What’s in a Murder Mystery, Anyway?

image: Sander Sammy for Unsplash

My favorite genre, whether reading or writing, is mystery. There’s something that’s intellectually and morally satisfying about seeing justice done — and having a go at figuring out how to get there.

Most murders originate long before they come to the reader’s — or the sleuth’s — attention. The body is both the ending of one story and the beginning of another. But unless there’s some sort of flashback…