Thomas Chastain; Best-Selling Mystery Writer

Thomas Chastain, 73, a mystery writer best known for “Who Killed the Robins Family?” Chastain, a former president of the Mystery Writers of America, wrote 15 books. “Who Killed the Robins Family?” was written after a book packager came up with the idea of publishing a mystery with no solutions but offering a $10,000 reward for solving the crime. Four couples from Denver won by answering 39 of the 40 questions printed in the book about the murders of eight members of the wealthy Robins family. The book, published in 1983, sold more than 1 million copies and was on the New York Times bestseller list for almost a year, reaching No. 1 in January, 1984. In New York City on Thursday of lung cancer.