Case 0020 · November 1, 2026

Dawn at the Cave Hotel

Every morning at half past four he went down to the wine. This morning the balloons rose without him.

In the archive — play with Casebook Pro Difficulty: ●●●○○

Play this case Google PlayGet the Android app

No graphic violence, no jump scares: a fair whodunit puzzle, about ten minutes a night.

The briefing

Hasan Karataş carved his small hotel into the soft rock of Göreme himself, and every morning at half past four he went down to the cave cellar to stir the last vats of the late harvest before the balloons went up. Early on Sunday the cook found him at the bottom of the cellar steps, gone.

The rest of the briefing is waiting in the case file.

The victim

Hasan Karataş, age 67Owner of a cave hotelHasan turned his grandfather's pigeon houses and wine caves into a nine-room hotel and never stopped digging. He made a little wine from the family vineyard each autumn and knew every pilot in the valley by the colour of his balloon.

The suspects

Elif KarataşTravel agent · Daughter
Murat YıldızBalloon pilot · Family friend
Ayşe DemirCook at the hotel
Kemal KarataşPotter · Cousin

How to play this case

DifficultyMedium (3/5)
The suspects4
TimeAbout ten minutes

4 suspects and 16 pieces of evidence wait in the file. Sweep your flashlight across the scene, listen to every voiced statement and pin what doesn't add up. You have three accusations to name the killer, the method and the motive; after that, the morning paper tells the whole story.

About this case

Case 0020, “Dawn at the Cave Hotel”, opened on November 1, 2026. Difficulty: Medium (3/5). It puts 4 suspects and 16 pieces of evidence in front of you, all connected to Hasan Karataş. Like every Midnight Casebook file, it is a fair puzzle: there is no trick ending and no outside knowledge needed — everything that points to the answer is somewhere in the scene, the evidence or the statements.

Case notes

Dawn at the Cave Hotel takes you to Göreme, where Hasan Karataş, sixty-seven, carved a nine-room hotel out of soft rock, turning his grandfather's pigeon houses and wine caves into guest rooms and never really stopping his digging. Each autumn he made a little wine from the family vineyard, and each morning before first light he went down to the cellar to tend the late harvest while the valley's balloons prepared to rise. Early one Sunday his cook found him at the foot of the cellar steps.

The file asks you to follow the clock through those dark early hours. Four people had reason to be near Hasan: his daughter Elif, a travel agent; Murat Yıldız, a balloon pilot and family friend; Ayşe Demir, who cooks for the hotel; and Kemal, a cousin who works as a potter. Sixteen pieces of evidence let you test timings, movements and motives, and decide not only who, but how and why.

At three of six, this is a middle-weight case that rewards careful notes and patience, well suited to players with a few solved files behind them who enjoy a quiet, atmospheric puzzle.

Questions about this case

Is “Dawn at the Cave Hotel” free to play?

This case is now in the archive, which is part of Casebook Pro; how far back you can go depends on your plan. Tonight's case and the first three cases are always free.

How hard is “Dawn at the Cave Hotel”?

“Dawn at the Cave Hotel” is rated Medium (3/5) on the Midnight Casebook scale. Difficulty follows the week: Monday's case is the gentlest and the weekend's files are the toughest, and most players close a daily case in about ten minutes.

What if I get stuck on “Dawn at the Cave Hotel”?

Hints open one at a time: the first points to evidence worth a closer look, the second to a contradiction, the third explains one part of the puzzle. Free players get one hint per case, plus an extra one on hard cases during their first seven solves; Casebook Pro unlocks all three. Each hint costs 10 points and each wrong accusation 20, but time never counts against you.

Do I need to download anything to play “Dawn at the Cave Hotel”?

No. Like every Midnight Casebook case, it plays in any modern browser at midnightcasebook.com/play, and there is also an Android app. Sign in with Apple or Google when you want to keep your streak, scores and badges on every device.

Does my score on “Dawn at the Cave Hotel” count on the leaderboard?

Midnight Casebook leaderboards count only cases solved on their publish day, so tonight's case is the one to play for points. You can still solve this one for the story and the practice.

Can you name the killer, the method and the motive?

Play this case

No spoilers here: the statements, the evidence and the solution stay inside the case file.