How to write a Mystery? Check List

Setting

• Where are we?
• Why are we here?
• Who is present?
• Is the place remote?
• How Isolated is the Location?
• Is it an In-Town Location?
• In which environment is it situated?
• How is the neighborhood?
• What is in the vicinity?

• Who designed the Building?
• Are they still alive?
• What is the general form of the Building?
• How many exits are there?
• Which Rooms are Accessible?
• Are there Inaccessible Rooms?
• Are there any Hidden Rooms?
• Are there any Hidden Doors?

Crisis

• How was it done?
• How was the victim isolated?
• How was the artifact stolen?
• In which room did the crisis occur?
• When did it occur?

• Why now?
• Why on this particular day?
• What lead to the crisis?
• What allowed the crisis to occur more easily?

• Is the Victim dead?
• Was it a Murder?
  • What was the weapon?
  • Where was the victim struck?
• Was it an Assassination?
  • Which elements of premeditation can you identify?
  • Is the assassin particularly witty?
  • Does she display a great knowledge of the place?
• Was it Cannibalism?
  • How is the body?
  • What sort of rite was performed?

• Is the Victim still alive?
• Which kind of aggression was it?
  • How did the aggressor isolate the victim?
  • Did anyone try to help the victim?
• Was it a Theft?
  • Was the victim assaulted?
• Was it a Battery?
  • Was it done bare hand?
  • Which kind of weapon was used?
  • Why this weapon?
  • Which body part was targeted?
• Were there Mutilations?
  • Which body parts were targeted?
  • Which body parts were removed?
• Was it a Rape?
  • Was it done by surprise?
  • Was it done by force?
  • Was the victim deceived?

• The Artifact
• What has been stolen?
• Why was it stolen?
• Who was interested by it?
• Who has already offered to acquire it?
• Why was the offer refused?

The Crisis Stage

• Access
• Who has access to the Room?
• When?
• How can the Room be accessed?
• Do you need Keys?
• Do you need a Code?
• Did everyone know this room existed?

• How is the Room arranged?
• Who designed this Room?
• Is it a different person than the one who designed the Building?
• Was this Room built latter?
• Which material is used for the Walls?
• How Thick are they?
• Is there any Sound Isolation?
• How is the Furniture?
• How is the Temperature?
  • Is it usual?
  • Is it exceptional?
• How is the Light?
  • Is it usual?
  • Is it exceptional?
• Are there any out of place objects?

• Vicinity
• Is the Corridor Frequented?
• How are the Adjacent rooms?
• Who was in these rooms?
• Who may have heard something?

Relationships

• Who is Present?
• Family
• Friends
• Relatives
• Colleagues
• Strangers

• 1st Impression
• Who sounds Hypocritical?
• Who sounds Spiteful?
• Who sounds Angry?
• Who sounds Delighted?
• Who sounds Excited?
• Who doesn’t feel respected?
• Who displays Brutality?
• Who displays Frustration?

• Who are they?
• What are they interested in?
• What is their profession?
• Which skills do they possess?
• Are they attracted by Strategy & Games?
• How do they enjoy themselves?
• Which kind of food do they like?
  • Why?

• Which means of Communication were used between the Victim & the Perpetrator?
• Did they ever communicate in person?
• How did they meet?
• Did they communicate in public?
• Where?
• How often did they communicate?

• How many persons are there here?
• What is the reason of the gathering?
• Who came?
• Who declined?
• Where do they come from?

• Accomplices
• When the solution is about to be found, who reacts?
• Who’s closest to the perpetrator?
• Who could assist her?
• Who could try to mask the Crisis?
• Who would benefit from this situation?

Testimonies

• Police’s presence
• Legitimate Authority & Prerogatives
• Are your Means Limited?
• Are your Resources Limited?
• Do you need to Control the setting?
• Do you need to Control the suspects?
• Do you need to limit Accesses?
• Do you need to block the Exits?
• Do you need personal Security?
• Here comes the police.
• How do the suspects react to the Police’s presence?
• Who believes in the Police as a protective force?
• Who counts on the Police to solve the situation promptly?
• Who sees them as another enemy?
• Who distrusts them?
• Who is indifferent to them?
  • Or seemingly indifferent.

• Interrogation
• Where is the Interrogation conducted?
• In an Isolated Room?
• Do we conduct Individual Interrogations?
• Shall we conduct Cross interrogations?
• Should Multiple suspects be placed in the same room?
• It may be the best way to control interactions.
• Would it be a way to turn the suspects against one another?
• Would they allow themselves to collaborate?

• Reactions
• Who is interrogated?
• How do they acts?
• To what do they React?
• To which words?
• To which topic?
• To which name?
• Who do they speak to before being interrogated?

• Witnesses background
• Do some of them have Criminal Records?
• Is there a Precedent to this situation involving them?
• Did the Witness assist to the Crisis?
• Was she left unscathed?
• Why?

• How to ask the Same Question?
• Ask it Multiple times.
• Ask it to Different People.
• How could it display their perspective?
• How will you synthesize these Different Perspectives?
• Are there any Information Convergences?
• Are there any Information Divergences?
• Which kind of Incoherence do you note?
• How were they highlighted?
• Who raised them?

• Interest
• Were multiple person interested by the Artifact?
• Were multiple person interested by the Victim?
• Did multiple person have the occasion to act?
• At the same moment?
• At different moment?
• Were they aware of each other?

Clues

• Mistakes will be made.
• Otherwise it will be impossible to found out the Solution to the Crisis.
• The act must be accomplished diligently & cautiously.
• But there will be traces & trails left out.
• How did the Crisis occur?

• Nature
• Which kind of Clues do we need?
• Obvious Clues.
  • Obvious does not mean easy to find.
  • It means easy to connect with an Individual or a Setting when found.
• Time sensitive Clues.
  • Clues need to be found in a specific context to be useful.
  • They also need to be found in due time.
  • Otherwise, they may be disposed of.

• Procedure
• Which clues allow us to solve the Crisis?
• 3 clues related to the Artifact/the Victim.
• 3 clues indicating who was interested by it.
• 3 clues on how they obtained it.
• 3 clues on where they are now.
• 3 clues pointing to another issue occurring in parallel.
  • This last one is facultative.

• In which State is the Body?
• Is it in degrading Naturally?
• Are there traces of Forceful Degradation?
• Where was it left?
• Why this Location?
• Are there any Distinctive Signs?
• Is something missing from the Body?
• Something which isn’t the Artifact stolen.

• Biases
• Are there any Signatures?
• Are there any Discriminators?
• Does a Clue leads to a certain person?
  • Too Obviously?
• Was it Left here voluntarily?
• Shouldn’t it be Hidden?
  • Is the perpetrator this Incompetent?
• How was it Discovered?
• Who discovered it?
• Are there any Fake Clues?
• Were some clues Misinterpreted?
  • Nature
  • Location
  • Belonging
• Are there Partial clues?
  • Where are the other pieces?
  • Who holds them?
  • Where did they hide them?