[No data] by Tomlinson, Paul -- Read -- Imperial Library of Trantor

Index

Introduction Genre Conventions

Setting – The Scene of the Crime Iconography Themes Tone Characters Plots The Rules of the Game

The Modern Cozy Mystery The Crime – Murder Most Foul The Victim The Suspects The Murderer The Watson Minor Characters

The Police Servants and the Working Class

The Great Detective

Character Archetype: The Thinker The Detective’s Ego Eccentricity Skills and Experience Observation Deduction – Deductive and Inductive Reasoning Knowledge – Forensic versus Psychological Constructive Imagination – Theorising Physical Appearance – What Does a Great Detective Look Like? The Role of the Great Detective

The Spinster Sleuth The Modern Cozy Sleuth

Character Archetype: The Carer Intuition vs. Logic Emotional Intelligence Developing Others

The Investigation

1. Incrimination of Suspects: Means, Motive and Opportunity

Means Motive Opportunity

2. Elimination (or Exoneration) of Suspects – Alibis

The Iron-Clad or Unbreakable Alibi

3. Solution and Revelation – Clues and Red Herrings

Fair Play Tangible Clues Intangible Clues Psychological Clues The One True Clue Hiding the Clues Absence of Clues Red Herrings Deductions from Clues Telegraphing Overused Clues Other Clues to Avoid Keeping Track of Your Clues Sequencing

Plot Structures

The Main Parts of a Murder Mystery

The Act I Murder Plot The Midpoint Murder Plot The Most-Likely Suspect or Innocent Accused Plot The Locked Room Mystery or ‘Impossible’ Crime The Inverted Detective Story Putting It All Together - Practical Application Appendix 1: Writing The Sword in the Stone-Dead

Setting Characters

The Detective The Murderer and the Victim The Suspects

Plot Where I Went Wrong – Evaluating the First Draft

Appendix 2: A History of the Mystery - Before the Golden Age

Historical Antecedents François Eugene Vidocq (1775–1857) Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849) After Poe – Wilkie Collins and Charles Dickens Emile Gaboriau (1832-1873) Anna Katharine Green (1846-1935) Sir Arthur Conan Doyle & Sherlock Holmes

Appendix 3: A History of the Mystery - The Golden Age Bibliography Acknowledgments About the Author