Murder Mystery: the makings of a great detective novel

A top-notch murder mystery story requires the skillful combination of all the essential ingredients required to produce a story that will eagerly turn the page to the final denouement. By the end of the story, we can often feel confident that we saw the villain of the piece (it was Miss Scarlet with the rope in the conservatory!) Only to find that, once again, we have had the wool pulled over our eyes. . and indeed it was Colonel Mustard with the dagger in the billiard room. And on the rare occasions when our deductive skills allow us to arrive at the correct solution, the satisfaction is immense, we are super detectives!

So what are some of the building blocks that make up a perfect detective story? First of all and very obviously, there has to be MURDER, at least one, but preferably at least three. Depending on the story, these can be by the same method (as with a serial killer) or with completely different weapons and scenarios. The latter is possibly the most interesting, because although the murderer may use different ways of killing, the type of crime must be the same (opportunistic or well thought out, for example). This should allow us to deduce the murderer’s personality traits (always remembering that he or she may well be masking their true nature) and this knowledge is a CLUE to the identity of the guilty party.

THE TRACKS are a vital element of the murder mystery. There are the physical clues: items discovered at the crime scene, important documents found in the victim’s personal effects, muddy shoe prints, traces of lipstick on a wine glass, a recent cut on someone’s wrist, the list it is endless. And there are the clues that the crime solver can grasp, say, by listening to what the protagonist says. Has this man contradicted a previous statement? Did this woman lie about her relationship with the dead man? All the small pieces of the puzzle; that when placed together they form the complete picture. Unless, of course, one or more of them is a RED HERRING.

The RED HERRING is a legitimate tactic used by murder mystery writers to make us look in the wrong places, and very often it succeeds. We usually pick up on our mistake fairly quickly, often because the person we were suspected of by the red herring has been rejected; and then we turn our attention to another SUSPICIOUS.

Probably about half a dozen SUSPICIOUS is the ideal number, all of whom, from the start, should appear to have had the motive, the means and the opportunity to commit the crimes. Usually we’ve (correctly or incorrectly) removed all but a couple at the end of the book, at which point the DETECTIVE will reveal what actually happened.

As we know DETECTIVES, murder mystery fiction can be male or female and come in all shapes, sizes, nationalities, ages, and personalities. They may be gifted professionals or amateurs, but they all have one thing in common: they always get their man (or wife). When they point out the meaning of some object or comment that has been found during the course of the case, we should think ‘Of course, why didn’t I see that?’ And although we probably didn’t see it coming, the END must be SATISFACTORY.

And it is a SATISFACTORY END that keeps us coming back for more. If we feel like we haven’t been given all the facts, if some character shows up at the end of the story and turns out to be the culprit, or if the villain doesn’t get proper justice, then we feel cheated. The author must play fair with his readers.

A good murder mystery story should intrigue us, baffle us, keep us guessing until the very last pages, and ultimately leave us feeling like we’ve enjoyed every minute and are looking forward to the next.

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