The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time - Novel - A murder mystery story

Aug 25, 2026

Uploaded by Riley

A murder mystery unfolds through Christopher John Francis Boone, an eight-year-old mind that catalogs facts while struggling with social cues. When he discovers his neighbor’s dead dog pierced by a garden fork, he sets out to interpret clues logically and emotionally. The narrative blends careful observation, unconventional understanding of language and faces, and mounting tension as Christopher pursues the identity of the killer.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryStory & Novel

FormatPDF

Pages225

Reading Time5 h 47 min

AccessFree to download

Contents

Title Page

Dedication

1-2

10-19

20-29

30-39

40-49

50-59

60-69

70-79

80-89

90-99

100-109

120-129

130-139

140-149

150-159

160-169

170-179

180-189

190-199

200-219

220-229

230-239

Appendix

MARK HADDON Vintage Books A Division of Random House, Inc. New York THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME Contents Title Page Dedication 1-2 10-19 20-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 60-69 70-79 80-89 90-99 100-109 120-129 130-139 140-149 150-159 160-169 170-179 180-189 190-199 200-219 220-229 230-239 Appendix Copyright Page This book is dedicated to Sos With thanks to Kathryn Heyman, Clare Alexander, Kate Shaw and Dave Cohen 2. It was 7 minutes after midnight. The dog was lying on the grass in the middle of the lawn in front of Mrs. Shears's house. Its eyes were closed. It looked as if it was running on its side, the way dogs run when they think they are chasing a cat in a dream. But the dog was not running or asleep. The dog was dead. There was a garden fork sticking out of the dog. The points of the fork must have gone all the way through the dog and into the ground because the fork had not fallen over. I decided that the dog was probably killed with the fork because I could not see any other wounds in the dog and I do not think you would stick a garden fork into a dog after it had died for some other reason, like cancer, for example, or a road accident. But I could not be certain about this. I went through Mrs. Shears's gate, closing it behind me. I walked onto her lawn and knelt beside the dog. I put my hand on the muzzle of the dog. It was still warm. The dog was called Wellington. It belonged to Mrs. Shears, who was our friend. She lived on the opposite side of the road, two houses to the left. Wellington was a poodle. Not one of the small poodles that have hairstyles but a big poodle. It had curly black fur, but when you got close you could see that the skin underneath the fur was a very pale yellow, like chicken. I stroked Wellington and wondered who had killed him, and why. 3. My name is Christopher John Francis Boone. I know all the countries of the world and their capital cities and every prime number up to 7,057 . Eight years ago, when I first met Siobhan, she showed me this picture and I knew that it meant “sad,” which is what I felt when I found the dead dog. Then she showed me this picture and I knew that it meant “happy,” like when I'm reading about the Apollo space missions, or when I am still awake at 3 a.m. or 4 a.m. in the morning and I can walk up and down the street and pretend that I am the only person in the whole world. Then she drew some other pictures but I was unable to say what these meant. I got Siobhan to draw lots of these faces and then write down next to them exactly what they meant. I kept the piece of paper in my pocket and took it out when I didn't understand what someone was saying. But it was very difficult to decide which of the diagrams was most like the face they were making because people's faces move very quickly. When I told Siobhan that I was doing this, she got out a pencil and another piece of paper and said it probably made people feel very and then she laughed. So I tore the original piece of paper up and threw it away. And Siobhan apologized. And now if I don't know what someone is saying, I ask them what they mean or I walk away. 5. I pulled the fork out of the dog and lifted him into my arms and hugged him. He was leaking blood from the fork holes. I like dogs. You always know what a dog is thinking. It has four moods. Happy, sad, cross and concentrating. Also, dogs are faithful and they do not tell lies because they cannot talk. I had been hugging the dog for 4 minutes when I heard screaming. I looked up and saw Mrs. Shears running toward me from the patio. She was wearing pajamas and a housecoat. Her toenails were painted bright pink and she had no shoes on. She was shouting,“What in fuck's name have you done to my dog?” I do not like people shouting at me. It makes me scared that they are going to hit me or touch me and I do not know what is going to happen.

FAQs

Who is Christopher John Francis Boone and what makes him distinct in the story?

Christopher John Francis Boone is the narrator who knows countries’ capitals and prime numbers, and he interprets emotions and meaning through structured observations. His way of understanding language and faces shapes how he investigates the dog’s death.

How does the story begin?

The story opens when Christopher finds the dog Wellington dead in the lawn, with a garden fork sticking out of its body. He decides the dog was killed by the fork based on what he can see and infer.

What kind of novel does Christopher say he is writing, and why?

Christopher says he is writing a murder mystery novel, because he likes puzzles where someone figures out the murderer and catches them. He also explains that starting with the dog helps grab attention and is based on his personal experience.

Aug 25, 2026

Uploaded by Riley