Sherlock Holmes and Flippers, a.k.a. Who killed Czar?

Last Friday night, I saw the Sherlock Holmes movie at the mall with my sibs.

(Note to Czar, who is probably reading this: yes, despite all my protests I ended up watching the movie.)

I wasn’t all that keen on watching the movie from the very first time I saw the trailer, which seemed too Hollywood-ized to me, and a few minutes into Sherlock Holmes, I found that I wasn’t wrong on that note.

With the rabble-rousing tandem of Sherlock Holmes (when he’s not raving manically) and Watson, a load of bromance and flashy action sequences, and a plot worthy of a Dan Brown novel, the film is certainly entertaining, but it comes off more like Sherlock Holmes fan fic rather than an adaptation of the beloved classic.

But this entry isn’t really about the movie… It’s about what happened at the Flips Flipping Pages Christmas Party!

It started out quite innocently — Marie suggests a reading of Sherlock Holmes’ The Sign of Four… Except that a bunch of us were really planning something else for the Christmas party, that the rest of the Flippers had no idea about.

We started off the afternoon digging into the party food and watching the movie “Clue”….  As you can see, I took one of the last photos of Czar (top, right) being his usual sunshiny self, just before a heinous crime is committed.

Czar opposed the idea of a discussion on the Christmas party and Marie was determined to moderate the discussion, so after a heated debate, they both stormed out and we heard some choice words echoing through the walls. Marie returned to the table in a huff to start the discussion while Czar preferred to sulk outside.

A few minutes into the discussion, we heard a bloodcurdling scream (courtesy of Honey).

We all ran outside in panic and found Czar’s prone figure on the wrought iron sofa, ciggie still smoking. Out of nowhere, Cecille whips out her paraphernalia and the Flippers learn that a mystery is afoot. Sherlock Cecille carefully collected evidence from the crime scene while the Flippers were so obviously shaken about Czar’s fate (wahaha!).

Gege was hysterical about Czar’s untimely demise and invited us all to do a eulogy for Czar, and so we all gathered round to exchange fond memories of Czar, although Gege was still inconsolable, sobbing into Mike’s handkerchief.

Marie began the discussion (which was actually a bogus ruse to get people to come earlier for the murder mystery) while Gege saw to disposing Czar’s body. A second wave of attacks ensued!

We find Gege sprawled unconscious on the ground (well, on top of a striped shawl that incidentally happened to be spread out underneath her body when she lost consciousness). Minutes later Marie collapsed in the bathroom. And as Sherlock Cecille led the investigation, the lights blacked out, and we found Mike lying on the floor!

Unsettled, Sherlock Cecille ordered everyone to turn out their bags. Shocker of shockers (gasp!) — during the search, a crucial piece of evidence turned up: a book that Mike lent Czar, covered in a powdery substance that turns out to be a very poisonous fungus (which, to our amazement, our supersleuth Michelle figured out ten minutes into the mystery)! Mike confessed to the dastardly deed, which he carried out because of his unrequited love for Czar.

The End…

Kudos to Honey’s plotting, and the team’s,er, brilliant acting (I was the forensic photographer, hence all these photos), and the Flippers’ enthusiasm for playing the murder mystery!

Whoops, I take back that part about The End, because that was just the beginning, as the real party kicked in! Woot!

Aside from the tons of food, we had a bookmark station, some bookmark-making, a book-covering demonstration by some college kids selling double-sided adhesive; and the usual bookswap. Oh and the first meeting of the Junior Flippers’ group, Shelfari for Kids, since Kwesi was in town.

We also had the annual exchange gift — check out these delighted faces:

(I was equally delighted the night before, when I tore into the parcel sent to me by Peter, who drew me for the exchange gift and got me two PostSecret books! — thanks bunches Peter!!!!)

It was one of the best Flipper parties ever, marking our second Christmas as a book club.

Here’s to a great 2010 Flippers, and may we have many more years of reading together ahead of us!