  Mystery
This week: Edited by: darkin
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Welcome to the Mystery Newsletter. Why are mysteries so popular? Because mysteries make you think. You follow every clue, examine the crime scenes and remember what each suspect said, until you solve the crime. A good mystery can keep you interested until the end. A great mystery will keep you guessing until the last page...when it makes you slap your forehead in surprise!
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There's a Sucker Born Every Minute.
Rip-offs, scams, cons and frauds. The kinds of crimes that take investigators years to unravel and even longer to prosecute. These crimes usually steal more than money; they steal self-respect and life savings. They steal hopes, dreams and trust.
When most people think of a mystery, they think of murder. Yes, murders are probably the top crimes written about in mystery novels, but not all crimes are of a violent nature. Some crimes don't take lives at all - at least not in the permanent sense.
Maybe you don't want to write a mystery about a murder. Instead, you want to write a mystery that revolves around a scam or con. But you don't know anything about those kinds of crimes. Well, maybe I can help a little with that
What are the different kinds of scams your bad guy can perpetrate on the general public? There are two basic kinds of scams; short term ones and long term ones.
Short Term Cons
A short term one is one that takes less than a few days to bring to an end. An example would be the Found Money scam. The mark is usually picked at random, is approached by one of the conmen and engaged in conversation. While they are talking, they find a wallet, or envelope, filled with money and no ID. As they talk about what to do a third person enters the mix and makes some statement about being an authority of some sort.
This "authority" figure decides the three of them can split the money if they wait a certain amount of time. Usually the mark is chosen to be the keeper of the money, but is expected to put up some "good-faith" money so the others know he is going to keep up his end of the bargain. He gives them an amount, usually something they suggest and stores the money until the time is up. But when he goes to get it, there is only one bill with a bunch of cut up paper behind it.
This scam can be done without money - a diamond ring, or expensive lost dog are examples of the different things that have been used to con people out of their hard earned money.
Long Term Cons
A long term scam can take from a few weeks to years to complete. The most famous of these is the Sweetheart Scam. These scams are among the most awful for the victim, who have their lifesavings and their hearts taken by a ruthless con man or woman.
It starts off innocently enough; a woman meets a handsome man at her favorite restaurant or bar. They start talking, and find they have much in common. Before she knows it, they are seeing each other daily.
Then the problems start. One night, he forgets his wallet, could she pay for dinner? Next thing she knows, his car is stolen and with it his wallet...could she lend him $100? Over and over, bad things happen to her new boyfriend, and she's always there to bail him out. She doesn't mind doing this, because he always promises to pay her back.
Usually it ends with him asking for a huge amount of money on a Friday night, covered of course by his personal check. By Monday morning, her new friend is no where to be found and his check is bouncing all over town.
Scams, cons and rip-offs can make some interesting mystery story plot twists. If you're dead-set on a murder, you can still use a scam. Your killer could be a conman who has to kill to protect his con. Or your victim might be the conman himself, dead at the hands of a would-be mark. There are many ways to use a scam in your writing, as many ways as there are scams.
For more information on scams, check out
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Thank you for taking the time to read. Happy Writing!
darkin
Source:
Rip-off: a writer's guide to crimes of deception. by Fay Faron
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Mystery: September 06, 2006 Issue [#1249]
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