  Mystery
This week: "Cold Cases" Edited by: Arakun the twisted raccoon  
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Quote for the week: Without mysteries, life would be very dull indeed. What would be left to strive for if everything were known?
-Charles deLint
In this newsletter we will talk about mysteries in a winter setting. |
| ASIN: B083RZ2C5F |
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Amazon's Price: Price N/A
Not currently available. |
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Hello everyone,
Welcome to my first Mystery Newsletter! Like many of you, I'm already sick of winter. However, winter has some good points. Winter weather provides a great excuse to stay inside and catch up on our writing. Winter is also an excellent setting for mystery stories. Cold, snow, and ice present unique challenges for protagonists and villains alike.
Snow covers everything, including footprints, tire tracks, and dead bodies. After a snowfall, detectives might have difficulty even finding the crime scene, let alone investigating it.
In North Dakota, where I live, winter temperatures often stay below 0oF for weeks at a time. When it is that cold, cars may refuse to start at all, or stall on the road if the gas line freezes. If your characters are foolish enough to venture out without a winter survival kit, they may freeze to death in a stalled car. Or they may accept a ride with a "helpful" stranger and never be seen again! Freezing temperatures destroy some types of evidence while preserving others. If a body has been frozen, determining the time of death may be nearly impossible, but the body will be in good condition for identification and other forensic tests.
Winter is dark. The sun will rise here tomorrow at approximately 8:30 AM and set at 4:30 PM. That's only 8 hours of daylight followed by 16 hours of darkness. In Alaska, some winter days might have only 5 hours of sunlight. Darkness adds mystery to any setting, provides cover for criminal activity, and gives detectives less time to search for evidence.
Heavy snow and ice can bring down phone and power lines, leaving some areas without heat, electricity, and phone service for several days. Cell phones and laptop computers work, but only as long as their charge lasts. That means the first victim in your story will never hear the news broadcasts about the escaped serial killer. When he shows up at her door asking for shelter from the storm, she will fall for his nice guy act and invite him in. Later, when she tries to call 911, the phone will be dead.
During a blizzard, cars run off the road, highways close, and flights are cancelled. If the storm is bad enough, even police and other emergency responders may not be able to travel. Some of your characters will not be able to leave their homes, while others find themselves stranded at work, in shopping malls, bars, bus stations, or airports.
If your characters are kids, winter means snow days! Every kid loves a day off from school. Kids in a mystery story can use a snow day to have exciting adventures and/or get into trouble. The chance of trouble increases if their parents are among the aforementioned stranded travelers.
If you are stuck for a story idea, make some hot cocoa, watch the snowflakes fall, and let your mind wander. Don't let the peaceful white landscape fool you. Somewhere out there, your favorite character is driving down an icy road. He loses control of his car and it slides into a ditch near an isolated farmhouse where...you finish the story!
Until next month,
Arakun the twisted raccoon
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Check out these items in the mystery, crime, and detective genres:
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#1668673 by Not Available. |
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#1467012 by Not Available. |
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#1571133 by Not Available. |
|  | Foster Boy (18+)
A yakuza boss, a police captain, and a judge have an unususal relationship.
#1441253 by Kotaro  |
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#1763100 by Not Available. |
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#1595161 by Not Available. |
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| Question for next time: Who is your favorite fictional detective and why? |
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Mystery: January 04, 2012 Issue [#4798]
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