withouttheculprit’sinterference,
it can also qualify as a red herring.DYING MESSAGE: A particularly
favourite trope among mystery
authors, this can take different
forms: a scrawl on the f loor, a
bloodied piece of paper with let-
ters/codes, or the direction in
which their fingers point.
Dying messages offer various
plot possibilities: a murderer may
decide to alter the message if they
spot it, the investigators may mis-
interpret it, or a character may de-
cide not to reveal the meaning of
the message, even if they realise it.FALSE/FAKE SOLUTION: This is a
scenario where detectives show
off their knowledge by presenting
different solutions to the crimeREADER’S DIGEST
the time of death, or someone who
stores a corpse in a freezer and
then ‘discovers’ it at a convenient
time – estimating the time of death
by checking for rigor mortis will be
inaccurate and provide the perpe-
trator an alibi.
TRICK: Suppose a group of people
see a person plummet to death
from the seventh f loor of a high-
rise building, but they see no one
else on the balcony. Adding two
and two together, they conclude
that the person committed suicide.
However, they may have failed to
notice the wily trick or setup the
real culprit used to disguise the
murder as a suicide. A trick, then,
is a crafty, elaborate mechanism
that allows a criminal to commit
their deeds while fooling investi-
gators and witnesses alike.
RED HERRING: The criminal under-
stands that the detective is closing
in on them. Their escape plans
have long failed, and the façade
cannot be maintained any longer.
As a last resort, they hit upon the
devious plan of leaving false, mis-
leading hints that will implicate
innocent members of the cast, and
allow themselves to make a geta-
way. These false clues or hints are
red herrings.
Funnily enough, if an over-per-
ceptive detective misinterprets a
clueandisledto a wrong solution
74 april 2020