mystery plots
Crime story structures
Mystery plots are narrative structures built around a puzzle—usually a crime—that characters and readers work to solve.
The classic form presents a detective uncovering clues, but the term covers any storyline where hidden information drives the action: The novel weaves together romance and mystery plots.
Writers distinguish mystery plots from thrillers, where the focus is danger rather than detection.
- alibiDefense of location
- false alibiInvented proof of absence
- clueSolving aid
- amateur sleuthNonprofessional crime investigator
- motiveReason for action
prime suspect · secret · detective · private eye · deception · whodunit · locked room · autopsy · dead body · police reports · suspect · smoking gun · crime scene · archives · red herring · conspiracies · MacGuffin · forensics
- crime fictiondetective fiction, detective novels, detective novel, detective, detective stories
- story elementsstory, hero, villain, protagonist, antagonist
- gamebooksbranching paths, multiple endings, choices, alternate endings, narrative choices
mystery plotsslice of life
Realistic everyday depiction
bildungsroman · character studies · romance plots · hero's journey