“You have a tendency, Hastings, to prefer the least likely. That, no doubt, is from reading too many detective stories.”
-Agatha Christie, Peril at End House
The mystery novel is incredibly flexible. It can stretch from the quaint village cozy to the gritty police procedural but no matter what subgenre you’re writing in there are a few conventions–or rules–a mystery writer must follow to keep readers happy.
Play fair with the reader
Mystery novels are mind games. The reader pits himself against the author and tries to work out whodunit before the murderer is revealed. To play fair with the reader, the reader must have all the clues. One sure way to tick off mystery readers is to have your sleuth find a clue and think, “It all makes sense now,” but never describe the clue to the reader. If you do that, you’ve broken trust with the mystery reader, essentially robbing the reader of the chance to outwit you. It’s the equivalent of playing with a card up your sleeve. A conveniently omitted clue often results in a book being thrown across the room and/or bad reviews.
The rule of fair play was considered so important that during the Golden Age of mystery fiction that English mystery writers, including Agatha Christie and Dorothy L Sayers, formed a group called the Detection Club, and members swore to play fair with readers.
Introduce the murderer at the beginning of the book
Not only must the reader know all the clues, all the suspects must be there as well. Introduce the murderer early. Don’t pop him/her in during the last few scenes of the book like a magician producing a rabbit from a hat.
It’s that fair play thing again.
Justice must be done
Agatha Christie compared the mystery novel to medieval morality plays. Good triumphs over evil. Justice is done. A line from Evelyn, the librarian in the movie The Mummy, sums up the attitude of mystery readers nicely. She’s speaking to a greedy, lying, and manipulative character when she says, “You know, nasty little fellows such as yourself always get their comeuppance.”
The murderer’s comeuppance can take many forms. The most common is arrest and punishment, but suicide or even the death of the murderer can provide the restoration of the balance that readers want.
Of course rules are made to be broken, and some of the greatest mystery writers of all time did break these rules, and had some of their biggest successes as a result . . . but as for me, I’m sticking to them—most of the time.
For the creativity and sheer fun of it, I’ve included an excerpt of the oath administered to new members of the Detection Club as found on the All Manner of Things blog.
While certain portions of it are dated, I think overall you’ll have a solid mystery if you follow the Detection Club’s oath:
The Ruler shall say to the Candidate: M.N. is it your firm desire to become a Member of the Detection Club?
Then the Candidate shall answer in a loud voice: That is my desire.
Ruler: Do you promise that your detectives shall well and truly detect the crimes presented to them using those wits which it may please you to bestow upon them and not placing reliance on nor making use of Divine Revelation, Feminine Intuition, Mumbo Jumbo, Jiggery-Pokery, Coincidence or Act of God?
Candidate: I do.
Ruler: Do you solemnly swear never to conceal a vital clue from the reader?
Candidate: I do.
Ruler: Do you promise to observe a seemly moderation in the use of Gangs, Conspiracies, Death-Rays, Ghosts, Hypnotism, Trap-Doors, Chinamen, Super-Criminals and Lunatics; and utterly and for ever to forswear Mysterious Poisons unknown to Science?
Candidate: I do.
Ruler: Will you honour the King’s English?
Candidate: I will.
https://cburrell.wordpress.com/2007/09/10/oath-of-detection/
Want more info on how to get started on a cozy mystery? Check out the How to Outline a Cozy Mystery online course.
USA Today bestselling author Sara Rosett does her best to live up to the Detective Club oath. (That bit about the King’s English is tricky). She is the author of over 25 mysteries and teaches the How to Outline a Cozy Mystery course. Publishers Weekly called Sara’s books, “satisfying,” “well-executed,” and “sparkling.” Connect with Sara at www.SaraRosett.com.
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