The detective fiction genre can be divided into two classes: the formal (British) and the

Hard-boiled (American). Hard-boiled detective fiction is more appealing to Americans

because it combines realism with humor. Hard-boiled detective fiction is characterized
by unsentimental, gritty stories about violence, corruption, and sex. They are graphic
and unapologetic. The hard-boiled detective story usually takes place in the city, and the
detective finds himself at odds with society.

Characteristics of a Detective Story

C. Hugh Holman’s A Handbook to Literature defines a detective story as “a novel or
short story in which a crime, usually a murder the identity of the perpetrator unknown is
solved by a detective through a logical assembling and interpretation of palpable
evidence, known as clues.” The first detective stories were written by Edgar Allan Poe,
and Conan Doyle acknowledged their influence on his writing. A good detective story
generally follows six “unwritten rules.”
First, the crime must be significant, worthy of the attention it receives. Most stories
involve murder, though Conan Doyle tied the majority of his crimes to greed and theft.
Second, the detective must be in some way a memorable character. He or she must be
very intelligent, of course, unusually clever and observant, but also quirky, possessing
perhaps some odd idiosyncrasies that distinguish him or her. Kojak’s lollipop, Columbo’s
crumpled raincoat, James Bond’s unruffled cool and high-tech gadgets, all of these
things make the hero somehow distinct.
Third, along with an exceptional detective, there must be an outstanding opponent, a
criminal clever enough to be a match for the hero. Solving the crime can’t be too easy.
Fourth, because a large part of the attraction of a detective story is the opportunity for
the reader to try to figure out the solution along with the detective, all suspects of the
crime must be introduced early in the story, and
Fifth, all clues the detective discovers must be made available to the reader also.
Finally, at the end of the story, the solution must seem obvious, logical, possible. The
crime must not have resulted from accident or supernatural intervention, and the
detective must be able to explain all aspects of the case in a reasonable way. A fine
detective story should meet each one of these standards.
How to write a detective story: 7 keys to a killer whodunnit
Learning how to write a detective story is a helpful process for any fiction author. This
crime subgenre distills some of the most fundamental aspects of story. Cause and effect
are strong. Because every character is a potential suspect, we remember how important
it is for every story character to have compelling motivations, public and private lives.
Here are 7 keys to writing an effective detective novel or short story:

1: Draw inspiration from the great detective authors:

Get clues on how to write detective story protagonists from great detective fiction
authors’ work.
Edgar Allan Poe was one of the first great detective fiction writers in the English
language. Poe published his story “The Murders in the Rue Morgue’ in 1841, featuring
the detective C. Auguste Dupin. Poe’s detective fiction is useful to read because it gives
useful insights into the genre.
Through Poe’s characters’ words, we form a better idea of how to create detectives who
are a cut above. Besides reading the masters for clues on how to write a detective story,
learn the basic ingredients of detective fiction:

2: Learn effective elements of detective fiction plots

Detective fiction, itself a subgenre of crime and mystery fiction, has subgenres of its
own:
In a ‘whodunnit’ or ‘whodunit’, the reader shares the detective’s work. The reader also
attempts to deduce who perpetrated a crime based on clues the author weaves into the
story.
In an inverted detective story, readers might witness the criminal act at the start and
also learn the identity of the perpetrator. The rest of the story is then built around the
process of the detective uncovering this information.
There are other subgenres too. Police procedurals show policemen tackling and solving
crimes. The Dexter book series and TV adaptation is an example of this type of
detective story.

Each of these subgenres may have some of the following common detective fiction
elements:
Red herrings: Suspects, clues or turns of events the author creates suspicion around
that turn out to be distractions from the truth. These keep the suspense high and make
detective story resolutions more unpredictable.

Detective inquiries: The detective protagonist (or duo or team) makes the rounds,
inquiring after leads. Inquiries present the opportunity to create further subplots and
complications for the primary investigator(s)

False suspects: Sometimes the police bring in the wrong suspect. This is similar to a
red herring, but false suspects are usually more closely related to the crime.

Surprise plot twists: There are major unexpected story turns that take the reader by
surprise

These are just some of the core ingredients of effective detective plots.

3: How to write a detective story: Master the use of red herrings

Because detective work relies on reason and deduction, a story is most believable when
you include misleading information. Even the best detectives can follow false lines of
reasoning if all the evidence seems to support this track.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s novel The Final Problem provides a good example of expert
red herring use. The detective Sherlock Holmes goes out walking with his sidekick Dr.
Watson, Watson rushes back back to their hotel when he receives a message saying a
woman urgently needs his medical attention. The message turns out to be a ploy by the
villain. He sends this false information to get Holmes alone so that he can attack him. In
this case, the red herring is not directly related to the commission of a crime.
Like Conan Doyle, create red herrings to create circumstances necessary for pivotal
scenes to take place. In addition to creating a desirable story situation (e.g. “The hero is
alone and vulnerable to attack”), a red herring brings surprise, keeping the reader
guessing. The element of surprise keeps the story fresh and interesting.

4: Give characters interesting motivations

Give each character in your detective story a good motivation. An example: The
mysterious woman who tries to avoid your detective’s inquiries may be protecting
another suspect. This other suspect isn’t the true perpetrator but has an incriminating
alibi. Because she’s protecting him, she herself becomes a suspect.
As you plan what actions each character will take in the course of your story, note down
their driving reasons. A credible sense of cause and effect, a sense that each
character’s actions and words have strong motivations, will keep readers believing in
your fictional world.

5: Develop your understanding of detectives’ skills

As writers we’re story detectives. We have to work out how the pieces of each story fit
together. Yet not everyone has the skill set of a criminal detective. Forensic capabilities,
for example, and advanced powers of deduction.
To become a crack detective fiction author, grow your knowledge of real-life detectives’
skills.
A crack detective might deduce information from:
Physical surrounds: What does the strange arrangement of furniture say about a
scene and what could have played out there, for example?
248 Psychological observation: If a person behaves a certain way (avoiding eye
contact, for example), what does this say about them (that they’re lying?)
Noticing circumstantial discrepancies: If a suspect routinely went to a specific coffee
shop every Saturday morning and didn’t on the weekend the crime was committed,
could this be relevant?
Forensic data: Samples taken from a crime scene tell a story too.
To write great detective stories, spend some time reading true detective books
about how famous crimes were solved. Learn the fundamentals of forensics and
common terminology. Arm yourself with extensive information about how crimes
are solved to start thinking like a detective.
6: Always create curiosity (and delay satisfying it)
In the best detective stories, novels and movies, writers create curiosity.
In David Lynch’s cult detective TV series about a small-town murder, Twin Peaks, Lynch
develops perpetrator and victim in parallel. As we find out more and more about Laura’s
killer, Lynch develops Laura too (albeit posthumously). This double process of revelation
makes each character contribute to the story development actively.
The viewer finds out about skeletons hiding in the small town’s collective closet, circling
closer to uncovering the true story of the central crime. This structure means that there
are smaller sources of curiosity that emerge in the process of answering the FBI
detective Agent Dale Cooper’s core questions. The biggest answers are reserved for
the second and final season. This structure resolves some tension even as primary plot
tensions build in the background. This tactic sustains engrossing suspense.

7: Trust the reader’s deductive capabilities

Detective fiction authors of the so-called ‘Golden Age of detective fiction (such as
Agatha Christie) created complex puzzles in their novels.
In Christie’s mystery novel And Then There Were None (1939), for example,
The mysterious deaths of the book’s central characters parallel the deaths of the
characters in the nursery rhyme now known as “Ten Little Soldier Boys’. It is up to the
reader to try and work out the significance of the nursery rhyme and how the story might
proceed, based on the rhyme which starts: Ten little Soldier Boys went out to dine; One
choked his little self and then there were nine.