Jones & Parker Case Files, Book Two
Posted: Thu Jan 01, 2026 2:17 pm
I got this collection recently over the Christmas season, and thought I'd offer some commentary on it, as someone who saw a number of the original mysteries in Clubhouse. Do not read any further if you don't want spoilers!
The collection as a whole is focused on Emily's interactions with her 'nemesis', who is of course Morrie Rydell. Nemesis mysteries are noted with the trademark menacing smiley face. It's fair to say the majority of these mysteries are either in this category or related to it. Even the ones that aren't tend to allude to the arc. The case file dates helpfully include a month and year, which, if taken seriously, is terrible for the AIO timeline, but very helpful in identifying what Clubhouse issue or real-world time period the story came from.
I was intrigued to notice that some of the mysteries were modified since their original release. Sometimes this just means that Morrie makes a cameo in the beginning when he wasn't in the original story, but there are at least two where substantial plot details are changed. This is presumably to try to fit the mysteries into a timeline that fits around the AIO episodes. This may not be an exhaustive list, because I don't have perfect copies of every Clubhouse magazine; I'd love to see if any of you other readers could fill in details.
* * *
1) In "The Telltale Clue", the magazine version featured Emily, Matthew, and Suzu. Matthew "had been avoiding mysteries lately", or "possibly just avoiding me", and Emily wonders why the change.
The book version straight-up replaces Matthew with Morrie, giving Morrie most of Matthew's original dialogue. Of course, the context must be different because what is a deduction or a guess by Matthew is either an attempt to mislead, or a clue, from Morrie. It's also Morrie who 'shivers with excitement', instead of the original Suzu.
Originally, Emily and Matthew 'huddle to discuss the clues' and Suzu 'squeezes between them'. In the book the Rydells 'huddle near her', and she 'misses Matthew'.
In the original version, Suzu says less. Emily notes that the 'look on her face' hints that she knows more, but doesn't get the chance to ask. In the book, she offers to give Emily 'a list of suspects', which Emily declines, it being her case. Suzu's role in this story is much more sinister than when the original came out, given that it's now known she is a collaborator with Morrie (even if she didn't participate in this specific mystery), and that any list would have been an attempt to frame someone.
2) The core of "Speaker Sabotage" is the same but the surrounding details are changed. In the original magazine release, the school assembly is for a guest speaker, Dr. Sherman. In the book version, it is Emily's address as the new student president, and Morrie makes a cameo in the beginning. In the original, it's mentioned that Matthew was 'sick' and this is why Em chooses to sit with Olivia and Tori; here, Emily isn't sitting with anyone and there is a conversation between her and Morrie about the election. Originally, the janitor and sound system operator was 'Henry'; here it is Mr. Bryne. In the original, when the voice notes the 'tinkerer can't help her', that's already explained by Matthew's illness; in the book, Matthew is never mentioned otherwise, so it isn't explained at all. In the original, Olivia and Tori give a thumbs-up; in the book it is Olivia and Zoe. In the magazine, Principal Vogler takes out his phone and says aloud that he is calling the police, and the voice says that there will be time to call the authorities later. In the book, Principal Vogler doesn't speak and the voice says that there will be time to call tech support later. In the conclusion, Principal Vogler originally says he will talk to the police; in the book he says he will talk to the teachers.
Most of these changes have to do with making the story match other stories and the audio drama better, or adding foreshadowing. But it also has the effect that the nemesis' actions are not taken as seriously at this point in the story. That helps explain things, because we learn later that Emily never took it to the police and the conclusions are apparently the first they heard all of it. This would have gotten her and the nemesis case on their radar earlier.
3) In "An Unboxing Mystery", Emily originally notes that she and Matthew hadn't worked a case together 'since the last time my nemesis struck'. In the book, it is more specifically 'since he quit the Jones and Parker detective agency'. But he helps her anyway, and the story is otherwise unchanged.
Now, for some comments on stories that I don't have Clubhouse copies of. Judging by the dates, which are written after "Rydell Revelations", I suspect that some of them may be book exclusives, meant to fill in seams between the nemesis saga and the audio Rydell saga. I'd like to hear comments from Clubhouse readers on if this is actually the case, or if they did happen at the times listed.
* * *
In "The Sinking Float", 2021-10, Suzu is mentioned as being in a 'robotics club' that has 'fighting robots', which agrees with "The Team", which was released the same year. The "Toyota Crown" is mentioned, a car Emily has never heard of. Emily is encouraged to commit a crime by breaking into the car (presumably Mrs. Maedo's?), but resists, so that Morrie backs down and agrees to "do it her way".
In "Grandma's Gone", 2021-11, Lucia Ortega appears and is undergoing cancer treatments. Emily and Matthew have a heartfelt conversation which gives some real closure, more than their brief exchange in "Rydell Revelations, Part 1". Matthew recommends that Em call the police; Emily protests that she's almost caught him, and Matthew replies, "That's what scares me". When Emily mentions the Crown in the previous mystery, Matthew says that he knows a lot about machines, but he's never heard of a "Crown", and that her nemesis must either really love Japanese culture, - or, Emily realizes, have lived in Japan. Matthew advises Emily to "be careful".
* * *
"Riddles in the Dark" (a Tolkien reference) is dated to Dec '21, also after the main Rydell saga. This is a plot and character story that does not fit neatly in the bounds of a solve-it mystery; in fact, the ending doesn't even have an answer to the last riddle. If it was a Clubhouse mystery at all, I'd guess it was almost certainly not as it is in the book, for these reasons. (But again, I'm open to being corrected!)
It does answer some questions. This is chronologically intended to be the last big event before the Rydell Revelations. Emily is invited to meet the nemesis 'in person', in the alley next to the 'old Electric Palace', and is confronted with an ominous figure, behind a padlocked gate, dressed in a Santa outfit with a smiley face mask, which asks her a series of questions.
The first is a standard riddle and gets a standard answer. In the second, he asks her about the events of "Emily, the Genius"; she is taken aback by this knowledge, but admits what happened. After answering the third question, the figure notes that he is there to 'bring out the good in people', and that he is picking on her because everyone else in Odyssey is boring - they either asked Mr. Whittaker or prayed, and did the right thing - but that she is the girl in the library, 'too proud to admit she isn't special'. When she objects, he asks why she didn't call the police, which she can't answer. He continues to say that, although she could reach through the gate and remove the mask, she would rather win than stop him. She explicitly refers to him as "Morrie Rydell" in reply, but the figure brushes this suspicion off. (While her case is inductively solid, as presented it admittedly would not stand up in court just yet.)
Barrett finally shows up (per Emily's request at the beginning of the story), and finds and confronts Morrie, who is hiding amongst the dumpsters. After he sees the figure, he recommends they leave, but Emily wants to 'beat him', so the figure asks one last riddle. In the conclusion, Emily does *not* answer the riddle, thus losing this exchange, but unlocks the gate anyway (it being down to a single digit) and pursues the figure. She bumps into a "tall Japanese woman", Mrs. Meido. They converse and go their separate ways.
Some points:
1) Morrie appears to be substantially correct in his assessment of Emily's personality and decision-making in this anecdote, in a way that is admittedly not flattering for her. The implication seems to be that for her, it is no longer about stopping or capturing the nemesis, or even outwitting him; in spite of trying not to be distracted from the case, she has gotten distracted from her goal, and now has to win playing his game. Anything less than a decisive victory on every point is not enough. She forgot, or never learned, the schoolyard reality that you can't beat someone at a game they're making up as they go along.
2) Fans who wanted to see Barrett get involved must have been pleased, even if he was late to arrive to the party.
3) It isn't clear why Mrs. Meido was there. It is possible that she was a collaborator and in the suit, but this doesn't seem to square with her level of knowledge (or, rather, what the Rydells perceive as her level of knowledge) later. I would rather guess that Morrie summoned her, either when Barrett showed up or maybe before (as a preventative measure), and being both a good nanny and spy, she arrived very quickly.
4) If Emily had taken the mask, I personally suspect she would have seen that it was a robot, probably one that Suzu made and volunteered for this encounter.
5) The final riddle is by far the most cryptic of any that appeared in any of Emily's stories up to that point, featuring a reference to the ogatoma plant, also called the Michelia compressa, among other vaguely Christmas-y phrases. Since Emily didn't guess it and since the padlock code doesn't directly relate to an answer, we have no further clues. It isn't clear what the 'correct answer' to the riddle was, or indeed if Morrie and/or the writer ever intended there to be one. It is either an example of how you can stump anybody if you ask them an extremely specialized question that is out of their knowledge base, or an example of how you can make someone feel unintelligent by stringing together some meaningless riddle-like phrases together and implying they should be able to find something in it.
* * *
The beginning of "Crying Wolf" (2022-01) contradicts Rydell Revelations, Part 1, which is odd given that the date implies it was written later! As such, it can't be fully canonical, but it does fit well as a character piece pre-Revelations, showing Emily being flustered and a little out of it during this stage of her life. She feels that her belief that Morrie was the perp was undermined by his appearance in the alley; in her right mind, with the facts written out on paper as they are here, I think she would have figured out that the figure could easily be either a robot (as I believe), or some other goon, without precluding Morrie's involvement.
In this story, as in early Rydell Revelations, Emily still does not suspect Suzu, to the point that she openly tells her that she 'knows her brother is harassing her', but can't prove it. Suzu offers to 'team up' and takes her on a walk out to the forest. Suzu's attempt at deceiving Em is less clever than Morrie's typically have been, and she ultimately reveals herself to be both untrustworthy and a thief, both traits that are no surprise to audio listeners. The cabin is the same as in Rydell Revelations, being on Forrest Mountain. Here, it is something of a villain's lair, containing not only all their stolen treasures, but a collection of creepy smiley face stickers and all of the information and photographs they have spied out about Emily.
The follow-up "The Traitor's Trinket" (2022-02), although initially also contradictory, does works hard to converge the plotline with that in "Rydell Revelations". By the midpoint of the story, we are recognizably at a place in the audio drama, and it isn't too much to work to reconcile it with canon at and after that point. The solution is obvious to someone who has heard the episode, but not to Suzu. Suzu says that Emily is a 'good person' and that every time Morrie tempted her to break the rules, she refused. Emily, for her part, is uncertain whether she can forgive Suzu yet, 'or ever', but decides that she does need her help, and easily deduces the answer.
Finally, the last story, "Case Closed?" (2022-03) gives a conclusion to the saga, where Emily meets with Detective Polehaus at the police station and discusses all of the events over the past few months, including the 'stalking' (as Polehaus refers to it). Emily finds she hates being a 'victim' and wonders if she should have just taken it to the police at the beginning. After the interview, she manages to keep Harlow Doyle from being taken in as a criminal. This is a wonderful piece in atmosphere and is a more satisfying ending, I have to say, than the audio drama offered in Part 3, even with the diversion of Harlow's case.
* * *
Although it does not align completely with either all the Clubhouse mysteries or with the audio drama, this collection showcases both Emily's strengths and weaknesses in a way that we don't fully see explored in the audio drama. "Grandma's Gone" and the finale in particular have scenes that we were desperate to hear and never did. I would say it is a key read for Emily fans.
The collection as a whole is focused on Emily's interactions with her 'nemesis', who is of course Morrie Rydell. Nemesis mysteries are noted with the trademark menacing smiley face. It's fair to say the majority of these mysteries are either in this category or related to it. Even the ones that aren't tend to allude to the arc. The case file dates helpfully include a month and year, which, if taken seriously, is terrible for the AIO timeline, but very helpful in identifying what Clubhouse issue or real-world time period the story came from.
I was intrigued to notice that some of the mysteries were modified since their original release. Sometimes this just means that Morrie makes a cameo in the beginning when he wasn't in the original story, but there are at least two where substantial plot details are changed. This is presumably to try to fit the mysteries into a timeline that fits around the AIO episodes. This may not be an exhaustive list, because I don't have perfect copies of every Clubhouse magazine; I'd love to see if any of you other readers could fill in details.
* * *
1) In "The Telltale Clue", the magazine version featured Emily, Matthew, and Suzu. Matthew "had been avoiding mysteries lately", or "possibly just avoiding me", and Emily wonders why the change.
The book version straight-up replaces Matthew with Morrie, giving Morrie most of Matthew's original dialogue. Of course, the context must be different because what is a deduction or a guess by Matthew is either an attempt to mislead, or a clue, from Morrie. It's also Morrie who 'shivers with excitement', instead of the original Suzu.
Originally, Emily and Matthew 'huddle to discuss the clues' and Suzu 'squeezes between them'. In the book the Rydells 'huddle near her', and she 'misses Matthew'.
In the original version, Suzu says less. Emily notes that the 'look on her face' hints that she knows more, but doesn't get the chance to ask. In the book, she offers to give Emily 'a list of suspects', which Emily declines, it being her case. Suzu's role in this story is much more sinister than when the original came out, given that it's now known she is a collaborator with Morrie (even if she didn't participate in this specific mystery), and that any list would have been an attempt to frame someone.
2) The core of "Speaker Sabotage" is the same but the surrounding details are changed. In the original magazine release, the school assembly is for a guest speaker, Dr. Sherman. In the book version, it is Emily's address as the new student president, and Morrie makes a cameo in the beginning. In the original, it's mentioned that Matthew was 'sick' and this is why Em chooses to sit with Olivia and Tori; here, Emily isn't sitting with anyone and there is a conversation between her and Morrie about the election. Originally, the janitor and sound system operator was 'Henry'; here it is Mr. Bryne. In the original, when the voice notes the 'tinkerer can't help her', that's already explained by Matthew's illness; in the book, Matthew is never mentioned otherwise, so it isn't explained at all. In the original, Olivia and Tori give a thumbs-up; in the book it is Olivia and Zoe. In the magazine, Principal Vogler takes out his phone and says aloud that he is calling the police, and the voice says that there will be time to call the authorities later. In the book, Principal Vogler doesn't speak and the voice says that there will be time to call tech support later. In the conclusion, Principal Vogler originally says he will talk to the police; in the book he says he will talk to the teachers.
Most of these changes have to do with making the story match other stories and the audio drama better, or adding foreshadowing. But it also has the effect that the nemesis' actions are not taken as seriously at this point in the story. That helps explain things, because we learn later that Emily never took it to the police and the conclusions are apparently the first they heard all of it. This would have gotten her and the nemesis case on their radar earlier.
3) In "An Unboxing Mystery", Emily originally notes that she and Matthew hadn't worked a case together 'since the last time my nemesis struck'. In the book, it is more specifically 'since he quit the Jones and Parker detective agency'. But he helps her anyway, and the story is otherwise unchanged.
Now, for some comments on stories that I don't have Clubhouse copies of. Judging by the dates, which are written after "Rydell Revelations", I suspect that some of them may be book exclusives, meant to fill in seams between the nemesis saga and the audio Rydell saga. I'd like to hear comments from Clubhouse readers on if this is actually the case, or if they did happen at the times listed.
* * *
In "The Sinking Float", 2021-10, Suzu is mentioned as being in a 'robotics club' that has 'fighting robots', which agrees with "The Team", which was released the same year. The "Toyota Crown" is mentioned, a car Emily has never heard of. Emily is encouraged to commit a crime by breaking into the car (presumably Mrs. Maedo's?), but resists, so that Morrie backs down and agrees to "do it her way".
In "Grandma's Gone", 2021-11, Lucia Ortega appears and is undergoing cancer treatments. Emily and Matthew have a heartfelt conversation which gives some real closure, more than their brief exchange in "Rydell Revelations, Part 1". Matthew recommends that Em call the police; Emily protests that she's almost caught him, and Matthew replies, "That's what scares me". When Emily mentions the Crown in the previous mystery, Matthew says that he knows a lot about machines, but he's never heard of a "Crown", and that her nemesis must either really love Japanese culture, - or, Emily realizes, have lived in Japan. Matthew advises Emily to "be careful".
* * *
"Riddles in the Dark" (a Tolkien reference) is dated to Dec '21, also after the main Rydell saga. This is a plot and character story that does not fit neatly in the bounds of a solve-it mystery; in fact, the ending doesn't even have an answer to the last riddle. If it was a Clubhouse mystery at all, I'd guess it was almost certainly not as it is in the book, for these reasons. (But again, I'm open to being corrected!)
It does answer some questions. This is chronologically intended to be the last big event before the Rydell Revelations. Emily is invited to meet the nemesis 'in person', in the alley next to the 'old Electric Palace', and is confronted with an ominous figure, behind a padlocked gate, dressed in a Santa outfit with a smiley face mask, which asks her a series of questions.
The first is a standard riddle and gets a standard answer. In the second, he asks her about the events of "Emily, the Genius"; she is taken aback by this knowledge, but admits what happened. After answering the third question, the figure notes that he is there to 'bring out the good in people', and that he is picking on her because everyone else in Odyssey is boring - they either asked Mr. Whittaker or prayed, and did the right thing - but that she is the girl in the library, 'too proud to admit she isn't special'. When she objects, he asks why she didn't call the police, which she can't answer. He continues to say that, although she could reach through the gate and remove the mask, she would rather win than stop him. She explicitly refers to him as "Morrie Rydell" in reply, but the figure brushes this suspicion off. (While her case is inductively solid, as presented it admittedly would not stand up in court just yet.)
Barrett finally shows up (per Emily's request at the beginning of the story), and finds and confronts Morrie, who is hiding amongst the dumpsters. After he sees the figure, he recommends they leave, but Emily wants to 'beat him', so the figure asks one last riddle. In the conclusion, Emily does *not* answer the riddle, thus losing this exchange, but unlocks the gate anyway (it being down to a single digit) and pursues the figure. She bumps into a "tall Japanese woman", Mrs. Meido. They converse and go their separate ways.
Some points:
1) Morrie appears to be substantially correct in his assessment of Emily's personality and decision-making in this anecdote, in a way that is admittedly not flattering for her. The implication seems to be that for her, it is no longer about stopping or capturing the nemesis, or even outwitting him; in spite of trying not to be distracted from the case, she has gotten distracted from her goal, and now has to win playing his game. Anything less than a decisive victory on every point is not enough. She forgot, or never learned, the schoolyard reality that you can't beat someone at a game they're making up as they go along.
2) Fans who wanted to see Barrett get involved must have been pleased, even if he was late to arrive to the party.
3) It isn't clear why Mrs. Meido was there. It is possible that she was a collaborator and in the suit, but this doesn't seem to square with her level of knowledge (or, rather, what the Rydells perceive as her level of knowledge) later. I would rather guess that Morrie summoned her, either when Barrett showed up or maybe before (as a preventative measure), and being both a good nanny and spy, she arrived very quickly.
4) If Emily had taken the mask, I personally suspect she would have seen that it was a robot, probably one that Suzu made and volunteered for this encounter.
5) The final riddle is by far the most cryptic of any that appeared in any of Emily's stories up to that point, featuring a reference to the ogatoma plant, also called the Michelia compressa, among other vaguely Christmas-y phrases. Since Emily didn't guess it and since the padlock code doesn't directly relate to an answer, we have no further clues. It isn't clear what the 'correct answer' to the riddle was, or indeed if Morrie and/or the writer ever intended there to be one. It is either an example of how you can stump anybody if you ask them an extremely specialized question that is out of their knowledge base, or an example of how you can make someone feel unintelligent by stringing together some meaningless riddle-like phrases together and implying they should be able to find something in it.
* * *
The beginning of "Crying Wolf" (2022-01) contradicts Rydell Revelations, Part 1, which is odd given that the date implies it was written later! As such, it can't be fully canonical, but it does fit well as a character piece pre-Revelations, showing Emily being flustered and a little out of it during this stage of her life. She feels that her belief that Morrie was the perp was undermined by his appearance in the alley; in her right mind, with the facts written out on paper as they are here, I think she would have figured out that the figure could easily be either a robot (as I believe), or some other goon, without precluding Morrie's involvement.
In this story, as in early Rydell Revelations, Emily still does not suspect Suzu, to the point that she openly tells her that she 'knows her brother is harassing her', but can't prove it. Suzu offers to 'team up' and takes her on a walk out to the forest. Suzu's attempt at deceiving Em is less clever than Morrie's typically have been, and she ultimately reveals herself to be both untrustworthy and a thief, both traits that are no surprise to audio listeners. The cabin is the same as in Rydell Revelations, being on Forrest Mountain. Here, it is something of a villain's lair, containing not only all their stolen treasures, but a collection of creepy smiley face stickers and all of the information and photographs they have spied out about Emily.
The follow-up "The Traitor's Trinket" (2022-02), although initially also contradictory, does works hard to converge the plotline with that in "Rydell Revelations". By the midpoint of the story, we are recognizably at a place in the audio drama, and it isn't too much to work to reconcile it with canon at and after that point. The solution is obvious to someone who has heard the episode, but not to Suzu. Suzu says that Emily is a 'good person' and that every time Morrie tempted her to break the rules, she refused. Emily, for her part, is uncertain whether she can forgive Suzu yet, 'or ever', but decides that she does need her help, and easily deduces the answer.
Finally, the last story, "Case Closed?" (2022-03) gives a conclusion to the saga, where Emily meets with Detective Polehaus at the police station and discusses all of the events over the past few months, including the 'stalking' (as Polehaus refers to it). Emily finds she hates being a 'victim' and wonders if she should have just taken it to the police at the beginning. After the interview, she manages to keep Harlow Doyle from being taken in as a criminal. This is a wonderful piece in atmosphere and is a more satisfying ending, I have to say, than the audio drama offered in Part 3, even with the diversion of Harlow's case.
* * *
Although it does not align completely with either all the Clubhouse mysteries or with the audio drama, this collection showcases both Emily's strengths and weaknesses in a way that we don't fully see explored in the audio drama. "Grandma's Gone" and the finale in particular have scenes that we were desperate to hear and never did. I would say it is a key read for Emily fans.