howdunit
Crime technique puzzle
A howdunit is a mystery story where the focus is not on who committed the crime—that's often revealed early—but on how the crime was carried out or how the detective pieces together the method.
The term plays on whodunit, shifting emphasis from identity to technique: The locked-room mystery is the classic howdunit.
Professional crime investigator
- sleuthPrivate investigator
- forensicsScientific crime-scene analysis
- crime sceneLocation of an offense
- evidenceFacts supporting truth
clue · fingerprint · witness · interrogation · testimony · autopsy · coroner · surveillance
Characteristic way of working
- techniqueSkilled way of performing
- meansMethod or resources
- mechanismMeans by which something operates
- executionCompleting a planned task
perpetration · commission · forensics · autopsy · reconstruction · ballistics · toxicology · methodology
Something hard to fathom
- riddlePuzzling question to solve
- conundrumPerplexing problem or question
- mysterySomething unexplained or unknown
- brainteaserPuzzle demanding clever thought
cryptic · cipher · complexity · intricacy · solution · unraveling · piecing together · connecting the dots
Something unexplained or unknown
- crime fictionGenre about solving crimes
- detective novelFiction solving a crime
- police proceduralCrime fiction emphasizing investigation
- thrillerSuspense-driven narrative genre
suspense · noir · cozy mystery · locked-room · armchair detective · potboiler · pulp · dime novel
detective
Professional crime investigator
- sleuthPrivate investigator
- forensicsScientific crime-scene analysis
- crime sceneLocation of an offense
evidence · clue · fingerprint · witness · interrogation · testimony · autopsy · coroner · surveillance · deduction
modus operandi
Characteristic way of working
- techniqueSkilled way of performing
- meansMethod or resources
- mechanismMeans by which something operates
execution · perpetration · commission · forensics · autopsy · reconstruction · ballistics · toxicology · methodology · procedure
enigma
Something hard to fathom
- riddlePuzzling question to solve
- conundrumPerplexing problem or question
- mysterySomething unexplained or unknown
brainteaser · cryptic · cipher · complexity · intricacy · solution · unraveling · piecing together · connecting the dots · reconstruction
mystery
Something unexplained or unknown
- crime fictionGenre about solving crimes
- detective novelFiction solving a crime
- police proceduralCrime fiction emphasizing investigation
thriller · suspense · noir · cozy mystery · locked-room · armchair detective · potboiler · pulp · dime novel · page-turner
howdunitwhodunit
Crime fiction identifying perpetrator
whydunit · police procedural · noir · locked-room mystery · thriller
howdunitcharacter study
Work examining personality
psychological drama · literary fiction · romance · whydunit · courtroom drama