Whodunnit is the fourth volume in a series of novels about Smallville.
The novel was written by Dean Wesley Smith and printed on March 6, 2003.
Summary
(Provided on page 39 of Smallville #9)
When an entire family is murdered and Lionel Luthor is kidnapped, Clark and Lex find themselves desperately working to discover the truth behind those crimes before the murderer strikes again.
Continuity
This book has a lot of continuity issues. All of the noticeable references are listed below:
- Whitney is still dating Lana but is in the marines meaning this is set between Vortex and Visage.
- The novel takes place in April which conflicts with Whitney being in the marines.
- The principal of Smallville High is stated to be Kwan (multiple times) but this is impossible as he died in Crush. The principal should be Reynolds.
- Pete doesn't seem to know Clark's secret so it presumably takes place before Duplicity.
- Chloe mentions that she was offered an internship at the Daily Planet but it doesn't state that she has taken it which would imply that the episode takes place near the end of season 1 (which fits with everything except for Whitney being gone).
- Nicodemus plants are mentioned which would place the novel after the episode Nicodemus. It is also mentions that these events happened "earlier in the year" which would fit with it being April as Nicodemus happened in March 2002.
- Lionel doesn't seem to be "blind" which would mean the novel doesn't take place during the vast majority of season 2.
So overall, we can assume this novel takes place between Stray and Reaper. At that point it is mid April (which lines up with the date in the novel), Kwan is principal of the school, Chloe has been offered an internship at the Daily Planet but has not yet taken it, Pete does not yet know Clark's secret, Nicodemus has already happened, and Lionel can "see". The only contradiction to that would be Whitney being in the marines which is most likely a continuity error by the author. One can assume that the "canon" correction would be that Whitney was simply really busy at the Fordman's story (which was happening near the end of season 1) which explains his absence from the novel.
Notes
- An excerpt of the novel was published in Smallville #3.
See also
- Volume 1: Strange Visitors
- Volume 2: Dragon
- Volume 3: Hauntings
- Volume 5: Shadows
- Volume 6: Silence
- Volume 7: Curse
- Volume 8: City