1 | [[quoteright:332:[[Webcomic/BobTheAngryFlower https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/murdermystery_bob_9059.jpg]]]] |
2 | |
3 | Tropes associated with MysteryFiction and DetectiveFiction. |
4 | |
5 | Compare also WhatIsThisIndex for standard questions characters tend to ask. See also StockPuzzle. |
6 | ---- |
7 | !!Tropes: |
8 | [[index]] |
9 | [floatboxright: |
10 | '''Media index:''' |
11 | + MysteryFiction |
12 | |
13 | '''Trope indexes:''' |
14 | + BasicMysteryClasses |
15 | + CopsAndDetectives |
16 | + CrimeAndPunishmentTropes |
17 | + ForensicPhlebotinum |
18 | + ThisIndexIsAClue |
19 | ] |
20 | * AbsenceOfEvidence: When the absence of something is a clue. |
21 | * TheAlibi: Someone can prove they were physically incapable of committing the crime. |
22 | * AmnesiacHero: When the protagonist has amnesia. |
23 | * AnachronisticClue: Something which can't come from the time period it supposedly came from, which is a sign something is amiss. |
24 | * AnonymousKillerNarrator: When the serial killer is the narrator of the mystery story. |
25 | * AntiClimacticUnmasking: Someone rips off someone else's face-concealing costume (such as a mask, visor, etc), expecting someone extraordinary, but they get someone ordinary. |
26 | * BelieverFakesEvidence: A believer plants fake evidence to make others believe in the phenomena of their choice. |
27 | * BeneathNotice: Disguising oneself as a very plain, regular person. |
28 | * BeneathSuspicion: When the culprit was never suspected because no one thought it could have been them. |
29 | * BloodStainedLetter: A letter or note that has blood on the paper. |
30 | * BluffingTheMurderer: Someone is pretty sure who committed the crime, so they trick the criminal into revealing themselves. |
31 | * BookmarkClue: An important clue is discovered because someone used it as a bookmark. |
32 | * TheButlerDidIt: A butler turns out to be the one who committed the crime. |
33 | * CastAsAMask: A character and their disguised self are played by separate actors. |
34 | * ChronicEvidenceRetentionSyndrome: Bad guys hold onto evidence for no good reason. |
35 | * ClockDiscrepancy: Something seems to have happened at a certain time, but then it turns out it didn't, for instance because the clock had stopped. |
36 | * ClosedCircle: A plot where the characters can't leave until it's over. |
37 | * CluelessMystery: A mystery story where the reader/viewer can't follow along. |
38 | * CondensationClue: A hidden message written with one's finger onto a mirror or window. |
39 | * ConfessInConfidence: The criminal confesses to someone whose job requires confidentiality, such as a clergy member, doctor, or lawyer. |
40 | * ConsultingAConvictedKiller: There's a dangerous criminal at large, but luckily the investigators can talk to another, incarcerated criminal. |
41 | * ConvictionByContradiction: A whodunnit mystery is solved by finding a hole in the perp's story, like a logic puzzle. |
42 | * CorpseTemperatureTampering: Interfering with natural cooling of a dead body to obfuscate time of death. |
43 | * CostumesChangeYourSize: A disguised figure's size is somehow different from that of the person underneath. A standard trope for ScoobyDooHoax mysteries. |
44 | * CozyMystery: A mystery story where there is no graphic violence, sex, or profanity, the murder victims were bad people, the detective is usually a woman with a down-to-earth hobby, the setting is a small community, and the story in general has a lighthearted vibe despite usually dealing with a murder. |
45 | * CreepyRedHerring: A blantantly creepy suspect is innocent. |
46 | * CurtainCamouflage: Hiding behind a curtain. |
47 | * CutHimselfShaving: A character was attacked, but lies that the injuries are for a mundane reason, such as [[StaircaseTumble falling downstairs]]. |
48 | * DameWithACase: Beautiful but untrustworthy woman who hires the HardBoiledDetective. |
49 | * DeathInTheClouds: A mystery story involving a murder on a plane. |
50 | * DetectivesFollowFootprints: Looking for evidence can solve the case. |
51 | * DidNotDieThatWay: Someone lies about the cause of someone else's death. |
52 | * DisabilityAlibi: A suspect is determined innocent because they have a disability of some sort that makes it impossible for them to have done the crime. |
53 | * TheDogWasTheMastermind: The villain turns out to be a seemingly harmless and irrelevant character. |
54 | * DramaticCurtainToss: Someone dramatically removes a curtain/tarp/veil, revealing something important. |
55 | * DrivingQuestion: When the whole story revolves around solving some sort of mystery. |
56 | * EagleEyeDetection: A detective whose main skill is being really observant. |
57 | * TheEndOrIsIt: The story ends with a reveal (or at least an implication) that danger is still present. |
58 | * EurekaMoment: A character has an epiphany from seeing or hearing something unrelated that reminds them of the answer (e.g. seeing a dog, then realising the killer was the owner of the hot ''dog'' stand.) |
59 | * EverybodyDidIt: All the suspects were responsible for the crime in some way. |
60 | * EveryoneIsASuspect: When the killer in a murder mystery could have been anybody. |
61 | * EvidenceDungeon: The villain has a lair where lots of incriminating evidence is. |
62 | * EvidenceScavengerHunt: A scene about protagonists searching for clues. |
63 | * EvilPlan: A plan that a villain has. |
64 | * ExpositionVictim: Upon finding out who the killer is, the character speaks to them instead of fighting or running away. |
65 | * FairPlayWhodunnit: The opposite of a Clueless Mystery--a mystery story where the reader/viewer ''can'' follow along. |
66 | * FakeAlibi: A suspect claims to have [[TheAlibi an alibi]], witnesses confirm, yet the suspect is actually guilty. |
67 | * FakeMystery: The mystery plot turns out to have been staged to prank the detectives. |
68 | * FantasticNoir: Mystery and magic mix on the mean streets. |
69 | * FingerLickingPoison: Someone was poisoned by licking something covered in poison. |
70 | * FingertipDrugAnalysis: Testing if a powder or liquid is drugs by sniffing or tasting it. |
71 | * TheGameNeverStopped: Characters take part in a game involving a simulated death, then someone actually dies... or so it seems. As it turns out, the game hasn't ended yet. |
72 | * GuiltyUntilSomeoneElseIsGuilty: A suspect isn't proven innocent until the true culprit is exposed. |
73 | * HideTheEvidence: Hiding the evidence of something wrong or embarrassing is a major plot point. |
74 | * HiddenInPlainSight: Something is being searched for, and it turns out it was there the whole time but blended into the surroundings. |
75 | * HiddenAgendaHero: The hero's motivation is never revealed. |
76 | * HiddenVillain: The villain's identity is not revealed until much later. |
77 | * INeverSaidItWasPoison: A character accidentally gives themselves away by revealing information that their knowledge of proves they are guilty. |
78 | * InsistsOnBeingSuspected: The detective counts themselves as a suspect. |
79 | * IntrepidReporter: A journalist who actively searches for stories. |
80 | * LetOffByTheDetective: The detective knows who did it, but sympathises with their motive (or feels they've been punished enough) and so doesn't say so. |
81 | * LightsOffSomebodyDies: The lights go out, then when they turn back on, someone has been murdered. |
82 | * LockedRoomMystery: A crime that seems to have been impossible at first glance (for instance, a murder victim in a locked room.) |
83 | * LotsaPeopleTryToDunIt: It turns out that all the suspects tried to kill the victim. |
84 | * TheMainCharactersDoEverything: It's always the protagonists who find the important evidence. |
85 | * TheMeddlingKidsAreUseless: The protagonists did all the cool stuff, but ultimately it was some other person, such as the police, who solved the problem. |
86 | * MistakenForEvidence: Something looks like a specific, suspicious item but it's something different. |
87 | * {{Mockspiracy}}: A conspiracy theory which turns out not to be true. |
88 | * MocksteryTale: A story that starts out with a mystery, but the mystery turns out to be fake or unsolvable, so the plot goes somewhere different. |
89 | * MotiveEqualsConclusiveEvidence: A motive is treated as incriminating evidence. |
90 | * MysteriousStranger: A recurring character who isn't known by the others, and who's deliberately set up as enigmatic. |
91 | * MysteryEpisode: An episode in a serial work dedicated to solving a mystery. |
92 | * MysteryMagnet: Someone who coincidentally seems to attract mysteries. |
93 | * MysteryOfTheWeek: The protagonists solve a mystery in every episode. |
94 | * NeedleInAStackOfNeedles: An object hidden in a bunch of similar objects. |
95 | * NeverARunaway: Someone who is said to have run away actually befell some other crime. |
96 | * NeverOneMurder: Murder mysteries never have just one victim. |
97 | * NeverSuicide: It looks like somebody killed themselves, but it turns out to be murder instead. |
98 | * NeverTheObviousSuspect: Somebody seems to have been the culprit due to having obvious motive and ability to have done it, but it was somebody else who was the real culprit. |
99 | * NoOneSeesTheBoss: No one, not even his underlings, knows the BigBad's identity. |
100 | * NotableNonSequitur: In a detective story, every out-of-place line turns out to be important. |
101 | * NotSoFakePropWeapon: An actor [[AccidentalMurder accidentally kills]] another actor due to a prop weapon being switched for a real one. |
102 | * ObfuscatingPostmortemWounds: A killer inflicts additional wounds on a corpse to mask the true cause of death. |
103 | * OldDarkHouse: One or more murders happens in an old, poorly-lit house. |
104 | * OnlyOnePlausibleSuspect: A whodunnit where the identity of the culprit is obvious to the viewers. |
105 | * OntologicalMystery: A story where the characters are locked somewhere and must find out how they got there, why, how to escape, and who (if anyone) is the cause of the situation. |
106 | * OrgyOfEvidence: A criminal plants fake clues, but gives themselves away by the sheer number of fake clues. |
107 | * PerfectPoison: Killing someone with poison is unrealistically quick and easy. |
108 | * PlaceboEurekaMoment: A character figures out a mystery on their own, but thanks someone near them anyway. |
109 | * PrecrimeArrest: Someone gets arrested for a crime they haven't even committed yet. |
110 | * ProofDare: The criminal dares the detective to prove their guilt. |
111 | * ProppingUpTheirPatsy: A culprit proclaims the innocence of another suspect to conceal their own culpability or further their own agenda. |
112 | * PublicSecretMessage: Sending a coded message to everyone because only the intended target of the message will understand the code. |
113 | * PutOnAPrisonBus: The culprit is often defeated at the end by being arrested. |
114 | * PuzzleThriller: A mystery story where the mystery is "how does it all work?". |
115 | * RecordedAudioAlibi: Someone uses a recording of themselves to establish an alibi. |
116 | * RedHerring: Something seems like a clue, but it misleads the audience. |
117 | * ReverseWhodunnit: We know who committed the crime, but we don't know how the detective will solve the case. |
118 | * RewindReplayRepeat: Somebody finds something that gets their attention in a video, so they rewind and replay it over and over. |
119 | * RiddleForTheAges: A mystery the work never solves. |
120 | * ARiddleWrappedInAMysteryInsideAnEnigma: Somebody describes a frustrating mystery as three mysteries in one. |
121 | * RippedFromTheHeadlines: A crime story based on a real crime. |
122 | * SayingTooMuch: Someone accidentally says something that reveals plot-sensitive info. |
123 | * ScaryMinoritySuspect: An immoral-seeming TokenMinority character is portrayed as the obvious suspect of a crime. |
124 | * ScoobyDooHoax: The perpetrator disguises the crime as a paranormal or supernatural event. |
125 | * SecretIdentityApathy: The villains do not care about the true identity of the hero who's always thwarting them. |
126 | * SerialKillingsSpecificTarget: A murderer covers up the murder by killing other people with similar traits as the initial victim. |
127 | * ShadowedFaceGlowingEyes: A character has glowing eyes peeking out from a shadowed, usually covered face. |
128 | * ShellGame: Two or more identical things are shown, one is significant, and we initially know which it is until the objects get mixed. |
129 | * SherlockCanRead: Someone thinks someone else used great detective work when they didn't. |
130 | * SherlockScan: A detective comes to a conclusion about someone they just met from looking at them. |
131 | * TheSevenMysteries: Mysteries come in sevens. |
132 | * SignatureItemClue: A distinctive item means that someone must have put it there and that's a clue. |
133 | * SpotTheImpostor: Someone is seen with their impersonator and their friends have to determine who is the real deal and who is the disguised phony. |
134 | * TheStakeout: One or more people setting up camp somewhere and watch a location in secret to search for information. |
135 | * StrangerBehindTheMask: The answer to the mystery is something or someone we've never heard of. |
136 | * TheSummation: When the detective does a speech about how they solved the mystery. |
137 | * SummationGathering: During the Summation in a murder mystery, all the suspects, including the killer, are present. |
138 | * SuspectIsHatless: Someone reports a crime while giving a description of the culprit that is too vague and generic to narrow down who the person responsible could be. |
139 | * SuspiciousMissedMessages: Someone won't answer their phone? Better find out why! |
140 | * TenLittleMurderVictims: A group of people ends up somewhere, one of them turns out to be a killer, and they must find out which one before they kill everybody. |
141 | * ThatMysteriousThing: Characters refer to something in ambiguous terms so the audience won't know what it is. |
142 | * ThrillerOnTheExpress: A crime story set on a train. |
143 | * TwistEnding: The plot leads one way, but then something happens at the end which changes everything. |
144 | * TwoDunIt: There were two culprits all along. |
145 | * TheUnsolvedMystery: A mystery story without a resolution. |
146 | * VaryingCompetencyAlibi: A character is proven innocent when they're shown to be too competent or incompetent to do. |
147 | * WeatherReportOpening: The story opens with a description of the weather. |
148 | * WheelProgram: A number of TV shows are run in the same slot under one title. |
149 | * WhoDunnitToMe: Someone survives a murder attempt or comes back from the dead after being killed and tries to find out who it was who killed them or tried to kill them. |
150 | * WhoMurderedTheAsshole: An unsympathetic person has been killed, but it is difficult to determine who's responsible because pretty much everyone who knew the victim hated them. |
151 | * WorldOfMysteries: A setting with heaps of mysteries in it. |
152 | * WritingIndentationClue: Reading the indentations of notes written on a separate piece of paper. |
153 | * YouMeddlingKids: The villain claims they would have gotten away with whatever they planned on doing, if not for the protagonists. |
154 | * YouWakeUpInARoom: A character wakes up in an unfamiliar location. |
155 | * YouWakeUpOnABeach: A story that starts with a protagonist waking up on a beach. |
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