Definition:
Characteristics:
- A subgenre of narrative fiction; often thought of as a detective story.
- Usually involves a mysterious death, a crime to be solved, or another mystery.
- In a limited group of suspects, each suspect must have a credible motive and a reasonable opportunity for committing the crime.
- The central character must be a detective who eventually solves the mystery by logical deduction from facts fairly presented to the reader.
- This classic structure is the basis for hundreds of variations on the form.
- The reader is also drawn into the role of detective as he or she uses the clues provided to make assumptions and predictions about the mystery before the author reveals it.
Characteristics:
- Contains a mystery, crime, or another puzzle to be solved.
- The main character plays the role of detective who sets out to solve a mystery.
- Contains various suspects with motives which must be weighed and evaluated.
- Obvious clues about the crime are presented.
- Hidden Evidence is also presented, sometimes in ways that they seem unimportant.
- Includes purposeful inference gaps—mysteries, by their very nature, do not tell the whole story. It is up to readers to notice the gaps in the story and try to fill these gaps by using and connecting the information that is presented.
- Includes suspense, surprise, and plot twists—having to hold various possible conclusions at bay as you wait to see what happens; the reader is expected to enjoy the suspense, and to read to find out what will happen.
- Utilizes foreshadowing—clues left by the author as to possible outcomes.
- Provides one or more red herring—a kind of foreshadowing clue that leads the reader to false conclusions.