whodunits
Crime fiction puzzles
Whodunits are mystery stories—novels, films, or plays—centered on discovering who committed a crime, typically a murder.
The term playfully renders "who done it" as a single word.
The genre emphasizes puzzle-solving: clues are scattered for readers to piece together before the detective reveals the culprit.
She relaxed with a cozy whodunit on the train.
Private investigator
- gumshoeInformal term for detective
- investigatorOne who examines evidence
- inspectorOfficial quality checker
- SherlockIconic Victorian-era investigator
Holmes · Poirot · noir · hardboiled · procedural · sleuthing · deduction · interrogation
Something unexplained or unknown
- suspenseAnxious uncertainty about outcomes
- alibiDefense of location
- motiveReason for action
- culpritPerson found guilty
twist · revelation · locked-room · frame-up · confession · denouement · unmasking
Deliberate unlawful killing
- victimOne harmed by another
- perpetratorOne who commits wrongdoing
- witnessOne who attests
- evidenceFacts supporting truth
forensics · testimony · autopsy · poison · weapon · bloodstain · fingerprint · corpse
sleuth
Private investigator
- gumshoeInformal term for detective
- investigatorOne who examines evidence
- inspectorOfficial quality checker
Sherlock · Holmes · Poirot · noir · hardboiled · procedural · sleuthing · deduction · interrogation · stakeout
mystery
Something unexplained or unknown
culprit · twist · revelation · locked-room · frame-up · confession · denouement · unmasking
murder
Deliberate unlawful killing
- victimOne harmed by another
- perpetratorOne who commits wrongdoing
- witnessOne who attests
evidence · forensics · testimony · autopsy · poison · weapon · bloodstain · fingerprint · corpse · homicide
secrets
Concealed information
- deceptionIntentional misleading of others
- conspiracyClandestine coordinated scheming
- betrayalBreaking of trust
blackmail · affair · cover-up · lies · scandal · moles · treachery · revenge · jealousy · inheritance
Christie
Major auction establishment
- crime fictiondetective fiction, murder mystery, detective novels, detective novel, detective
- popular fictionbestsellers, genre fiction, page-turners, popular novels, pulp fiction
- thriller elementstwists, suspense, tension, anticipation, cliffhanger
- pulp fictionpulp, pulp fiction, pulp magazines, pulp novels, dime novels
- literaturebooks, book, fiction, poetry, stories
- puzzlespuzzles, sudoku, jigsaw puzzle, puzzle cube, crossword
whodunitstextbooks
Educational reference volumes
literary fiction · romances · romance novels · poetry · nonfiction
whodunitstearjerkers
Emotionally manipulative sad narratives
erotica · romance novels · horror fiction · lyrical poetry · page-turners