Conventions

Knox was also a Catholic priest, which is perhaps why he was tempted to write a
10 Commandments of detective fiction. If you write such stories, thou shalt obey
these laws:*

1. The criminal must be someone mentioned in the early part of the story, but
must not be anyone whose thoughts the reader has been allowed to follow.
2. All supernatural or preternatural agencies are ruled out as a matter of course.
3. Not more than one secret room or passage is allowable.
4. No hitherto undiscovered poisons may be used, nor any appliance which will
need a long scientific explanation at the end.
5. No Chinaman must figure in the story.
6. No accident must ever help the detective, nor must he ever have an
unaccountable intuition which proves to be right.
7. The detective must not himself commit the crime.
8. The detective must not light on any clues which are not instantly produced
for the inspection of the reader.
9. The stupid friend of the detective, the Watson, must not conceal any
thoughts which pass through his mind; his intelligence must be slightly, but
very slightly, below that of the average reader.
10.Twin brothers, and doubles generally, must not appear unless we have been
duly prepared for them.

The Conventions of the Crime Genre are:

#1. There’s a crime with at least one victim that launches the investigation.
The inciting crime is the event that fuels the whole plot in a crime novel. It creates
the central conflict that launches the investigation, and sends the protagonist on a
quest to find out whodunnit. Victims could include dead bodies, missing persons,
or hostages. Really, anyone who’s on the receiving end of the antagonist’s crime.

Case Study:
In Knives Out, someone murders the wealthy crime novelist, Harlan Thrombey.
#2. The protagonist is intelligent and determined to solve the crime.
At the heart of every mystery is a protagonist who is determined to solve the crime.
They are seeking justice. After the protagonist learns about the inciting crime, they
will follow a trail of clues to uncover whodunnit. They are often put in situations
that test their intellect and ingenuity and force them to tread a path between haste
and care. Depending on the story, this could be a brilliant detective, an amateur
investigator, or an average citizen whose intent on solving the case and bringing
the antagonist to justice. Whatever the case, the best crime protagonists usually
have some kind of backstory that connects them to the crime or the killer and a
motive that explains why solving this crime is important to them.

Case Study:
In Knives Out, Benoit Blanc is a brilliant, well-known detective. He’s personally
connected to Harlan’s murder because a) someone mailed him the newspaper
clipping and money, essentially hiring him to figure it out, and b) Benoit’s father
knew and respected Harlan. On the flip side of this is Harlan’s nurse, Marta, who
thinks she’s responsible for Harlan’s death, and therefore, is determined not to be
found out.

#3. There’s an equally smart or crafty antagonist who seems to be a step

ahead of the protagonist the whole time.
The antagonist in a crime story is usually very intelligent, crafty, and careful.
Because of this, it often feels like the antagonist is one step ahead of the
protagonist the entire time. But, by the end, they are eventually brought to justice.

Case Study:
In Knives Out, Ransom is very smart and crafty. Even Harlan says that ”Ransom is
confident and plays life like it’s a game without consequence.” He almost gets
away with framing Marta for Harlan’s death, but luckily, Benoit and Marta are
smarter.

#4. There is a closed circle of suspects, each with a credible motive and a
reasonable opportunity to commit the crime.
Crime stories need a closed circle of suspects, each with a credible motive and a
reasonable opportunity for committing the crime. The protagonist will need to rule
them out one by one to identify the antagonist and bring them to justice.
Case Study:
In Knives Out, pretty much everyone in the house is a suspect, and Benoit has to
rule them out one by one. On the day of his death, Harlan threatened to expose his
son-in-law Richard for cheating on his daughter Linda, cut off his daughter-in-law
Joni's allowance for stealing from him, fired his son Walt from his publishing
company, and had an altercation with his grandson Ransom. Beyond that, Marta
had access to his medicine. They all seem to have motive and opportunity, and
Benoit must rule them out one by one to solve the crime.

#5. There’s a MacGuffin (or a very specific thing the antagonist wants).
A MacGuffin is the specific thing that the antagonist is trying to get, accomplish,
or achieve throughout the story. And there needs to be a plausible reason for why
they want this specific thing, too. Sometimes there’s a secret that acts as a
MacGuffin, and once the protagonist figures it out, they can identify the criminal.
The crime at the beginning of the story usually contains a clue as to what the
antagonist’s MacGuffin and motives are.

Case Study:
In Knives Out, the family wants Harlan Thrombey’s money. They’re all hoping to
be left access to his estate and everything that comes with it.

#6. A sidekick character who acts as a sounding board for the protagonist.
The crime protagonist can have one or multiple sidekicks. They often act as a
sounding board for the protagonist and help bring the criminal to justice. They can
also provide interpersonal conflict in the moments when the protagonist is not
actively engaged in solving the crime. Sidekicks can also act as heralds who
remind the protagonist what’s at stake and how dangerous everything is. They can
be part of a friendship or romantic subplot, too.

Case Study:
In Knives Out, Benoit has two detectives working alongside him. He also has
Marta’s help and can bounce ideas off of her and get information from her, too.

#7. There are clues and red herrings that help (or hurt) the investigation.
Throughout the story, the protagonist will need to follow a trail of clues to figure
out whodunnit and bring the criminal to justice. Some of these clues are “true,”
meaning they lead the protagonist closer to the truth, but most are dead ends or red
herrings that misdirect the protagonist and the reader.

Case Study:
In Knives Out, there are plenty of clues and red herrings; the family’s individual
accounts of what happened, the security tape, the footprints in the mud, the pieces
of the wooden trellis that lead up to the trick window, the medical building that
burns down, the toxicology report, etc.

#8. There’s a ticking clock by which the protagonist must solve the crime.
Crime stories need a ticking clock or deadline by which the protagonist must solve
the crime and bring the criminal to justice. Without some kind of ticking clock, the
story could go on forever (in theory). Whatever the deadline is, it must be crystal
clear to the protagonist and readers because this raises the tension. Ticking clocks
usually kick into gear at the Midpoint.

Case Study:
In Knives Out, the will starts a ticking clock because once the family learns that
Harlan left everything to Marta, they want her to give it all up. There’s also the
note from “the blackmailer” that serves as a ticking clock for Marta.

#9. There’s a speech in praise of the antagonist that shows their brilliance.
This is when a character talks about how brilliant, strong, or powerful the
antagonist is. Sometimes this is shown via a conversation between two characters,
through letters or a newspaper article, on TV during a news broadcast, or
something like that. This could also happen in the form of a revelation where the
protagonist pieces together bits of information that shows just how smart, strong,
or powerful this antagonist is.

Case Study:
In Knives Out, Harlan delivers this speech in praise of Ransom. Harlan says, “there
is so much of me in that kid. He’s confident and stupid. Protected. Playing life like
a game without consequence.” At another point, he also expresses how good
Ransom is at the game Go (a game that requires intelligent players).

#10. There’s at least one shapeshifter character.

A shapeshifter is someone who says one thing and does another. And usually, their
behavior or influence directly impacts the protagonist’s ability to find out
whodunnit.

Case Study:
In Knives Out, Marta is a great example of a shapeshifter who directly impacts
Benoit’s ability to solve the case with her actions. We learn that Marta was in
cahoots with Harlan and is responsible for his murder (or so she thinks). The
family as a whole could be considered shapeshifters, too. They turn on Marta after
Harlan’s will is read. Ransom is another shapeshifter who goes from a delinquent
to helping Marta to the prime suspect.