The Hamptons Mystery & Crime Festival will be presenting its very first edition in East Hampton Village from Thursday, April 13th to Sunday, April 16th. This festival was created for fans of mysteries, thrillers, suspense, and true crime stories, and many notable guests will be in attendance to round out this whodunit weekend.
Festival venues throughout the weekend like the middle school, East Hampton Library, Book Hampton, and more are all within walking distance to one another right in the heart of East Hampton. The Hamptons Whodunit weekend kicks off on Thursday evening with a cocktail party hosted by Professor Plum at Maidstone Club. From there, a full schedule of talks, panels, Q&A sessions, and book signings will take place beginning Friday morning through the afternoon.
Some of the esteemed guests in attendance at this year’s festival are well-recognized names within the mystery and crime writing community. Michael Connelly is a #1 New York Times bestselling author with 37 novels, and he will be a guest of honor in East Hampton on Saturday evening.
Lisa Jewell, #1 New York Times bestseller of 19 novels will be another anticipated author at the festival appearing on a few panels and doing a book signing at East Hampton Library on Friday afternoon. Several other recognized names that will be part of this weekend-long event are Anthony Horowitz, Alafair Burke, A.J. Finn, Casey Sherman, Megan Abbott, and a full roster of talented authors, filmmakers, producers, reporters, moderators, and others that have earned excellence in the crime writing community!
Not only will the festival consist of illuminating talks, panels, and signings by honorary guests, but several fun and interactive events will be hosted as well. A tour of the South End Cemetery on James Lane, across from the Gardiner Windmill, will take place both Friday and Saturday evening at 5:00 p.m. with the town crier. This is the final resting place of several well-known figures, one of which is Lion Gardiner. Here, in the cemetery that overlooks the town pond, guests will learn the story of Goody Garlick who was accused and acquitted of witchcraft in the 1600s in East Hampton—before the infamous Salem Witch Trials took place.
On Friday night there will be murder mystery trivia and escape rooms at the East Hampton Library from 6:00-9:00 p.m. The themes of the escape rooms are “Stranger Things” and “Plum Island” where teams will work together to unravel clues and escape while there is still time!
Beginning Saturday morning, there’s a fun and interactive event in which participants have the chance to solve a murder mystery with the Crime Scene Challenge of “Who killed the mayor?” Participants will be invited to handle this investigation the way a detective would using creative thinking, deductive thinking, and problem-solving skills to crack the case.
A true crime bus tour takes place on Saturday afternoon where Mayor Jerry Larsen will take visitors on a guided tour through the Hamptons’ most notorious crime scene sites. Many may not know about the murders, kidnappings, and mob hits of the 1940s-1990s that happened right here on the South Fork, but they will surely leave with newfound knowledge of those ghastly events!
For more information about the inaugural Hamptons Mystery & Crime Festival, which includes a full schedule of events, book signing times, and list of honorary guests in attendance, as well as to purchase tickets, visit https://www.hamptonswhodunit.com.
