  Mystery
This week: Listen to their Lies Edited by: Mrs. Nixie Clause  
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“When all the details fit in perfectly, something is probably wrong with the story.”
― Charles Baxter, Burning Down the House: Essays on Fiction
“I kissed a mystery, and it tasted like a woman. Lips are always full of delicious secrets.”
― Jarod Kintz
“I'm not upset that you lied to me, I'm upset that from now on I can't believe you.”
― Friedrich Nietzsche
“Things come apart so easily when they have been held together with lies.”
― Dorothy Allison, Bastard Out of Carolina
Hi, I'm Nixie, your guest editor for this issue.
All stories are mysteries at their heart, so they often cross with other mystery sub-genres. In this Newsletter, I'll be highlighting The Cozy Murder, with the focus on lying.
For general purposes, a Cozy Murder Mystery is defined by two elements. The murder takes place in a small town, and the investigator is an outsider with some interesting quirks.
A nod to your regular editors Jeff  Gaby  and Arakun the twisted raccoon  |
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Everyone lies.
Men lie to impress; women to spare someone’s feelings. Is this true? I’ve no idea. I read it somewhere and it stuck in my mind.
We’re familiar with an unreliable narrator who tells the story from her POV. What about an unreliable witness?
I'm cheating a bit here by using a BBC television series "Broadchurch" starring David Tenant. (The 10th Doctor Who) to demonstrate my point.
The story begins with a boy dead on a beach. A slovenly, fifty-ish woman appears, one who the viewer can readily despise. She’s overweight, chain-smoking cigarettes, and holding a large dog on a leash. Her trailer is only a few hundred yards from the murder scene. When she’s initially questioned, she tells the investigators she saw nothing. And they believe her.
Here we see some inversion. (*see below) The viewer suspects more than the investigators. They know the nasty lady has the dead boy’s surfboard in her closet, and no explanation is given. We know she witnessed part of the murder. Why is she so reticent? When she simply walks away, I'm practically yelling at Tenant. "Why didn't you go back and talk to her again?"
Several episodes ensue before the truth comes out. And it’s a mind bender. As a young mother, the slovenly, lying witness was declared unfit. The police came to her home and took her child from her. Because of this traumatic experience, she has trust issues with policeman. Does it make sense to us? Maybe not. But for the woman, her reticence is justified, provoking deeper thinking from the viewer/reader.
I’m not selling the movie. I’m feeding you the concept. We’re all familiar with the police procedural and lying suspects. Their secrets are becoming commonplace. A popular one involves sex affairs the marriage partner is unaware of.
Listen to your suspects lie. The twistier (not tawdrier) the better.
* For an inverted mystery, the reader/watcher knows whodunit. The suspense escalates as the detective chases down the clues. In my example, we're not looking at a precise inverted. We do know more than the sleuths, but not all.
The "sub-genre" of cozy mysteries can be applied to mystery books.
Mystery/Crime fiction
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Here's a few stories that caught my attention.
Witnesses are interrogated.
A bit of prose
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Have an opinion on what you've read here today? Then send the Editor feedback! Find an item that you think would be perfect for showcasing here? Submit it for consideration in the newsletter!
https://www.Writing.Com/go/nl_form
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Official WdC contest for March
A few prompts for a mystery (from the HUB)
"Write a mystery story using a ferret as a key witness or important component in the plot."
"A woman you have never met before tells you: "Your life depends on what's inside my purse."
"Your (or your character) overhear someone making a confession. What were they confessing, and to whom?"
My hunt for cozy mysteries and lying witnesses proved challenging. Do you have an item to illustrate my point? |
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Mystery: March 23, 2016 Issue [#7543]
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