Basic Definition of Mystery
• Subgenre of narrative fiction; often thought of as
detective fiction
• Usually involves a mysterious death or crime to
be solved
▫ Each suspect must have a credible motive
▫ Central character is usually a “detective” who
solves a crime
Mystery Genre
• Mystery, crime or puzzle to be solved
• Main detective character sets out to solve a crime
• Suspects and motives
• Overt clues presented
• Hidden evidence
• Suspense
• Foreshadowing
• Red herrings—kind of foreshadowing clue that leads
readers to false conclusions
Mystery Elements
• Law enforcement
• Crime
• Weapon (s)
• Settings (i.e. haunted houses, city streets, deserted
areas, dark streets, alleys, & warehouses.)
• Mood setters (foggy nights, cemeteries, creaking
gates, footsteps, thunder, wind, screams, & blood.)
• Key words (alibi, motive, clues, evidence, victim,
sleuth, witness, suspect, & red herrings.)
Sub-Genres
• Amateur detective—protagonist is someone who
does not solve crimes for a living
• British-mystery set in England
• Comic—makes you laugh about the crime
• Cozy—amateur detective with a few more rules—no
overt violence, very little or no bad language, no
overt sex, set in small town, and nothing bad
happens to anyone good
Sub-Genres
• Amateur detective—protagonist is someone who does not
solve crimes for a living
▫ House, M.D. – he’s a doctor not a detective
• British-mystery set in England
▫ The New Sherlock
• Comic—makes you laugh about the crime
▫ Castle
• Cozy—amateur detective with a few more rules—no overt
violence, very little or no bad language, no overt sex, set in
small town, and nothing bad happens to anyone good
▫ Monk
Sub-Genres Continued
• Hard-boiled—criminal tends to be the protagonist
rather than the crime fighter. Has lots of bad
language, graphic violence, and general
examination of society’s underbelly.
• Historical—set in a time period substantially
earlier that when first published; often have real
people and/or events in the background and may
be well researched
Sub-Genres Continued
• Hard-boiled—criminal tends to be the protagonist
rather than the crime fighter. Has lots of bad
language, graphic violence, and general
examination of society’s underbelly.
▫ Dexter
• Historical—set in a time period substantially
earlier that when first published; often have real
people and/or events in the background and may
be well researched
▫ Poirot and Mrs. Marple
Sub-Genres Continued
• Noir—hard-boiled with a few more rules; set in the
1940s or 50s; the men are disenchanted,
disillusioned, corrupt or down on their luck; the
women are completely loyal, dutiful, loving and plain
or completely self-centered, manipulative, mysterious
and gorgeous.
• Police Procedural—protagonist is normally a police
detective; Urban settings, dark humor, hard working,
street-smart police populate these stories. Also
includes profilers, medical examiners, forensic
anthropologists, etc.
Sub-Genres Continued
• Noir—hard-boiled with a few more rules; set in the
1940s or 50s; the men are disenchanted,
disillusioned, corrupt or down on their luck; the
women are completely loyal, dutiful, loving and plain
or completely self-centered, manipulative, mysterious
and gorgeous.
▫ James Bond and Columbo
• Police Procedural—protagonist is normally a police
detective; Urban settings, dark humor, hard working,
street-smart police populate these stories. Also
includes profilers, medical examiners, forensic
anthropologists, etc.
▫ Law and Order, Criminal Minds, NCIS, and etc.
Sub-Genres Continued
• Private Detective—protagonist is a private detective
• Romantic—must have a romantic storyline between the
two main characters (not just a “love interest” for the
main character) and the romantic storyline must be
given page-time roughly equal to the mystery storyline
• Supernatural—anything from ghosts to psychics to
time-traveling detectives
• Traditional/Classic—puzzle is presented to the reader
at the beginning. The plot follows a fairly straight path,
strewn with clues, to the solution of the puzzle
Sub-Genres Continued
• Private Detective—protagonist is a private detective
▫ Columbo
• Romantic—must have a romantic storyline between the
two main characters (not just a “love interest” for the
main character) and the romantic storyline must be
given page-time roughly equal to the mystery storyline
▫ Castle
• Supernatural—anything from ghosts to psychics to
time-traveling detectives
▫ Lost, Avatar-The Last Airbender, Supernatural, and etc.
• Traditional/Classic—puzzle is presented to the reader
at the beginning. The plot follows a fairly straight path,
strewn with clues, to the solution of the puzzle
▫ Homeland, 24, Prison Break, and etc.
History
• Edgar Allan Poe introduced fiction’s first fictional
detective in 1841 (birth of mystery): Auguste C.
Dupin in “The Murders in the Rue Morgue” - most
famous example of a mystery style known as the
locked room (a murder victim is found inside an
apparently sealed enclosure and the detective’s
challenge is to discover the murderer’s reasoning)
• Acknowledged as the father of the mystery story
Anna Katherine Green
• 1878—first woman to write a detective novel—
The Leavenworth Case
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
• Sherlock Holmes character had a distinct style
and flair for deducing clues
• Reliable sidekick: Dr. Watson
Agatha Christie
• Wrote more than 80 novels
• Career spanned more than 50 years
• Probably the best known mystery writer in history
• Wrote novels about her famous Belgian sleuth
Hercule Poirot
Penguins
• Developed by Allen Lane and his 2 brothers
• During height of Golden Age
• Paperback line issued in 1935 with only 10 titles
but quickly grew to 70 titles within a year
• Easily accessible to the public due to their much
lower cost and availability in department stores
The Shadow
• 1940s
• Radio shows took off and became very popular
• Most famous radio mystery
TV Mysteries
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Murder, She Wrote
Hawaii 5-O
Kojak
Hill Street Blues
Lost
The X Files
Twin Peaks
Columbo
The Rockford Files
Law and Order
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NCIS
CSI
Castle
Criminal Minds
Pretty Little Liars
Scooby Doo
Monk
Veronica Mars
Dexter
24
Contemporary Authors
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Patricia Cornwell
Tess Gerritsen
Lisa Jackson
Robin Cook
Sue Grafton
Robert B. Parker
James Patterson
Children’s Mysteries
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Nancy Drew
The Hardy Boys
Encyclopedia Brown
The Goosebump Series by R.L. Stine
Scooby Doo
Common Vocabulary
• Case—a matter requiring investigation
• Victim—the person negatively affected by a mysterious
event or crime
• Clue—something that appears to give information
toward solving a crime
• Sleuth-person who investigates a crime or mystery
• Evidence—someone or something that proves who
committed a crime or was involved in a mystery
• Suspect—person who appears to have a motive to have
committed the crime
Common Vocabulary Continued
• Witness—person who has personal knowledge about
the crime or event
• Alibi—evidence offered by a suspect to prove they were
not at the scene of the crime
• Deduction—collecting facts and using them to draw a
conclusion
• Mood—state of mind or feeling
• Motive—thought or feeling that makes one act
Suspense
• Hitchcock says suspense bears no relationship to fear.
Instead, it is the state of waiting for something to happen.
• Crucial to the Hitchcockian thriller is the difference
between suspense and surprise. To put it simply, the
director said that if you have a scene where two characters
are conversing in a cafe, and a bomb suddenly goes off
under the table, the audience experiences surprise. On the
other hand, if the audience sees the saboteur place the
bomb, is told that it will go off at one o'clock, and can see a
clock in the scene, the mundane conversation between two
cafe patrons now becomes one of intense suspense, as the
audience holds its collective breath waiting for the
explosion. Fifteen minutes of suspense, as opposed to
fifteen seconds of surprise. It was therefore necessary, to
Alfred Hitchcock, that the audience be as fully informed as
possible
• Based on this principle, the suspense thriller has been
loosely defined as a story in which the audience is
waiting for something significant to happen. The
protagonist's job is to prevent the speeding bus from
exploding, or the aliens from eating the crew. The reader
experiences a vicarious thrill by identifying with the hero
and the danger he faces, becoming a participant in the
chase.
• A mystery, on the other hand, is a novel of revelation,
with action more mental than physical. A significant
event, usually a murder, has just occurred, and the
protagonist's job is to discover who committed the crime,
and why. The dilemma created for the writer of
traditional mysteries is the fact that the villain and the
details of the crime must remain unidentified, breaking
Hitchcock's rule of keeping the audience informed.
Crime Fiction Requirements
• Must be fiction. Names, places and events may be
real, but the plot is fictitious. True crime is not a
sub-category.
• Must be a crime
• Must be an investigative process
• Must be a solution for the crime
Detective Fiction
• Typically has a recurring character who is usually
the investigator
• Classic example is the Private Eye—normally fall
into the sub-genres hard-boiled and soft-boiled
• Cozy is a popular form—normally has a nonprofessional detective
• Police-procedurals fit in this category too
Arc-of-Suspense
• Suspense drives fiction.
• Arcs stretch suspense.
• An arc-of-suspense is the technique of making the
reader aware of what will happen next and teasing
him/her with the possibilities.
Types of Arcs
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Secrecy and mystery
Unfinished scene
Time pressure arc (beating the clock)
Arc to the next chapter
Incidental arc
Arc of the bizarre
Hubris arc (extreme ego)
Arc of fate
Arc of justice
Arc of mistaken identity
Arc of one hidden prohibition
Review
• 1. Define Mystery…
Review
• 1. Define Mystery
▫ Comes from Narrative
▫ Has a mysterious death or crime to be solved
Review
• 1. Mysteries involve…
Review
• 1. Mysteries involve…
▫ Mystery, crime or puzzle to be solved
▫ Main detective character sets out to solve a crime
▫ Suspects and motives
▫ Overt clues presented
▫ Hidden evidence
▫ Suspense
▫ Foreshadowing
▫ Red herrings
Review
• 1. Mysteries involve what elements…
Review
• 1. Mysteries involve what elements…
▫ Law enforcement
▫ Crime
▫ Weapon(s)
▫ Settings (i.e. haunted houses, city streets, deserted
areas, dark streets, alleys, & warehouses.)
▫ Mood setters (foggy nights, cemeteries, creaking gates,
footsteps, thunder, wind, screams, & blood.)
▫ Key words (alibi, motive, clues, evidence, victim, sleuth,
witness, suspect, & red herrings.)
Review
• Mystery Sub-Genres
Review
• Mystery Sub-Genres
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Amateur detective
British
Comic
Cozy
Hard-boiled
Historical
Noir
Police Procedural
Review
• Who is the father of Mystery?
Review
• Who is the father of Mystery?
▫ Edgar Allen Poe
Review
• Who is the father of Mystery?
▫ Edgar Allen Poe
• Who was the first female Mystery writer?
Review
• Who is the father of Mystery?
▫ Edgar Allen Poe
• Who was the first female Mystery writer?
▫ Anna Katherine Green
Review
• Who is the father of Mystery?
▫ Edgar Allen Poe
• Who was the first female Mystery writer?
▫ Anna Katherine Green
• What 2 famous characters did Sir Arthur Conan
Doyle invent?
Review
• Who is the father of Mystery?
▫ Edgar Allen Poe
• Who was the first female Mystery writer?
▫ Anna Katherine Green
• What 2 famous characters did Sir Arthur Conan
Doyle invent?
▫ Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson
Review
• Who is the father of Mystery?
▫ Edgar Allen Poe
• Who was the first female Mystery writer?
▫ Anna Katherine Green
• What 2 famous characters did Sir Arthur Conan
Doyle invent?
▫ Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson
• Who is Agatha Christie?
Review
• Who is the father of Mystery?
▫ Edgar Allen Poe
• Who was the first female Mystery writer?
▫ Anna Katherine Green
• What 2 famous characters did Sir Arthur Conan
Doyle invent?
▫ Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson
• Who is Agatha Christie?
▫ Female British mystery writer who wrote over 80
novels in 50 years
Common Vocabulary Review
• Case—
Common Vocabulary Review
• Case—a matter requiring investigation
Common Vocabulary Review
• Case—a matter requiring investigation
• Victim—
Common Vocabulary Review
• Case—a matter requiring investigation
• Victim—the person negatively affected by a
mysterious event or crime
Common Vocabulary Review
• Case—a matter requiring investigation
• Victim—the person negatively affected by a
mysterious event or crime
• Clue—
Common Vocabulary Review
• Case—a matter requiring investigation
• Victim—the person negatively affected by a
mysterious event or crime
• Clue—something that appears to give information
toward solving a crime
Common Vocabulary Review
• Case—a matter requiring investigation
• Victim—the person negatively affected by a
mysterious event or crime
• Clue—something that appears to give information
toward solving a crime
• Sleuth-
Common Vocabulary Review
• Case—a matter requiring investigation
• Victim—the person negatively affected by a
mysterious event or crime
• Clue—something that appears to give information
toward solving a crime
• Sleuth-person who investigates a crime or mystery
Common Vocabulary Review
• Case—a matter requiring investigation
• Victim—the person negatively affected by a
mysterious event or crime
• Clue—something that appears to give information
toward solving a crime
• Sleuth-person who investigates a crime or mystery
• Evidence—
Common Vocabulary Review
• Case—a matter requiring investigation
• Victim—the person negatively affected by a
mysterious event or crime
• Clue—something that appears to give information
toward solving a crime
• Sleuth-person who investigates a crime or mystery
• Evidence—someone or something that proves who
committed a crime or was involved in a mystery
Common Vocabulary Review
• Case—a matter requiring investigation
• Victim—the person negatively affected by a mysterious
event or crime
• Clue—something that appears to give information
toward solving a crime
• Sleuth-person who investigates a crime or mystery
• Evidence—someone or something that proves who
committed a crime or was involved in a mystery
• Suspect—
Common Vocabulary Review
• Case—a matter requiring investigation
• Victim—the person negatively affected by a mysterious
event or crime
• Clue—something that appears to give information
toward solving a crime
• Sleuth-person who investigates a crime or mystery
• Evidence—someone or something that proves who
committed a crime or was involved in a mystery
• Suspect—person who appears to have a motive to have
committed the crime
Common Vocabulary Review
• Witness—
Common Vocabulary Review
• Witness—person who has personal knowledge
about the crime or event
Common Vocabulary Review
• Witness—person who has personal knowledge
about the crime or event
• Alibi—
Common Vocabulary Review
• Witness—person who has personal knowledge
about the crime or event
• Alibi—evidence offered by a suspect to prove they
were not at the scene of the crime
Common Vocabulary Review
• Witness—person who has personal knowledge
about the crime or event
• Alibi—evidence offered by a suspect to prove they
were not at the scene of the crime
• Deduction—
Common Vocabulary Review
• Witness—person who has personal knowledge
about the crime or event
• Alibi—evidence offered by a suspect to prove they
were not at the scene of the crime
• Deduction—collecting facts and using them to draw
a conclusion
Common Vocabulary Review
• Witness—person who has personal knowledge
about the crime or event
• Alibi—evidence offered by a suspect to prove they
were not at the scene of the crime
• Deduction—collecting facts and using them to draw
a conclusion
• Mood—
Common Vocabulary Review
• Witness—person who has personal knowledge
about the crime or event
• Alibi—evidence offered by a suspect to prove they
were not at the scene of the crime
• Deduction—collecting facts and using them to draw
a conclusion
• Mood—state of mind or feeling
Common Vocabulary Review
• Witness—person who has personal knowledge about
the crime or event
• Alibi—evidence offered by a suspect to prove they were
not at the scene of the crime
• Deduction—collecting facts and using them to draw a
conclusion
• Mood—state of mind or feeling
• Motive—
Common Vocabulary Review
• Witness—person who has personal knowledge about
the crime or event
• Alibi—evidence offered by a suspect to prove they were
not at the scene of the crime
• Deduction—collecting facts and using them to draw a
conclusion
• Mood—state of mind or feeling
• Motive—thought or feeling that makes one act
Review Arcs
• Why do we have Mystery Arcs?
Review Arcs
• Why do we have Mystery Arcs?
▫ Suspense drives fiction.
▫ Arcs stretch suspense.
Review Arcs
• Why do we have Mystery Arcs?
▫ Suspense drives fiction.
▫ Arcs stretch suspense.
• Mystery Arc Examples?
Review Arcs
• Why do we have Mystery Arcs?
▫ Suspense drives fiction.
▫ Arcs stretch suspense.
• Mystery Arc Examples?
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Secrecy and mystery
Unfinished scene
Time pressure arc
Arc to the next chapter
Incidental arc
Arc of the bizarre
Hubris arc
Arc of fate
Arc of justice
Arc of mistaken identity
Arc of one hidden prohibition
Review Arcs
• Why do we have Mystery Arcs?
▫ Suspense drives fiction.
▫ Arcs stretch suspense.
• Mystery Arc Examples?
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Secrecy and mystery
Unfinished scene
Time pressure arc
Arc to the next chapter
Incidental arc
Arc of the bizarre
Hubris arc
Arc of fate
Arc of justice
Arc of mistaken identity
Arc of one hidden prohibition
Mystery PowerPoint Test-Friday
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Definitions
Elements
Genres
Major Players and their contributions
Vocabulary
Arcs
Be prepared for a few discussion questions where you will
have to match and defend mysteries. For example:
▫ What is an example of a Romantic genre mystery? Defend your
example and character.
 “Moonlighting” is an example of a romantic mystery. The two
leading character , Dave and Maddie work as private detectives.
They have a romantic relationship and often flirt with each other.
They are jealous when they see the other one on a date. There is
tension between the two characters and by the series end, they are
together. They work together as private detectives but they also
work together as a couple.