Standard Whodunnit clichés
@arthurchappell (44941)
Preston, England
January 17, 2017 3:24pm CST
I quite enjoy whounnits but they can have lots of oh no not again elements like the following
1/. The most obvious suspect is innocent
2/. If someone is missing presumed dead they are very much alive and involved in events in disguise or plastic surgeried beyond recognition
3/. Someone will have an evil twin
4/. One of the victims isn’t really dead
5/. No one will actually try to kill the detective
6/. Someone actually saw the body soon after the murder and kept quiet about it – they fall under suspicion but their name is soon cleared
7/. Someone blackmailing the killer ends up being victim number two
8/. If on TV or in a movie, the best known cast member is probably the killer
9/. A worthless painting or other artefact will have something really valuable hidden in it that the killer really wanted but only the detective works out where it was
10/. The victim leaves some sort of clue that is very cryptic but somehow tells the detective how death was achieved and by who
11/. If the case seems solved with fifty pages or 20 minutes still to go, it will prove to be a false trail and lead to a frantic chase after the real killer often stopping him/her on the brink of killing someone else.
12/. If the killer doesn’t confess and go quietly he/she will die horribly trying to escape
13/. If the number 12 is used a lot, then a jury is involved, usually as the list of victims under pursuit by the killer
14/. Signing a Tontine contract is an open invitation to getting yourself murdered
15/. The private detective convinces the suspects not to call the cops or collapsed bridges, storms and blizzards will isolate everyone conveniently at the crime scene
Arthur Chappell
10 people like this
6 responses
@celticeagle (189793)
• Boise, Idaho
17 Jan 17
In these tv movie mysteries I am usually able to figure out who did it within the first half hour of the movie.
3 people like this

@celticeagle (189793)
• Boise, Idaho
18 Jan 17
@arthurchappell .....I still have to see it through to see how they do the storyline.
1 person likes this
@louievill (28846)
• Philippines
17 Jan 17
they can't hide much from you can they?2 people like this
@arthurchappell (44941)
• Preston, England
17 Jan 17
@celticeagle sometimes it's not much of a challenge
1 person likes this

@arthurchappell (44941)
• Preston, England
17 Jan 17
@BelleStarr yet to find a detective story where the Butler actually did it
1 person likes this
@arthurchappell (44941)
• Preston, England
17 Jan 17
yes such sites are well worth a look in on @egdcltd
1 person likes this
@Jessicalynnt (50523)
• Centralia, Missouri
18 Jan 17
I liked some of the twists in Clue the movie, but yes, much of those are often are true. People like their tropes.
1 person likes this
@arthurchappell (44941)
• Preston, England
18 Jan 17
@JudyEv oh yes, that is inevitable with any genre
1 person likes this
@teamfreak16 (43567)
• Denver, Colorado
18 Jan 17
"Doesn't everyone have an evil twin brother? " - Space Ghost.
1 person likes this








