10 ELEMENTS OF MURDER MYSTERY GENRE - lecture

[@Falconlibrary]

Popularity of genres (since you were wondering) Book Genres That Make the Most Money: Romance/Erotica ($1.44 billion). Crime/Mystery ($728.2 million). Religious/Inspirational ($720 million). Science Fiction/Fantasy ($590.2 million). Horror ($79.6 million). If you can write an erotic mystery thriller where the detective is a very religious elf from an alternate reality who also has to fight a supernatural monster, I don't see how you could sell anything less than one billion copies. Fun fact: Ebooks only comprise 9% of all book sales. People still like their books made out of dead trees.

[@tristanandtheclassics6538]

Well that's just an incredible concept. $1Billion here we come😃

[@Falconlibrary]

@@tristanandtheclassics6538 You fell into my trap! You now owe me 10% of the royalties (finder's fee) and of course I need a very lavish dedication on the title page in which the word "magnificent" is deployed often and sincerely. I also expect part of the proceeds from the film series and of course the merchandising.

[@janebaily3758]

Mr Bradford you are hysterical 🤣

[@paulmahoney5326]

@@Falconlibrary Be careful, Tristan. With that amount of newfound wealth, you've now given any shady relatives/suspects listed in your will a considerable motive. 😉

[@Falconlibrary]

I know that English people like to claim Sherlock Holmes as the first rational detective, but actually that honor belongs to Auguste Dupin (Murders in the Rue Morgue, The Purloined Letter, The Mystery of Marie Rogêt), created by Edgar Allan Poe in 1841. Dupin even smoked a meerschaum pipe and his adventures were recounted by a friendly narrator who presaged Dr. Watson. The Dupin stories were wildly popular, but Poe refused to write more of them because copyright was so poorly enforced at the time that publishers were printing the Dupin mysteries and then refusing to pay Poe for them (a recurrent theme in his life). Poe created the detective genre all by himself, but Arthur Conan Doyle found a way to monetize it, since copyright was enforced in his day.

[@muhlenstedt]

Thank you for the fascinating Information . I was thinking about Wilkie Collins, right now I do not remember the name of the charachter but in The Moonstone, there was a kind of early type of a detective. Do you think he could be alsobe called as rational detective?

[@ocalimba9149]

Fufact: In "A Study in Scarlet" Holmes even mentions Dupin. He is not fond of his way of deduction and observation and feels superior. But Doyle clearly admired Poe.

[@MichelleFalco]

I would read that book! What a fun lecture.

[@lucyssweetjournaling]

I love murder mysteries and I loved this. Thank you. Never stop your lessons, you are most engaging booktuber out there. You should have way more subscribers.

[@nedludd7622]

Raymond Chandler wrote a book about it, "Simple Art of Murder". A few suggestions for crime writers who have a recurring hero. Henning Mankell(Sweden), Matti Joensuu(Finland), Manuel Montalban(Spain), Paco Taibo II(Mexico), James Lee Burke(US), Kathy Reichs(US), Elizabeth George(US). They are all different, the one from another.

[@elisabete8351]

Yes, Kathy Reichs! And Michael Connelly, with Harry Bosch, I read all his books, but I didn't like the way he's portraited in the series, that feeling that we all imagine the character in a certain way, lol. Also, I didn't like the "Hobbit" movie, but love, love the book.

[@princelanguages8924]

Loved your story! I was gripped! More please.

[@Fidion]

🐴🐅🫎🐆🫏🐆🫏🐆🫎🫎🐆🫎🐆

[@leonorsantos9355]

"Cabbage" Great. Loved it.

[@maryanncarl646]

What a hoot! Lots of good info coupled with a fun story beginning. Enjoyed everything. Thank you,

[@tristanandtheclassics6538]

Pleased that you enjoyed it Mary Ann. It was quite a fun exercise.

[@gaildoughty6799]

Oh, thanks for this, Tristan. Murder mysteries have always been my favorite genre for relaxation reading, and you’ve done a great job discussing their characteristics. The sudden solution based on information not available to the reader can be infuriating…the traditional mystery is almost a game between author and reader: the author sets the problem, and the reader tries to solve it. Without the complete disclosure of clues (however buried or misdirected), the game is spoiled. One of my favorite stories is by John Dickson Carr; he pauses the action in the middle to challenge the reader to find the solution. At the very end of the book, he points to his well-buried clues and how they lead to the conclusion. Great video, and very amusing beginning to your own murder mystery.

[@tristanandtheclassics6538]

You're so right. When the author omits vital information it is infuriating. It's disruptive also. You Get the sense that the story is incomplete and that makes for a drab read.

[@carolnash5617]

I especially liked the first line of your writing!!

[@christineschollar1317]

This is fascinating as I did know all of this. However, I have just read a very modern novel which actually has all of these elements but would not necessarily be sold as a murder mystery. The only difference to your description is that in this novel another author, investigating over a period of time, takes on more of the detective role. I thought at one point the novel was becoming irritating as it was very repetitive in parts, however I can now see why. The red herrings weaved very cleverly into the story makes you accuse virtually everyone. In the end all is very cleverly revealed, slowly. Some of it I worked out but...at over 600 pages it takes you down so many blind alleys it's incredible. The novel is set in Australia, which I wasn't keen on at the start, but gave it more of an edge actually. It is called 'Homecoming' by Kate Morton. I thought the ending was brilliant.

[@donovanmedieval]

Postage stamps are used as a plotpoint in the movie Charade (1963) with Audrey Hepburn, Cary Grant, Walter Matthau, George Kennedy, and James Coburn.

[@charmainesaliba5546]

Really enjoyed this video. I used to read a lot of Murder Mystery even though I like the genre I didn't find a really good one. Unfortunately, nowadays authors are tending to add clues even after the murder is solved, just to shock the reader and this ruin the book in my humble opinion. I really like Miss Marple, she is an old lady who everyone underestimate, she is seen a nuisance and just have too much free time on hand, but she hides a great potential. Her character makes me think of all those people who don't get a chance because how they look, without giving them the chance to express their qualities. Thanks for this interesting video 😊

[@tristanandtheclassics6538]

I loved miss Marple on the TV when I was a kid. Joan Hickson was the actress and it is one of my find memories.

[@margaretinsydney3856]

Wonderful teaching and a great start to a murder mystery. This video came up on my feed, probably because I watched your recent 10 contemporary mysteries on your new channel. I love your detective. I may try my hand at spinning a tale. I think you're right that it helps your reading - and also gives new respect for the pros!

[@bakingc00kies]

I’m obsessed with this genre and planning to write something on these lines. thanks a lot for your videos!! 🌹

[@tristanandtheclassics6538]

Oh, good for you Jessica. Hope the writing goes well. Let me know whene6you complete the book.😃👍

[@bakingc00kies]

@@tristanandtheclassics6538 sure will! 🤩

[@duffypratt]

A few random comments. Go see Charade with Cary Grant, for postage stamps. I think they also played a role in John Caldigate by Trollope which veers toward another kind of mystery. Second, I hate And Then There Wete None, mostly because it cheats. At the beginning of the book we get the interior monologues of several characters, and these monologues make it impossible for the murderer to be who it turns out to be. I worked on a movie where the situation with the two people remaining did not know who did it. Mostly because the screenwriter was too dumb to realize the obvious. Finally, I think what you have works well for the British drawing room mystery, but less well for American hard boiled mysteries. And finally (for real), by your criteria Hamlet works as a murder mystery, which I think is pretty cool.

[@tristanandtheclassics6538]

Wow you make such good comments Duffy, I love them. I am looking out for Charade now. It doesn't surprise me that postage stamps are somewhere used as a clue, but I wasn't aware of any examples. I enjoyed And Then There Were None, but I didn't stop to think about it. Granted, many say Christie is not all that great a writer, but she knows how to create a good bit of threat. A goose-flesher I think Wooster calls it. There is a big distinction between the types of detective novels. Sherlock Holmes, although I used him as an example of a well drawn detective, is not in my opinion a Murder Mystery rather it is a purer for of detection. You've made me want to go and read some hard boiled novels now😅

[@PinaPuddu]

Thank you, Tristan. I enjoyed your story very much. ❤

[@karengustafson7666]

Thank you for this. I love your videos. Murder mysteries are my favorite genre and I will be looking for these elements the next time I read one.❤

[@althompson3085]

Enjoying hearing of this genre.

[@zita-lein]

Loved this whole and entire thing! Completely awesome! Oh, and … well read!

[@johnmooney9403]

Just recently discovered your channel Tristan.Really enjoy your reviews and content.

[@lucyjazz1]

Great video Tristan 👍 Really enjoy this series on literary genres 😊 Take care !

[@tristanandtheclassics6538]

Thanks Lucy! It's been enjoyable making the series.

[@susprime7018]

Postage stamp, Miss Marple's The Buried Treasure, a bit of research on Google working backward from Charade. Enjoyed your story.

[@viviandukart7878]

I love your video. It has so much to think about and take care of. Thank you for sharing your knowledge. Excellent 🎉👍

[@Camille-td8xr]

Thank you so much, I've learned a lot watching this. I've watch many videos about this topic and yours is definitely the most complete one. I'm a romance writer and I would like to try writing a murder mystery. Do you have one to recommend without too much scary things ? Have a great day :) !

[@kimberly5411]

Perfect timing. I always think you have access to my TBR list. The Sign of Four is my next book to begin. Hope to pick it up this week. Thanks for producing a great video on a fun topic!!!

[@tristanandtheclassics6538]

Haha maybe our book shelves are in a cosmic connection 😄. Sherlock Holmes is magnificent. I was mentioning to another commenter that I actually don't consider Sherlock as a full Murder Mystery kind of work. He is a purer detective fiction with less of the high threat and tension that say an Agagha Christie has. But still my favourite detective by far.

[@coolpiraterapstar]

Great video, I am really liking all of them

[@story-powerpodcastbylucind4149]

Very expensive postage stamps were a key element of the murder mystery movie, Charade with Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn.

[@footfault]

Enjoyed your first chapter! For one thing, it's suffused with a forensic approach, a fun exercise for readers. One under-read author - who is more of a detection procedure writer - is Dr. R. Austin Freeman. Dr. Freeman wrote from 1887 through the year he died, 1943. His main character was Dr. Thorndyke. In Wilkie Collins' The Woman in White (he wanted his tombstone inscription to read "the author of The Woman in White) there's identity theft and yes, a murder, but murder isn't the main motif. So that's a mystery, not a murder mystery. There are so many motives that have nothing to do with the characteristics of the victim, though. The victim may simply stand in the way, may be a hurdle, an accidental obstacle to some unclear (at first) objective of the killer? Cheers.

[@peggymccright1358]

Wonderful, thank you. No I’m not interested in writing but I love being read to. And, about the stamp… you might watch ‘Charades’ with Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant

[@charlessmyth]

[35:42] It's a mystery why readers of mysteries really hate a mystery :-)

[@janebaily3758]

never really explored mysteries...Where would you start with Agatha Christie? Thinking Miss Marple...

[@dqan7372]

Reminds me of a British author who was loathe to include a straight up murder in a particular murder mystery series. Accident, sure. Suicide, OK. Self-defense, yep! And if someone was out-and-out murdered, you could bet everything on the troubled youth who'd already learned his lesson. The stories were pleasant enough to read, but the conclusions themselves usually induced a shrug.

[@mesolithicman164]

I thought the battle of wills beteen the docor and the detective was really good. Excellent, absorbing coflict. I must cofess that their rivalry distracted me from seeing the clues, so I sort of missed the hard work you'd put into the planing of the plot mechanics. But I guess, like a magician, you're forced to look at one hand while the other hand does the sneaky stuff. But, I thought it was great, very absorbing drama.

[@laurafprim]

I wish you would narrate audiobooks....

[@helenwood1]

Brilliantly enjoyable. Can I say that?

[@denisebowen1527]

Agatha Christie's "Spidrer's Web" was all about a postage stamp

[@donovanmedieval]

Spoiler Alert! In The Hound of the Baskervilles, we have no way of knowing that "Stapleton" is actually a Baskerville.

[@beckerabstracts]

Inspector Dover is hysterical. There were only six stories I believe but they are on KZbin as a radio play. He is probably the most obnoxious detective I've seen so far.

[@mrpenguin815]

11:50 I always hope its the detective. So far, I think I've been correct once.

[@tristanandtheclassics6538]

Yes, it's always a good idea for a plot twist.

[@moviemelody2210]

@@tristanandtheclassics6538 I’m writing a murder mystery series based on the 12 days of Christmas. It seems like each book is completely separate but by the end of each book the detective is anonymously invited to a house where they meet up with the other detectives to solve a murder that was ruled an accident. *Question:* what are 12 elements that I can have the detectives find out in their respective books to solve the group mystery? (I already have the suspect, victims name, murder weapon, location of murder, & alibi). I want one element per person