100 Mystery Writing Tropes
100 mystery writing tropes: Do you want to write an intriguing, page-turning mystery that keeps readers guessing? Knowing the most common and effective mystery writing tropes is key for crafting a compelling whodunit.
Luckily, I’ve put together the ultimate list of 100 must-know mystery writing tropes you can weave into your own manuscripts! From classic detective story elements to juicy motives and cunning plot twists, these vital building blocks will take your mystery from basic to brilliant.
In this post, I’ll break down the top techniques, themes, characters, settings, and clues used across legendary mystery stories through the ages. Whether you prefer gritty noir tales, charming cozies, psychological thrillers, or good old fashioned locked room puzzles, you’ll find tons of inspiration.
Follow along as I unravel examples of shadowy secrets, double-crosses, intricate murder methods, criminal mind games, suspicious sleuths, and red herrings galore. Soon you’ll be equipped to plant clever clues, establish cunning killers, and craft the perfect edge-of-your-seat whodunit sure to stump even the most devoted armchair detective!
So grab a cup of tea (or a glass of whiskey on the rocks if you prefer the hardboiled variety), settle into your favorite mystery-solving armchair, and let’s dive deviously into these 100 mystery writing tropes you can cunningly employ!
Here are 100 mystery writing tropes to use in your stories:
- The detective with a troubled past
- The wrongly accused main character trying to clear their name
- The closed circle of suspects
- Red herrings that seem to implicate other characters
- A background of old secrets that come to light
- Hostile authorities blocking the investigation
- An investigator falling for a prime suspect
- A quirky, brilliant detective like Sherlock Holmes
- An ordinary bystander caught up in extraordinary events
- A hidden room, attic, or cellar full of secrets
- Finding a cryptic note, letter, or diary
- Secrets revealed in the will or among personal belongings of the deceased
- A conspiracy uncovered
- Star-crossed lovers separated by murder
- A locked room puzzle where the crime seemingly couldn’t have taken place
- Mistaken identity
- Undercover agents or informants
- A rivalry or vendetta as the backdrop
- Eccentric witnesses obscure the truth
- Poking around the scene of the crime for tangible clues
- Loose floorboard, hollow furniture, or hidden cache revealing vital evidence
- Simmering small town full of resentment and buried trauma
- Killer identified through psychological profiling
- Technology like security footage or DNA used to crack the case
- Criminal returning to the scene of the crime
- Flashbacks filling in backstory
- A victim everyone seems to have wished harm upon
- Altered wills, deeds, stock certificates, letters, etc.
- Destroyed evidence and staged crime scenes
- Anonymous tips, vague threats, or taunting messages from the killer
- Inheritance as a motive
- Character presumed dead for years reappearing
- Alibis not adding up under scrutiny
- Supposed suicides revealed as murders
- An ingenious murder weapon or method
- Blackmail and extortion
- Coded messages and ciphers to break
- Pictures or portraits with missing eyes reflecting the killer’s psyche
- Consulting a medium, psychic, or paranormal expert
- Secret compartments hiding secrets
- A questioning of moral ambiguity—the villain could be sympathetic
- Serial killer on the loose
- Calling card or signature marks left by killer
- Past coming back to haunt characters
- Skeletons in closets
- Murder to cover up another crime
- Seemingly unrelated crimes ultimately connected
- Establishing false identity
- Scorned lovers and romantic revenge
- Footprints and fingerprints key to unlocking the culprit
- Witness protection program backstories
- Pickpockets, blackmail, kidnapping, arson etc. before escalating to murder
- Undercover agent or witness assumes new identity
- Amnesia and memory gaps
- Nursery rhymes, arcane symbols, tarot cards etc as sinister clues
- Mental asylum harboring dark secrets
- Secret passages hidden behind fireplaces, clockfaces, and bookshelves
- Murders mirroring deaths in a book or play
- Murder disguised as accident or suicide or natural causes
- Gothic elements like secret crypts, spooky manors, ominous forests
- Remote locations like islands or the country cutoff from outside help
- Seance contacting victims from beyond the grave
- Past coming back to haunt characters as ghosts
- Doppelgangers causing confusion about identities
- Steampunk or historical elements
- Hardboiled voiceover narration
- Multiple twists keep readers guessing
- Murder in a “locked room” within sealed location
- Nationwide manhunt when killer escapes
- Serialized installments building suspense
- Race against time to catch killer before next victim
- Antagonists pretending to be law enforcement
- Mysterious coded messages
- Forensic analysis of blood spatter and other evidence
- Background checks uncovering hidden pasts
- Secret twin or lookalike character
- Hypnosis regressing witnesses
- Undercover sting operations
- Victims connected numerically (3 victims on the 3rd etc) reflecting killer’s psychology
- Crimes inspired by astrology and cycles of moon or tides
- Seedy urban underworlds full of secrets
- Pickpockets, blackmailers, arsonists etc escalate towards murder
- Gentleman thief character playing cat and mouse with investigator
- Murder to cover up financial fraud schemes
- Secret blackmail photos or evidence
- Discovery of old skeleton exposing buried secrets
- Past coming back to haunt older characters
- Flappers, mobsters, or old Hollywood and noir archetypes
- Consultations with psychiatrists to plumb psychological depths
- Divining the killer through their interest in occult methods
- Cryptic codes unraveling hidden messages
- Morally gray protagonists wrestling with ethical questions
- Murder to cover up extramarital affairs or out of jealousy
- Disfigurement or deformity hinting at dark impulses
- Fingerprints, tire tracks, weapons analysis to catch killer
- Exploration of class divides factoring into motives and opportunity
- Funhouse mirrors and optical illusions symbolic of obscured truth
- Discovery of long lost relative as possible heir complicating matters
- Pickpockets, blackmailers, arsonists etc escalating towards murder
- Consulting psychics, tarot readers or supernatural elements unveiling secrets
And there you have it – 100 juicy tropes ripe for weaving into your thrilling whodunits! From timeless classics like locked room puzzles, eccentric sleuths, and mistaken identity to contemporary twists like forensic evidence, criminal profiling, and high-tech surveillance, you now have countless tools to craft clever clues, establish compelling killers, and keep readers constantly guessing. Whether you prefer gritty noir, charming cozies, psychological page-turners, or good old fashioned detective yarns, experimenting with these mystery must-haves allows ample room to put your own spin on the genre. So go forth and let your inner ingenious wordsmith concoct the perfect blend of red herrings, shocking reveals, moral dilemmas, shadowy secrets, and masterful detection to set your mysteries apart! Just beware of any spontaneous urges to cackle maniacally in the middle of the night as you scheme delightfully devious plot twists. All in service of writing deliciously addictive whodunits of course! Happy sleuthing!
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