Hamptons Whodunit mystery and crime festival returns with chance to win $10,000

Carrie Doyle always thought it was a crime that business and tourism in East Hampton, where she's served as a village trustee since 2022, was so dead during the summer hot spot's offseason.

Like a true detective, she came up with one solution to give the area a boost that's proved to be a huge success: the Hamptons Whodunit, a four-day mystery and crime festival in which amateur Sherlock Holmeses, mystery readers, authors and detectives share their love of sleuthing. East Hampton Mayor Jerry Larsen, also a mystery and crime story aficionado, loved the idea. The two of them, along with Larsen's wife, Lisa, and the village's marketing and communications manager Jackie Dunphy, launched the Hamptons Whodunit in 2023. This year's Whodunit, which kicks off with a cocktail party at 6 p.m. April 16 and runs through April 19, will include kaffeeklatsches with real-life detectives, panel discussions with writers, trivia, interactive mysteries and even a chance to pitch an idea for a true crime TV series.

Although the Whodunit last year attracted about 2,000 people, Doyle says it's an intimate event. "There's a lot of opportunities to interact with the talent," she says, referring to the authors and others who will be speaking.

Here are some killer attractions you won't want to miss at the Whodunit:

A pitch perfect idea

Who says crime doesn't pay? In the case of the Whodunit Pitchfest, it could pay to the tune of $10,000.

The Pitchfest is in collaboration with Blackfin, a division of Lionsgate Alternative Television that specializes in producing true crime series and documentaries. Anyone who buys a ticket to the festival can submit their true crime ideas — along with photos and/or archival video — for a shot at the prize money and a TV deal, Doyle says. 

"They will pick out 12 people and hear the pitches," Doyle says. At least one person will win the $10,000. There's such a thirst for true crime stories."

Ideas can be submitted in person or via Zoom. For Pitchfest guidelines and submission information (as well as the full schedule of events), go to hamptonswhodunit.org.

A cup of joe with Joe

Would you like cream and crime with your coffee? You can have grounds for both at Coffee and Crime, an hourlong gathering April 17 and 18 at 8 a.m., when guests can mix and mingle with former NYPD Sgt. Joe Giacalone at Smokey Buns restaurant.

"I’m up early every day and there are a lot of people that drink coffee," says Giacalone, who jokes that he "grew up on the mean streets of Levittown."

"It’s kind of a like a starter kit. We did it last year and it exploded."

During that time, Giacalone, who has been an adjunct professor of police science at John Jay College for the past 20 years, gets to chat with guests about the cases he worked on with the NYPD's cold case squad and answer questions. 

"What I love is that the people who come to this festival are kind of unique because not only do they share a general interest in crime, but they're also pretty well educated on this topic," he says. "Doing police work, I never thought that there would come a day where people would be so interested in that line of work."

Author, author

Obviously, a huge draw is the number of writers who are invited to appear for everything from panel discussions to photo ops. Among this year's noted guests will be Hamptons-based writer Madeleine Henry ("The Last Celebrity"); Chuck Hogan, whose novel "The Town" was made into a 2010 film starring Ben Affleck; NewsNation investigative reporter and anchor Laura Ingle; and guest of honor Barbara Butcher, an author and former death investigator for the medical examiner’s office in New York City.

And the festival wouldn't be complete without the return of East Hampton novelist Alafair Burke, who will moderate several panel discussions including one with "Bluebird, Bluebird" author Attica Locke and another in which she'll talk to writers about adapting their books for films and TV.

"I like that the festival is by invitation only for the authors. It makes the programming more intentional and by that I mean it’s not just a cattle call of whatever authors want to speak," she says. "They try to curate it so that they tend to pair people for a panel in a way that makes sense."

Film, forensics and fun

Some of the other events on tap include a screening of the documentary "Hunt for the Missing: Chicago" at 7 p.m. April 18 followed by a Q&A with Blackfin's Gregory Palmer moderated by film critic and humorist Bill McCuddy.

Fans of TV's many "CSI" series will want to check out the Mock Crime Scene Investigation happening at 1 p.m. April 18 (the location is still to be determined).

Evening events also include Wine and Crime, in which guests try to solve a cold case (7 p.m. April 17 and 18), and an interactive murder mystery at 7 p.m. April 17 and trivia at 7 p.m. April 18 (both are at St. Luke's Episcopal Church's Hoie Hall).

That variety of activities is precisely what Doyle had in mind when the Whodunit was created: "What I like about our festival is that people can absorb information in so many different ways."