The main feature of the detective as a genre is the presence in the work of a certain mysterious incident, the circumstances of which are unknown and must be clarified. The most frequently described incident is a crime, although there are detective stories in which events that are not criminal are investigated (for example, in Notes on Sherlock Holmes, which certainly belongs to the detective genre, there are no crimes in five stories out of eighteen).

An essential feature of the detective is that the actual circumstances of the incident are not communicated to the reader, at least in their entirety, until the investigation is completed. Instead, the reader is led by the author through the process of investigation, having the opportunity at each stage to build their own versions and evaluate known facts. If the work initially describes all the details of the incident, or the incident does not contain anything unusual, mysterious, then it should already be attributed not to a pure detective story, but to related genres (action movie, police novel, etc.).

Genre features

An important property of a classic detective story is the completeness of facts. The solution of the mystery cannot be based on information that was not provided to the reader during the description of the investigation. By the time the investigation is completed, the reader should have enough information to base their own decision on it. Only a few minor details can be hidden that do not affect the possibility of revealing the secret. Upon completion of the investigation, all riddles must be solved, all questions must be answered.

A few more signs of a classic detective story were collectively named by N. N. Volsky hyperdeterminism of the detective's world(“the world of the detective is much more orderly than the life around us”):

• Ordinary environment. The conditions under which the events of the detective story take place are generally common and well known to the reader (in any case, the reader himself believes that he is confidently orientated in them). Thanks to this reader, it is initially obvious what is ordinary from what is being described, and what is strange, beyond the scope.
• Stereotypical character behavior. The characters are largely devoid of originality, their psychology and behavioral patterns are quite transparent, predictable, and if they have any prominent features, then those become known to the reader. The motives of actions (including the motives of the crime) of the characters are also stereotyped.
• The existence of a priori rules for constructing a plot that do not always correspond to real life. So, for example, in a classic detective story, the narrator and the detective, in principle, cannot turn out to be criminals.

This set of features narrows the field of possible logical constructions based on known facts, making it easier for the reader to analyze them. However, not all detective subgenres follow these rules exactly.

Another restriction is noted, which is almost always followed by a classic detective story - the inadmissibility of random errors and undetectable matches. For example, in real life, a witness may tell the truth, may lie, may be mistaken or misled, or may simply make an unmotivated mistake (accidentally mix up dates, amounts, surnames). In the detective story, the last possibility is excluded - the witness is either accurate, or lying, or his mistake has a logical justification.

Eremey Parnov points out the following features of the classic detective genre:

Typical characters

• Detective - directly involved in the investigation. The most different people: employees law enforcement, private detectives, relatives, friends, acquaintances of the victims, sometimes - completely random people. The detective cannot be a criminal. The figure of the detective is central in the detective story.
  • A professional detective is a law enforcement officer. Can be very expert high level, and maybe - and the usual, of which there are many, a police officer. In the second case, in difficult situations, sometimes he turns to a consultant for advice (see below).
  • A private detective - for him, investigating crimes is the main job, but he does not serve in the police, although he may be a retired policeman. As a rule, he is extremely highly qualified, active and energetic. Most often, a private detective becomes central figure, and to emphasize his qualities, professional detectives can be put into action, who constantly make mistakes, succumb to the provocations of the criminal, get on the wrong track and suspect the innocent. The opposition “a lone hero against a bureaucratic organization and its officials” is used, in which the sympathies of the author and the reader are on the side of the hero.
  • An amateur detective is the same as a private detective, with the only difference that investigating crimes for him is not a profession, but a hobby that he turns to only from time to time. A separate subspecies of an amateur detective is a random person who has never engaged in such activities, but is forced to conduct an investigation due to urgent need, for example, in order to save an unjustly accused loved one or divert suspicion from oneself (these are the main characters of all the novels of Dick Francis). The amateur sleuth brings the investigation closer to the reader, allows him to give him the impression that "I could figure it out too." One of the conventions of a series of detectives with amateur detectives (like Miss Marple) is that in real life a person, if he does not professionally investigate crimes, is unlikely to encounter such a number of crimes and mysterious incidents.
• Criminal - commits a crime, covers his tracks, tries to counteract the investigation. In the classic detective story, the figure of the criminal is clearly indicated only at the end of the investigation, until this moment the criminal can be a witness, a suspect or a victim. Sometimes the actions of the criminal are described in the course of the main action, but in such a way as not to reveal his identity and not to inform the reader of information that could not be obtained during the investigation from other sources.
• The victim is the one against whom the crime is directed or the one who suffered as a result of a mysterious incident. One of the standard versions of the detective's denouement - the victim himself turns out to be a criminal.
• Witness - a person who has any information about the subject of the investigation. The perpetrator is often shown for the first time in the description of the investigation as one of the witnesses.
• A detective's companion is a person who is constantly in contact with the detective, participating in the investigation, but does not have the abilities and knowledge of the detective. He can provide technical assistance in the investigation, but his main task is to more prominently show the outstanding abilities of the detective against the background of the average level of an ordinary person. In addition, a companion is needed to ask the detective questions and listen to his explanations, giving the reader the opportunity to follow the investigator's thoughts and paying attention to individual moments which the reader might miss. Classic examples of such companions are Dr. Watson in Conan Doyle and Arthur Hastings in Agatha Christie.
• A consultant is a person who has a pronounced ability to conduct an investigation, but is not directly involved in it himself. In detective stories, where a separate figure of a consultant stands out, she may be the main one (for example, the journalist Ksenofontov in the detective stories of Viktor Pronin), or may turn out to be just an occasional adviser (for example, the detective's teacher, whom he turns to for help).
• Assistant - does not conduct the investigation himself, but provides the detective and / or consultant with information that he obtains himself. For example, a forensic expert.
• Suspect - in the course of the investigation, there is an assumption that it was he who committed the crime. Authors deal with suspects differently, one of the frequently practiced principles is “none of those immediately suspected is a real criminal”, that is, everyone who falls under suspicion turns out to be innocent, and the real criminal is the one who was not suspected of anything. . However, not all authors follow this principle. In Agatha Christie's detective stories, for example, Miss Marple repeatedly says that "in life it is usually the one who is suspected first who is the culprit."

Detective Story

Edgar Allan Allan Poe stories written in the 1840s are usually considered the first works of the detective genre, but elements of the detective story were used by many authors earlier. For example, in the novel by William Godwin (-) "The Adventures of Caleb Williams" () one of central characters- an amateur detective. Big impact on development detective literature also provided "Notes" by E. Vidocq, published in. However, it was Edgar Poe who, according to Yeremey Parnov, created the first Great Detective - the amateur detective Dupin from the story "Murder on Morgue Street". Dupin subsequently fathered Sherlock Holmes and Father Brown (Chesterton), Lecoq (Gaboriau) and Mr Cuff (Wilkie Collins). It was Edgar Allan Poe who introduced into the plot of the detective story the idea of ​​rivalry in solving a crime between a private investigator and the official police, in which the private investigator, as a rule, takes over.

The detective genre becomes popular in England after the release of the novels by W. Collins "The Woman in White" () and "Moonstone" (). In the novels Wilder's Hand () and Checkmate () Irish writer C. Le Fanu detective is combined with a gothic novel. The golden age of the detective in England is considered to be the 30s - 70s. 20th century. It was at this time that the classic detective novels by Agatha Christie, F. Biding and other authors were published, which influenced the development of the genre as a whole.

The founder of the French detective is E. Gaborio - the author of a series of novels about the detective Lecoq. Stevenson imitated Gaboriau in his detective stories (especially in "The Diamond of the Rajah").

Twenty rules for writing detective stories

In 1928, the English writer Willard Hattington, better known by his pseudonym Stephen Van Dyne, published his set of literary rules, calling it "20 Rules for Writing Detectives":

1. It is necessary to provide the reader with equal opportunities with the detective to unravel the secrets, for which it is clear and accurate to report all incriminating traces.

2. With regard to the reader, only such tricks and deceit are allowed that a criminal can use in relation to a detective.

3. Love is forbidden. The story should be a game of tag, not between lovers, but between a detective and a criminal.

4. Neither a detective nor any other person professionally involved in the investigation can be a criminal.

5. Logical conclusions should lead to exposure. Random or unsubstantiated confessions are not allowed.

6. A detective cannot be absent in a detective who methodically searches for incriminating evidence, as a result of which he comes to solve the riddle.

7. Mandatory Crime in detective - murder.

8. In solving a given secret, everything must be excluded supernatural powers and circumstances.

9. Only one detective can act in a story - the reader cannot compete with three or four members of the relay team at once.

10. The perpetrator must be one of the more or less significant characters well known to the reader.

11. An impermissibly cheap solution in which one of the servants is the culprit.

12. Although the perpetrator may have an accomplice, the main story should be about the capture of one person.

13. Secret or criminal communities have no place in the detective.

14. The method of committing the murder and the methodology of the investigation must be reasonable and justified with scientific point vision.

15. For a smart reader, the clue should be obvious.

16. In a detective story there is no place for literature, descriptions of painstakingly developed characters, coloring the situation by means of fiction.

17. The criminal can never be a professional villain.

19. The motive for a crime is always of a private nature, it cannot be a spy action seasoned with any international intrigues, motives of secret services.

The decade that followed the promulgation of the terms of the Van Dyne Convention finally discredited the detective story as a genre of literature. It is no coincidence that we know the detectives of previous eras well and each time we turn to their experience. But we can hardly, without getting into reference books, name the figures from the Twenty Rules clan. The modern Western detective has evolved in spite of Van Dyne, refuting point by point, overcoming the limitations that have been sucked from the finger. One paragraph (the detective must not be a criminal!), however, survived, although it was violated several times by the cinema. This is a reasonable prohibition, because it protects the very specificity of the detective, his core line ... In modern novel we will not see any traces of the "Rules"...

The Ten Commandments of a detective novel by Ronald Knox

Ronald Knox, one of the founders of the Detective Club, also proposed his own rules for writing detective stories:

I. The perpetrator must be someone mentioned at the beginning of the novel, but it must not be the person whose thought the reader has been allowed to follow.

II. As a matter of course, the action of supernatural or otherworldly forces is excluded.

III. It is not allowed to use more than one secret room or secret passage.

IV. It is unacceptable to use hitherto unknown poisons, as well as devices that require a long scientific explanation at the end of the book.

V. A Chinese person must not appear in the work.

VI. A detective should never be helped by a lucky break; nor should he be guided by an unaccountable but sure intuition.

VII. The detective doesn't have to turn out to be a criminal himself.

VIII. Having come across this or that clue, the detective must immediately present it to the reader for study.

IX. The detective's foolish friend, Watson in one form or another, must not hide any of the considerations that cross his mind; in their own way mental capacity it should yield a little - but only a little - to the average reader.

X. Indistinguishable twin brothers and doubles in general cannot appear in a novel unless the reader is properly prepared for it.

Some types of detectives

Closed Detective

A subgenre usually most closely aligned with the canons of the classic detective story. The plot is based on the investigation of a crime committed in a secluded place, where there is a strictly limited set of characters. There can be no stranger in this place, so the crime could only be committed by one of those present. The investigation is conducted by one of those at the scene of the crime with the help of other heroes.

This type of detective is different in that the plot basically eliminates the need to search for an unknown criminal. There are suspects, and the detective's job is to get as much information as possible about the participants in the events, on the basis of which it will be possible to identify the criminal. Additional psychological stress is created by the fact that the perpetrator must be one of the well-known, nearby people, none of whom, usually, looks like a criminal. Sometimes in a closed detective there is a whole series of crimes (usually murders), as a result of which the number of suspects is constantly decreasing. Examples of closed type detectives:

• Cyril Hare, "Purely English Murder".
• Agatha Christie, Ten Little Indians, Murder on the Orient Express.
• Boris Akunin, "Leviathan" (signed by the author as "sealed detective").
• Leonid Slovin, "The Extra Arrives on the Second Track".

Psychological detective

This type of detective story may somewhat deviate from the classical canons in terms of the requirement of stereotypical behavior and the typical psychology of heroes. Usually, a crime committed for personal reasons (envy, revenge) is investigated, and the main element of the investigation is the study of the personality characteristics of the suspects, their attachments, pain points, beliefs, prejudices, clarifying the past. There is a school of French psychological detective.

• Dostoevsky, Fyodor, Crime and Punishment.
• Boileau - Narsezhak, "She-wolves", "The one that was gone", "Sea Gate", "Outlining the Heart".
• Japrisot, Sebastien, "Lady with glasses and a gun in a car".
• Calef, Noel, "Elevator to the scaffold".
• Ball, John, "A Stuffy Night in the Carolinas".

historical detective

Main article: historical detective

Historical work with detective intrigue. The action takes place in the past, or an ancient crime is being investigated in the present.

• Boileau-Narcejac "In the Enchanted Forest"
• Quinn, Ellery "The Unknown Manuscript of Dr. Watson"
• Boris Akunin, literary project"The Adventures of Erast Fandorin"
• Leonid Yuzefovich, Literary project about detective Putilin
• Alexander Bushkov, The Adventures of Alexei Bestuzhev

Ironic detective

The detective investigation is described from a humorous point of view. Often, works written in this vein parody and ridicule the clichés of a detective novel.

• Varshavsky, Ilya, "The robbery will take place at midnight"
• Kaganov, Leonid, "Major Bogdamir saves money"
• Kozachinsky, Alexander, "The Green Van"
• Westlake, Donald, "The Cursed Emerald" ( hot stone), "Bank that gurgled"
• Joanna Khmelevskaya (most works)
• Daria Dontsova (all works)
• Yene Reite (all works)

fantasy detective

Works at the intersection of fantasy and detective. The action can take place in the future, an alternative present or past, as well as in a completely fictional world.

• Lem, Stanislav, "Investigation", "Inquiry"
• Russell, Eric Frank, "The Daily Job", "The Wasp"
• Holm van Zaychik, cycle " bad people No"
• Kir Bulychev, cycle "Intergalactic Police" ("Intergpol")
• Isaac Asimov, Lucky Starr cycles - space ranger, Detective Elijah Bailey and robot Daniel Olivo
• John Brunner, Chess City Squares The Squares of the City, ; Russian translation - )
• Brothers Strugatsky, Hotel "At the Dead Alpinist"
• Cook, Glenn, fantasy detective series about detective Garrett
• Randall Garrett, a series of fantasy detectives about the detective Lord Darcy
• Boris Akunin "Children's Book"
• Kluger, Daniel, Fantasy Detective Series "Cases of Magic"
• Harry Tortledove - The Case of the Toxic Spell Dump

political detective

One of the genres quite far from the classic detective. The main intrigue is built around political events and rivalry between various political or business figures and forces. It often also happens that main character he is far from politics in himself, however, while investigating the case, he stumbles upon an obstacle to the investigation on the part of “those in power” or reveals some kind of conspiracy. Distinctive feature political detective is (though not necessarily) the possible absence of a completely goodies except for the main one. This genre rarely found in its pure form, but may be an integral part of the work.

• Levashov, Victor, "Conspiracy of Patriots"
• Adam Hall, "Berlin Memorandum" (Quiller Memorandum)
• Fletcher Niebel, "Seven Days in May"
• Nikolai Svechin, "The Hunt for the Tsar", "Demon of the Underworld"

Spy detective

Based on the narrative of the activities of intelligence officers, spies and saboteurs both in wartime and in peacetime on " invisible front". In terms of stylistic boundaries, it is very close to political and conspiracy detectives, often combined in the same work. The main difference between a spy detective and a political one is that in a political detective the most important position is occupied by the political basis of the case under investigation and antagonistic conflicts, while in espionage the attention is focused on intelligence work (surveillance, sabotage, etc.). Conspiracy detective can be considered a variety of both espionage and political detective

• Agatha Christie, "Cat Among the Pigeons"
• John Boynton Priestley, "Mist over Gretley" (1942)
• James Grady, Six Days of the Condor
• Dmitry Medvedev, "It was near Rovno"
• Nikolai Dalekiy, "The Practice of Sergei Rubtsov"

police detective

Describes the work of a team of professionals. In works of this type, the protagonist-detective is either absent or only slightly higher in importance in comparison with the rest of the team. In terms of the reliability of the plot, it is closest to reality and, accordingly, deviates to the greatest extent from the canons of the pure detective genre (a professional routine is described in detail with details that are not directly related to the plot, there is a significant proportion of accidents and coincidences, very big role plays the presence of informants in a criminal and near-criminal environment, the offender often remains unnamed and unknown until the very end of the investigation, and may also evade punishment due to the negligence of the investigation or lack of direct evidence).

• Schöwall and Vale, a series of novels about members of the homicide department led by Martin Beck
• Yulian Semyonov, "Petrovka, 38", "Ogaryova, 6"
• Kivinov, Andrei Vladimirovich, "A Nightmare on Stachek Street" and subsequent works.

"Cool" detective

It is described most often by a lone detective, a man of thirty-five or forty, or a small detective agency. In works of this type, the protagonist confronts almost the whole world: organized crime, corrupt politicians, corrupt police. The main features are the maximum action of the hero, his "coolness", sneaky the world and honesty of the protagonist. The best examples of the genre are psychological and contain signs of serious literature - for example, the works of Raymond Chandler.

• Dashiell Hammett, a series about the Continental Detective Agency, "Blood Harvest" - is considered the founder of the genre.
• Raymond Chandler, "Goodbye Darling", "High Window", "The Woman in the Lake".
• Ross Macdonald - many works.
• Chester Hayims, "Run, Negro, run."

Crime detective

Events are described from the point of view of the criminal, and not the people looking for him. Classic example: Jim Thompson "The Killer in Me"

• James Hadley Chase - "All the World in Your Pocket"

Movie detective

Detective focuses on the actions of a detective, private investigator, or aspiring detective who investigates the mysterious circumstances of a crime by finding clues, investigating, and skillful deductions. A successful detective film often hides the identity of the perpetrator until the end of the story, and then adds an element of surprise to the process of arresting the suspect. However, the opposite is also possible. So, calling card The Colombo series was a demonstration of events from the point of view of both the detective and the criminal.

The suspense is often retained as an important part of the plot. This can be done with soundtrack, camera angles, shadow play and unexpected plot twists. Alfred Hitchcock used all these techniques, occasionally allowing the viewer to enter into a state of foreboding threat and then choosing the most opportune moment for dramatic effect.

Detective stories have proven to be a good choice for a movie script. The detective is often a strong character with strong leadership qualities, and the plot may include elements of drama, suspense, personal growth, ambiguous and unexpected distinctive features character.

Until at least the 1980s, women in detective stories often played a dual role, having a relationship with the detective and often filling the role of "woman in danger". The women in those films are often resourceful personalities, being opinionated, determined and often duplicitous. They can serve as an element of suspense as helpless victims.

Aphorisms about the detective

• Thanks to criminals World culture enriched by the detective genre.
• If you do not know what to write, write: "A man entered with a revolver in his hand."(Raymond Chandler)
• The slower the investigator, the longer the detective story. (

The main feature of the detective as a genre is the presence in the work of a certain mysterious incident, the circumstances of which are unknown and must be clarified. The most frequently described incident is a crime, although there are detective stories in which events that are not criminal are investigated (for example, in Notes on Sherlock Holmes, which certainly belongs to the detective genre, there are no crimes in five stories out of eighteen).
An essential feature of the detective is that the actual circumstances of the incident are not communicated to the reader, at least in their entirety, until the investigation is completed. Instead, the reader is led by the author through the process of investigation, having the opportunity at each stage to build their own versions and evaluate known facts. If the work initially describes all the details of the incident, or the incident does not contain anything unusual, mysterious, then it should already be attributed not to a pure detective story, but to related genres (action movie, police novel, etc.).

Typical characters

Detective - directly involved in the investigation. A variety of people can act as a detective: law enforcement officers, private detectives, relatives, friends, acquaintances of the victims, sometimes completely random people. The detective cannot be a criminal. The figure of the detective is central in the detective story.
A professional detective is a law enforcement officer. He may be a very high-level expert, or he may be an ordinary, of which there are many, police officers. In the second case, in difficult situations, sometimes he turns to a consultant for advice (see below).
A private detective - for him, investigating crimes is the main job, but he does not serve in the police, although he may be a retired policeman. As a rule, he is extremely highly qualified, active and energetic. Most often, a private detective becomes a central figure, and to emphasize his qualities, professional detectives can be put into action, who constantly make mistakes, succumb to the provocations of a criminal, get on the wrong track and suspect the innocent. The opposition “a lone hero against a bureaucratic organization and its officials” is used, in which the sympathies of the author and the reader are on the side of the hero.
An amateur detective is the same as a private detective, with the only difference that investigating crimes for him is not a profession, but a hobby that he turns to only from time to time. A separate subspecies of an amateur detective is a random person who has never engaged in such activities, but is forced to conduct an investigation due to urgent need, for example, in order to save an unjustly accused loved one or to divert suspicion from himself. The amateur sleuth brings the investigation closer to the reader, allows him to give him the impression that "I could figure it out too." One of the conventions of a series of detectives with amateur detectives (like Miss Marple) is that in real life a person, if he does not professionally investigate crimes, is unlikely to encounter such a number of crimes and mysterious incidents.
Criminal - commits a crime, covers his tracks, tries to counteract the investigation. In the classic detective story, the figure of the criminal is clearly indicated only at the end of the investigation, until this moment the criminal can be a witness, a suspect or a victim. Sometimes the actions of the criminal are described in the course of the main action, but in such a way as not to reveal his identity and not to inform the reader of information that could not be obtained during the investigation from other sources.
The victim is the one against whom the crime is directed or the one who suffered as a result of a mysterious incident. One of the standard versions of the detective's denouement - the victim himself turns out to be a criminal.
Witness - a person who has any information about the subject of the investigation. The perpetrator is often shown for the first time in the description of the investigation as one of the witnesses.
A detective's companion is a person who is constantly in contact with the detective, participating in the investigation, but does not have the abilities and knowledge of the detective. He can provide technical assistance in the investigation, but his main task is to more prominently show the outstanding abilities of the detective against the background of the average level of an ordinary person. In addition, a companion is needed to ask the sleuth questions and listen to his explanations, giving the reader the opportunity to follow the sleuth's thoughts and drawing attention to certain points that the reader himself might miss. Classic examples of such companions are Dr. Watson in Conan Doyle and Arthur Hastings in Agatha Christie.
A consultant is a person who has a pronounced ability to conduct an investigation, but is not directly involved in it himself. In detective stories, where a separate figure of a consultant stands out, she may be the main one (for example, the journalist Ksenofontov in the detective stories of Viktor Pronin), or may turn out to be just an occasional adviser (for example, the detective's teacher, whom he turns to for help).
Assistant - does not conduct the investigation himself, but provides the detective and / or consultant with information that he obtains himself. For example, a forensic expert.
Suspect - in the course of the investigation, there is an assumption that it was he who committed the crime. Authors deal with suspects differently, one of the frequently practiced principles is “none of those immediately suspected is a real criminal”, that is, everyone who falls under suspicion turns out to be innocent, and the real criminal is the one who was not suspected of anything. However, not all authors follow this principle. In the detective stories of Agatha Christie, for example, Miss Marple repeatedly says that "in life, it is usually the one who is suspected first who is the criminal."

Twenty Rules for Writing a Detective

In 1928, the English writer Willard Hattington, better known by his pseudonym Stephen Van Dyne, published his set of literary rules, calling it "20 Rules for Writing Detectives":

1. It is necessary to provide the reader with equal opportunities with the detective to unravel the secrets, for which it is clear and accurate to report all incriminating traces.
2. With regard to the reader, only such tricks and deceit are allowed that a criminal can use in relation to a detective.
3. Love is forbidden. The story should be a game of tag, not between lovers, but between a detective and a criminal.
4. Neither a detective nor any other person professionally involved in the investigation can be a criminal.
5. Logical conclusions should lead to exposure. Random or unsubstantiated confessions are not allowed.
6. A detective cannot be absent in a detective who methodically searches for incriminating evidence, as a result of which he comes to solve the riddle.
7. Mandatory crime in detective - murder.
8. In solving a given mystery, all supernatural forces and circumstances must be excluded.
9. Only one detective can act in a story - the reader cannot compete with three or four members of the relay team at once.
10. The perpetrator must be one of the more or less significant characters well known to the reader.
11. An impermissibly cheap solution in which one of the servants is the culprit.
12. Although the perpetrator may have an accomplice, the main story should be about the capture of one person.
13. Secret or criminal communities have no place in the detective.
14. The method of committing the murder and the methodology of the investigation must be reasonable and justified from a scientific point of view.
15. For a smart reader, the clue should be obvious.
16. In a detective story there is no place for literature, descriptions of painstakingly developed characters, coloring the situation by means of fiction.
17. The criminal can never be a professional villain.
18. It is forbidden to explain the secret of an accident or suicide.
19. The motive for a crime is always of a private nature, it cannot be a spy action seasoned with any international intrigues, motives of secret services.
20. The author of detective stories should avoid all sorts of stereotyped solutions and ideas.

Types of detectives

Closed Detective
A subgenre usually most closely aligned with the canons of the classic detective story. The plot is based on the investigation of a crime committed in a secluded place, where there is a strictly limited set of characters. There can be no stranger in this place, so the crime could only be committed by one of those present. The investigation is conducted by one of those at the scene of the crime, with the help of other heroes.
This type of detective is different in that the plot basically eliminates the need to search for an unknown criminal. There are suspects, and the detective's job is to get as much information as possible about the participants in the events, on the basis of which it will be possible to identify the criminal. Additional psychological stress is created by the fact that the perpetrator must be one of the well-known, nearby people, none of whom, usually, looks like a criminal. Sometimes in a closed detective there is a whole series of crimes (usually murders), as a result of which the number of suspects is constantly decreasing.
Psychological detective
This type of detective story may somewhat deviate from the classical canons in terms of the requirement of stereotypical behavior and the typical psychology of heroes. Usually, a crime committed for personal reasons (envy, revenge) is investigated, and the main element of the investigation is the study of the personality characteristics of the suspects, their attachments, pain points, beliefs, prejudices, clarifying the past. There is a school of French psychological detective.
historical detective
Historical work with detective intrigue. The action takes place in the past, or an ancient crime is being investigated in the present.
Ironic detective
The detective investigation is described from a humorous point of view. Often, works written in this vein parody the clichés of a detective novel.
fantasy detective
Works at the intersection of fantasy and detective. The action can take place in the future, alternative present or past, in a completely fictional world.
political detective
One of the genres quite far from the classic detective. The main intrigue is built around political events and rivalry between various political or business figures and forces. It also often happens that the protagonist himself is far from politics, however, while investigating the case, he stumbles upon an obstacle to the investigation on the part of the "powers that be" or reveals some kind of conspiracy. A distinctive feature of the political detective is (although not necessarily) the possible absence of completely positive characters, except for the main one. This genre is rarely found in its pure form, but it can be an integral part of the work.
Spy detective
It is based on the narrative of the activities of intelligence officers, spies and saboteurs both in wartime and in peacetime on the "invisible front". In terms of stylistic boundaries, it is very close to political and conspiracy detectives, often combined in the same work. The main difference between a spy detective and a political one is that in a political detective the most important position is occupied by the political basis of the case under investigation and antagonistic conflicts, while in espionage the attention is focused on intelligence work (surveillance, sabotage, etc.). A conspiracy detective can be considered a variety of both espionage and political detective.

Aphorisms about the detective

Thanks to criminals, the world culture has been enriched by the detective genre.

If you do not know what to write, write: "A man came in with a revolver in his hand" (Raymond Chandler).

The slower the investigator, the longer the detective story (Viktor Romanov).

There are so many motives for crimes that the detective scratches his turnip (Georgy Alexandrov).

In detective stories, it’s like this: some are saving up good, others are just waiting for this.

From the commission of a crime to its disclosure - everything is just one detective novel (Boris Shapiro).

Despite its relative youth as an independent literary movement, today the detective story is one of the most popular genres. The secret of such success is simple - the mystery captivates. The reader does not passively follow what is happening, but takes an active part in it. Anticipates events and builds his versions. Grigory Chkhartishvili (Boris Akunin), the author of the famous series of novels about the detective Erast Fandorin, once told in an interview how to write a detective story. According to the writer, the main factor for creating an exciting plot is the game with the reader, which needs to be filled with unexpected moves and traps.

Get inspired by example

Many authors of popular detective stories do not hide the fact that they were inspired by reading the works of the outstanding masters of this genre. For example, the American writer Elizabeth George has always admired the work of Agatha Christie. Boris Akunin could not resist the charades of the great author of detective prose. The writer generally admitted that he loves detective stories in the English style and often uses the techniques characteristic of them in his works. About what contribution to detective genre introduced by Arthur Conan Doyle with his famous character is probably not worth much to say. Because to create a hero like Sherlock Holmes is the dream of any writer.

Become a criminal

To write a real detective story, you need to come up with a crime, because the mystery associated with it is always at the heart of the plot. So, the author will have to try on the role of an attacker. To begin with, it is worth deciding what the nature of this crime will be. Most famous detective stories are based on the investigation of murders, thefts, robberies, kidnappings and blackmail. However, there are also many examples when the author captivates the reader with an innocent incident that leads to the solution of a big mystery.

turn back time

After choosing a crime, the author will have to think it over carefully, since a real detective conceals all the details that will lead to a denouement. Masters of the genre are advised to use the technique of the reverse course of time. The first step is to decide who committed the crime, how he did it, and why. Then you need to imagine how the attacker will try to hide what he has done. Do not forget about accomplices, evidence left behind and witnesses. These leads build a compelling plot that gives the reader the opportunity to conduct their own investigation. For example, the famous British writer P.D. James says that before she starts creating an exciting story, she always comes up with a solution to the mystery. So when asked how to write good detective, she replies that one must think like a criminal. A novel should not be like a boring interrogation. Intrigue and tension - that's what matters.

Plot construction

The detective genre, like any other literary movement, has its own subgenres. Therefore, when answering the question of how to write a detective story, professionals advise first to decide on the choice of how to build a storyline.

• The classic detective story is presented in a linear fashion. The reader is investigating the crime committed together with the main character. At the same time, he uses the keys to the riddles left by the author.
• Inverted detective story the reader at the very beginning becomes a witness to the crime. And the whole subsequent plot revolves around the process and methods of investigation.
• Often, mystery writers use a combined storyline. When the reader is offered to look at the same crime from different parties. This approach is based on the surprise effect. After all, the current and slender version breaks down in one moment.

Interest the reader

Bringing the reader up to date and intriguing by presenting a crime is one of the main steps in creating a detective story. It does not matter how the facts become known. The reader can witness the crime himself, learn about it from the character's story, or find himself at the scene of its commission. The main thing is that there are clues and versions for investigation. The description should have a sufficient amount of believable detail - this is one of the factors to consider when figuring out how to write a detective story.

keep intrigue

The next important task of the novice author will be to keep the interest of the reader. The story should not be too simple, when it becomes clear from the very beginning that the "scuba diver" killed everyone. A far-fetched plot will also quickly get bored and disappointed, since a fairy tale and a detective story - different genres. But even if it is supposed to create a famously twisted plot, you should hide some clues in a pile of unimportant, at first glance, details. This is one of the tricks of the classic English detective. A vivid confirmation of the above can be the statement of the popular Mickey Spillane. When asked how to write a book (detective), he replied: “No one will read mysterious story to get to the middle. Everyone wants to read it to the end. If it turns out to be a disappointment, you will lose the reader. The first page sells this book, and the last page sells all that will be written in the future.”

Traps

Because detective work relies on reason and deduction, a plot will be more compelling and believable if the information it presents leads the reader to the wrong conclusion. They may even be mistaken and follow a false line of reasoning. This technique is often used by authors who create detective stories about serial killers. This allows you to confuse the reader and create an intriguing turn of events. When everything seems to be clear and there is nothing to be afraid of, it is at this moment that the main character becomes the most vulnerable to the impending series of dangers. An unexpected twist always makes a story more interesting.

Motivation

Detective heroes should have interesting motives. The writer's advice that every character in a good story should want something applies more to the detective genre than to others. Since the subsequent actions of the hero directly depend on motivation. So, they affect the storyline. It is necessary to follow and then write down all the causes and effects in order to keep the reader firmly in the created situation. The more characters with their hidden interests, the more confusing, and, therefore, the more exciting the story is. Spy detectives are mostly filled with such characters. A good example is the detective thriller Mission: Impossible, written by David Koepp and Steven Zaillyan.

Create the identity of the perpetrator

Since the author knows who, how and why committed the crime from the very beginning, the only thing left is to decide whether this character will be one of the main ones.

If you use a common technique, when the attacker is constantly in the field of view of the reader, then it is necessary to work out his personality and appearance in detail. As a rule, the author makes such a hero very sympathetic in order to inspire confidence in the reader and avert suspicions. And in the end - dumbfounded by an unexpected denouement. A vivid and illustrative example is the character Vitaly Egorovich Krechetov from the detective series "Liquidation".

In the case where the decision is made to make the criminal the least visible character, more will be needed detailed drawing personal motives than appearance, in order to bring him to the end main stage. It is these characters that the authors create, writing detectives about serial killers. An example is the sheriff from the detective series The Mentalist.

Create the identity of the hero investigating the crime

The character opposing evil can be anyone. And not necessarily a professional investigator or a private detective. Attentive old lady Miss Marple by Agatha Christie and Professor Langdon by Dan Brown do their job no less well. The main task of the leading character is to interest the reader and arouse empathy in him. Therefore, his personality must be alive. And also the authors of the detective genre give advice on the description of the appearance and behavior of the protagonist. Some feature will help to make him extraordinary, like Fandorin's gray temples and stuttering. But professionals warn novice authors against excessive enthusiasm in the description inner world protagonist and also from creating too beautiful appearance with figurative comparisons, since such devices are more typical for romance novels.

Investigator Skills

Perhaps a rich imagination, natural instinct and logic will help the novice author in creating an interesting detective story, and will also captivate the reader by drawing up a general picture of the case from small pieces of information provided. However, the story must be believable. Therefore, the luminaries of the genre, explaining how to write a detective story, focus on studying the intricacies of the work of professional detectives. After all, not everyone has the skills of criminal investigators. So, for the reliability of the plot, it is necessary to delve into the features of the profession.

Some use expert advice. Others spend long hours and days sorting through old court cases. Moreover, to create a high-quality detective story, you will need not only the knowledge of criminologists. At least a general idea of ​​the psychology of the behavior of criminals will be necessary. And for authors who decide to spin the plot around the murder, they will also need knowledge in the field of forensic anthropology. Also, do not forget about the details specific to the time and place of the action, since they will require additional knowledge. If, according to the plot, the investigation of the crime takes place in the 19th century, the environment, historical events, technologies and behavior of the characters must correspond to it. At times, the task becomes more complicated when a part-time detective is a professional in some other area. For example, a strange mathematician, psychologist or biologist. Accordingly, the author will have to become more proficient in the sciences that make his character special.

Completion

The most important task of the author is also to create an interesting and logical ending. Because no matter how twisted the plot turns out, all the riddles presented in it must be solved. All questions that have accumulated along the way should be answered. Moreover, through detailed conclusions that will be clear to the reader, since understatement in the detective genre is not welcome. Thinking and building various options completing the story is typical for novels with a philosophical component. And the detective genre is commercial. In addition, the reader will be very interested to know where he was right and where he was wrong.

Professionals pay attention to the danger lurking in the mixing of genres. When working in this style, it is very important to remember that if the story has a detective beginning, its conclusion must be written in the same genre. You can't leave the reader disappointed by explaining the crime. mystical powers or an accident. Even if the former do occur, their presence in the novel must fit into the plot and the course of the investigation. And the accident itself is not the subject of a detective story. Therefore, if it happened, someone is involved in this. In a word, a detective may have an unexpected end, but it cannot cause bewilderment and disappointment. It is better if the end is designed for the deductive abilities of the reader, and he will solve the riddle a little earlier than the main character.

Instruction

Collect impressions. Personal experience is the main source of inspiration. Even if yours comes from another galaxy, the logic of events and actions should be clear to your future readers.

Write down all ideas and thoughts in a special notebook. Try every thought on a new sheet, preferably approximately in the order in which you arrange the events and. Don't jump right in large form. Start with stories that can span up to ten printed pages.

Write one printed page each day (about 4,000 characters without spaces). If you want more, don't limit yourself. If you feel like writing less, push yourself and write. The next day, re-read everything written and mercilessly cut out what seems superfluous. Add what you need, change phrases and .

For the lucky ones who have literary gift, the preparatory stage can take up to six months, and the actual recording of the work is about. The first experience can vary significantly in terms. Be prepared to work hard for a long time.

While working on a detective story, read freshly written chapters to friends you trust. Listen to their opinion, correct the shortcomings that they notice. In general, try to look at your work through the eyes of the reader more often.

Sources:

• detective write

Classical detective- this is Sherlock Holmes, Nero Wolfe and Hercule Poirot, slowly unraveling the intrigue. Weapons do not appear on the pages of the novel often, and blood even less often. Well, the modern Russian detective is the child of the American "black" detective A. A tough hero, rivers of blood, millions of deals and fatal beauties are a must. Chase, Spillane and Chandler are his parents. Since the Great American Depression, all such works follow the same principle. And you can do it too.

Instruction

Think of a hero. Books are written for people and about people, so you can't do without a main character. As a rule, the author always puts a part of himself into his characters. Maybe the ideal self, which the author would like to become, but will never become. Create a hero's past, and let it be reflected in his character. Failed marriage, military service, unhappy love - choose. Include memories of the harsh past in the narrative, it's fashionable.

The profession of the main character should be close and understandable to you. If you do not distinguish between a balance and a bulldo, and EBITDA sounds like a terrible curse to you, do not write economics and do not make the main character an accountant who accidentally discovered multimillion-dollar frauds. The best option- journalist. By the nature of his activity, he is obliged to poke his nose everywhere and not to understand anything.

Find the crime. Use the press and the Internet for this. The media is filled with information about horrendous corruption, exposed scams and scams in the upper echelons of power. Choose the most interesting scam from your point of view, adapt to book reality and think about how your character can get into it.

Starting from the nature of the crime, think over the rest of the characters. Since your hero is poorly versed in the issue and got into history by accident, you need a consultant: a thief in law, a police colonel, an underground financial man who has retired. Then kill the consultant. Be sure to put in action a villain who turns out to be good and a best friend who turns out to be a traitor. Don't forget humor. A funny character who regularly gets into trouble will decorate the pages of your novel and make them come alive.

Since most of the reading audience in our country is, we need a love line. Mix together the story of Cinderella, Bluebeard, Romeo and Juliet and the Snow Maiden, you will get a great story. Add two or three bed scene and happy ending.

Create a structure for the entire activity. All modern detective s are built on a very simple principle:
- the main character accidentally gets into trouble,
- then he starts to deal with the trouble and gets into even more trouble,
- loses his wife (friend, partner, parents,),
- hiding in the woods (in Paris, in Georgia, among the homeless),
- randomly finds an ally,
- gets a weapon in his hands (lethal compromising evidence, a hostage),
- falls in love and suffers,
- Dealing a decisive blow
- loses love (friend, parents, dog) or thinks he is losing,
- finds out who is behind his torment ( best friend, colleague, ex-wife, angry boss),
finally understands everything
- finds love
- Happy End.

The plot is the skeleton of the future detective Ah, now we need meat. Add conflicts, quarrels, more details and descriptions. Come up with a few events that can turn the course of action on its head. Local flavor and original speech of the characters is required.

Make sure that everything you do is logically connected, the actions of the characters flow from their personalities, and the events flow smoothly from one to another. Complete all storylines, any word spoken in the novel must have an ending. Of course, if you do not plan to write a sequel. In this case, leave a plot tail, clinging to which, you can deploy new novel.

Think about which of the characters is not needed for happy ending, and kill him. If it is impossible to kill, send them to the forests (to Paris, to Georgia, to the trash heap of the homeless). Never kill. It's not funny, engaging, or conducive to ease of reading. Most readers project the events of the novel onto themselves, and the child may be repelled from further reading.

Don't get carried away by long fights. Even if you are an expert in martial arts, keep yourself in control. The detective is a fast-paced action, and the dialogues give dynamism to the novel. Put your thoughts into the mouths of the heroes, but do not let them philosophize for two or three pages.

Make the speech of the characters understandable and simple, dialect words and a little swearing are welcome. Do not abuse scientific terms And difficult words. Keep in mind that most readers of these words do not know. For the main character, come up with some kind of verbal chip that he will use out of place and out of place.

Don't delay the action. Everything has to happen quickly. Action spanning years is not detective. The maximum that you can afford is to describe the events taking place in a few years, and make the final out of them. Two pages, no more.

Your reader should "swallow" the book, and only then think about why he actually did it.

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• writing detective in 2018

Detective works give readers the thrill of sensation and the novelty of an unexpected solution. Modernity has given rise to many authors of detective works, but the classics remain the most popular.

Arthur Conan Doyle - creator of the deduction method

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was a physician by training. He traveled a lot, encountered interesting medical cases and found himself embroiled in adventures. Subsequently, all this was reflected in his work. The first stories of Conan Doyle were written under the influence of Edgar Allan Poe, Charles Dickens and Bret Harte. But later the writer developed his own style, bringing the mysterious detective Sherlock Holmes, the brave officer Gerard and the encyclopedic scientist Professor Challenger to the literary arena. Conan Doyle is best known for his use of Holmes to solve latest method deduction. A cynical detective with a subtle English sense of humor brought the author well-deserved fame and is still popular.

Several films and series are dedicated to Sherlock Holmes, and a museum named after him has been opened in London.

Edgar Poe - creator of the modern detective

This writer left behind the richest literary heritage. He published short stories in gothic, fantasy and humorous genre, wrote poetry. Poe is also known as the creator of the canons of the modern detective story. His "Murder at the Mortuary" and "The Gold Bug" entered the classic collection of detective fiction. According to several classic detective tricks found in later stories - the appearance of a false trail, blackmailing a detective or a victim, murders committed by a maniac, false evidence. In the works of the writer can be traced main idea of all - the solution to the crime is valuable in itself, and its secondary.

Agatha Christie - a female look at the detective

The queen of the detective gave the reader several memorable characters - the awkward but surprisingly insightful fat Poirot and the modest but very curious old woman Miss Marple. Writing was Christie's real passion. According to her confession, she came up with her works, just cleaning the house or talking with friends. As a result, the writer sat down at the table, she only had to bring it to the invented one.

Agatha Christie experienced problems with literacy all her life and, even being widely known, was forced to use the services of a proofreader.

The heroes were real personalities for her, and, according to Christie, they often lived their own lives. own life. Agatha Christie wrote not only about abstract crimes. She also touched on social issues, often criticizing the British justice system.

Instruction

First of all, you need an idea to write your own. The work should have a thought, and not a disorderly plot and characters. Determine the main idea you want to convey. Maybe it will be a love story, or an exciting adventure, an action-packed detective story, or Magic world. As you already understood, the idea closely echoes the genre, but is not it. For example, in the detective genre, you write about the life and adventures of a famous detective. This will be the idea.

After that, we start building the storyline. In a simplified form, the plot can be divided into the following parts: exposition, plot, climax, plot. This classic version plotting, but you can use your own. In any case, a plot and denouement are necessary so that the reader sees a meaningful beginning and end. Plan the plot in advance in general terms. So called plot twists may come as the book progresses.

Define the main characters. You need to come up with them, habits,. The description of appearance often has to be detailed. In different situations, it is necessary to describe the clothes of the characters at one time or another in the book. When describing appearance, try not to use common words. For example, the phrase beautiful has little to say to the reader. But if there is a complete description of the facial features and figure, then the reader himself will determine its beauty.

Climaxes should be set in such a way that the reader immediately understands what kind of event it is. Use epithets and dialogues that can determine the emotionality and state of the characters at this moment. If you are telling a story in the first person, then you need to remember that you do not need to go beyond the thoughts of the hero. The character cannot know how this or that person feels. He can only guess. Even if you are planning a continuation of the book, be sure to bring it to the finale. The reader should find out the questions that interest him, which will arise during the reading. Therefore, having read to the end, and not finding answers to them, the reader will be disappointed. By following the instructions and showing imagination, you can write a good book.

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Sources:

• Read online book How to write a story

Each of us would like to be famous writer. But these days, you don't have to be a writer. it is certainly important, but other skills are more useful for writing a bestseller.

You will need

• First of all, you need a laptop, preferably with a quality backlit keyboard. Why a laptop? Yes, because you do not have to sit at home in the same environment - you can write a book in nature, in a cafe or in any other place. Backlighting is necessary for working at night, because inspiration can come at any moment!

Instruction

First of all, for your productive activity, I advise you to master the skills of "blind" printing. This way you can work faster without looking for the right letter, and you can capture every flight of thought.

Choose your genre of writing. You may find it much easier to write novels than, for example, science fiction, or vice versa. Try to evaluate your abilities in each genre, and perhaps combine several in your work. For example: fantasy novel with detective elements.

After choosing a genre, think about the plot of your book. Take a notepad and accurately describe: each of your characters (facial features, character), the places where the action takes place, and the surrounding world of the characters (society, nature, past).

After all this, you can start writing. In the work, follow the storyline so that there are no various misunderstandings. For example: in one scene, the character loves, and in another - fruits. A trifle, but at the same time very important detail.

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note

However, to write something truly worthwhile, you also need the talent of a writer. If you are not confident in your abilities, you can always read various educational articles, go to seminars on the chosen topic, and much more.

A person always has an irresistible desire to speak out. But it is not always possible to do this in front of people, moreover, if your statement is a fantasy. Therefore, many turn to paper. Not everyone can express their thoughts on a sheet, especially write a book. But even if there is no talent, but there is a persistent desire to create, then we will begin the process of creating a work.

Instruction

First of all, to write your book you need an idea. In the work there should be a thought, and not a disorderly plot and the life of the characters. Determine the main idea you want to convey. Maybe it will be, or an exciting adventure, action-packed, or a magical world. As you already understood, the idea closely echoes the genre, but is not it. For example, in the genre

Movie genres

Detective

The detective rightfully occupies an honorable place among the genres of literature and cinema. The intricacies of the plot that excite the imagination and the intrigue that persists until the final scenes make his fans, with bated breath, follow the adventures of the heroes and try to unravel all the secrets with him. The eternal struggle of good and evil in the form of confrontation between the criminal and the representatives of the law is revealed here in the most picturesque way.

History of the detective genre

Interest in the investigation of the crime and the search for the perpetrators arose in society from the moment the criminal prosecution of violators of the law began to be public. Even at the dawn of the development of civilization, thieves, murderers, swindlers and the like were subjected to persecution and punishment. Solving a crime, finding those who committed it and proving their guilt has always been not easy and required analytical thinking, ingenuity and observation inherent in the elect.

First attempts to write literary work V detective genre took place as early as the 18th century in the opuses of William Godwin, who described the adventures of an enthusiastic lover of revealing intrigues. However, only from the pen of Edgar Allan Poe in the 1840s did they really come out detective stories , telling about the enterprising Dupin, deftly unraveling the most cunning puzzles. It was then that the loner became the favorite hero of the genre, who, unlike the police, finds answers to all questions and seeks the triumph of justice.

Detective's birthplace England is considered to be where Agatha Christie, Doyle, Collins, Beeding and other masters of the pen worked, whose works are still relevant and interesting to millions of readers around the world. The Frenchman Fanya, the Americans Sheldon, Cheikh and Hayley and many others wrote no less brilliantly. IN domestic literature full-fledged detective appeared only at the end of the 19th century after the lifting of censorship and the fall of the Iron Curtain.

Distinctive features of the detective genre

The detective is characterized by a bright plot plot based on the commission of a crime, when it was not possible to identify the culprit. As a rule, the investigation, in hot pursuit, finds itself at a dead end or detains an innocent person. A desperate intellectual detective enters the fight against lawlessness, who quickly finds the true criminal and finds sufficient evidence of his guilt.

The specificity of such works is that the reader, simultaneously with the main character, studies the evidence, receives information and gets to know the suspects, trying to guess which of them really committed the crime and for what motives he acted. If good detective, then the truth is revealed on the last pages of the book, and the sharpness of the plot is maintained until the final point.

As for the main characters, in addition to the villain and his antipode, there is certainly a victim, several alternative suspects, or, alternatively, unfairly accused persons, as well as lazy, lack of initiative, or simply corrupt representatives of official investigative bodies. And finally, it is impossible submit detective deprived of the triumph of justice and the clarification of all mysteries.

Laws of the genre Detective

Detective genre, like no other, is subject to immutable laws and stereotypes. So, firstly, the main character, leading investigation, be it a journalist, a policeman or a student girl, will never be the true culprit of the incident, while in life this may well take place. Secondly, the most likely perpetrator usually turns out to be innocent, and the collected evidence eventually points to someone who did not initially arouse suspicion at all.

Secondly, in detective stories there are no extra elements. Here the example with the notorious gun, which should shoot, since it hangs on the wall, is appropriate. Each character has a role to play, and every little thing is meant to guide the reader to the right answer. Only a very astute person, to whom detectives are really close, will be able to recognize a hint in intricate accidents.

Thirdly, the committed crime and attempts to solve it are the main ones in the storyline, even if it is diluted with comical situations, mysticism or love stories. Environment and the behavior of the participants in the action are invariably understandable and close to everyone to such an extent that it is not difficult to imagine oneself among the heroes.

Varieties of detectives

Despite the subordination of the genre to clear rules, there is a wide variety of detective stories. So, today, action-packed books and films are very popular, where the detective shows not only subtle analytical thinking and insight, but quite successfully masters martial arts, skillfully drives a car and shoots from all types of weapons.

Such detective stories with elements of an action movie, and sometimes even a thriller, were appreciated by men, while the representatives of the weaker sex prefer the classic and unhurried flow of the plot. Humorous detective stories are no less in demand, the main characters of which are housewives who constantly get into a series of troubles or absent-minded and good-natured investigators.

Particularly noteworthy are detective stories with a mystical tinge, where the crime is committed by otherworldly forces or people obsessed with psychosis. The most common theme in this kind of genre is the story of the capture of a maniac. Love adventures and detective stories with erotic notes are no less interesting to the viewer and reader of any gender and age, since, in addition to being able to follow the search for a criminal, you can enjoy romantic moments.

Detective in cinema

Detective story inspired many directors to create brilliant films and today this genre is the basis of millions of scripts. It is noteworthy that the shooting of a classic detective film does not require a large film budget, but, with an intriguing and vivid plot, a virtuoso acting And high quality productions inevitably bring huge box office receipts.

Screen adaptations of films and series about the most famous detectives, be it real people or fictional characters, like Sherlock Holmes or Hercule Poirot, attract the attention of millions of viewers. Modern interpretations classical works are distinguished by originality and freshness, and the current heroes of domestic and foreign cinema also gather crowds of fans and bring fame to the actors who played them.