magazines, including Mslexia, Litro and The Orphan Leaf Review. A winner of a major national story competition, and the recipient of a Scottish Arts Council New Writers bursary, Jane is also a lecturer in creative writing at the Open University.

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