is it 'illegal' to have my detective as the killer?! (2 Viewers)

[emdrinan]

i think that if done correctly making the dective the murderer is a great idea. If written in a way which involves the responder so that they are required to make their own deductions as to what happened//what is happening. Making the decective the murderer could also force the responder to question the values of crime fiction and force them to reflect upon crime within the modern world. You could do it as more of a modern subversion of the crime fiction genre.

 

[adrianforever69]

YES YES YES it is absolutely "illegal" to have the detective as the killer.

the crime fiction genre originates from the intuitionists and their ideas. although disregarding the "golden age" in which they wrote is challenging conventions, this is the first rule for crime fiction. never ever use the detective as the murderer. the reader will be left disappointed and let down as they struggle to solve the crime with you and they realise you are leaving out clues. the best way to do it is to have subtle clues pointing to the most likely character then twisting it to be the least likely character.

never ever 'trick' the audience like that. it is unjust and cruel and will leave responders feeling let down.