perfect crime
Leaves no evidence
A perfect crime is one in which the perpetrator escapes detection, leaving no evidence or witnesses that could lead to arrest or conviction.
The phrase appears most often in fiction and speculation rather than in accounts of actual crimes, since by definition we wouldn't know about truly perfect ones.
He thought he'd committed the perfect crime until his accomplice talked.
The concept fascinates because it represents the ultimate evasion of justice—wrongdoing without consequence.
Impossible to follow back
- flawlessEntirely without fault
- seamlessWithout visible joins
- meticulousShowing extreme attention to detail
- calculatedFigured out mathematically
premeditated · foolproof · undetected · methodical · precision · cold case · unsolved · immaculate
Scientific crime-scene analysis
- evidenceFacts supporting truth
- detectiveProfessional crime investigator
- interrogationFormal, probing examination
- witnessOne who attests
testimony · fingerprints · DNA · motive · alibi · cold case · unsolved · leads
Suspense-driven narrative genre
- whodunitCrime fiction identifying perpetrator
- detective novelFiction solving a crime
- mystery novelFiction solving a crime
- plot twistSudden narrative redirection
alibi · murder mystery · suspense · red herring · culprit · motive · foreshadowing · confession
Calculated strategy, often secretive
- manipulationUnderhanded control of others
- collusionFraudulent secret cooperation
- betrayalBreaking of trust
- double-crossTreacherous deception of partner
cover-up · blackmail · corruption · accomplice · pact · silence · hush money · plausible deniability
Theft from financial institution
- vaultSecure storage chamber
- safecrackerOne who breaks vaults
- mastermindScheme's chief planner
- getawaySwift departure or retreat
planning · inside job · caper · loot · stakeout · burglary · thief · accomplice
untraceable
Impossible to follow back
- flawlessEntirely without fault
- seamlessWithout visible joins
- meticulousShowing extreme attention to detail
calculated · premeditated · foolproof · undetected · methodical · precision · cold case · unsolved · immaculate · without a trace
forensics
Scientific crime-scene analysis
- evidenceFacts supporting truth
- detectiveProfessional crime investigator
- interrogationFormal, probing examination
witness · testimony · fingerprints · DNA · motive · alibi · cold case · unsolved · leads · surveillance
thriller
Suspense-driven narrative genre
- whodunitCrime fiction identifying perpetrator
- detective novelFiction solving a crime
- mystery novelFiction solving a crime
plot twist · alibi · murder mystery · suspense · red herring · culprit · motive · foreshadowing · confession · dénouement
scheme
Calculated strategy, often secretive
- manipulationUnderhanded control of others
- collusionFraudulent secret cooperation
- betrayalBreaking of trust
double-cross · cover-up · blackmail · corruption · accomplice · pact · silence · hush money · plausible deniability · fall guy
bank robbery
Theft from financial institution
- vaultSecure storage chamber
- safecrackerOne who breaks vaults
- mastermindScheme's chief planner
getaway · planning · inside job · caper · loot · stakeout · burglary · thief · accomplice · fence
- mystery fictionwhodunit, whodunnit, sleuth, murder mystery, detective novel
- thriller tropesplot twist, red herring, cliffhanger, whodunit, femme fatale
- crime fictiondetective fiction, murder mystery, detective novels, detective novel, detective
perfect crimebotched job
Badly performed task
amateur hour · comedy of errors · crime of passion · train wreck · fiasco
perfect, crime, perfects, perfected, perfecting, perfectly, imperfect, imperfectly, perfection