Detective fiction is a subgenre of Mystery and Crime fiction that follows the exploits of a detective as they investigate a case.
The central character is usually a professional detective (either as part of the police or as a private one), but sometimes they’re an amateur with remarkable sleuthing skills.
It started out in the 1800s and has remained popular ever since, spawning beloved literary characters such as Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot, and Nancy Drew.
Popular Detective Tropes
As a subgenre with a lot of varying literary flavors (such as hardboiled, cozy mysteries, or police procedurals), detective fiction has its fair share of tropes.
There are tropes that have become part of a genre’s DNA; they’re what makes fans love the genre. But there are also others that are overdone to death, resurrected, and killed again.
Below are some tropes in detective fiction that the genre could do without.
1. Defective Detective
A lot of detectives in the genre seem to prefer drowning themselves in alcohol rather than confronting their feelings or reaching out for help. Their relationship with their drinks is so intimate, their romantic partners should feel threatened by it.
Pair that with other vices and you have a deeply troubled character who’s a brilliant detective but a horrible person. Additional vices include dabbling with drugs to keep them going, gambling addictions that leave them financially ruined, or even craving the adrenaline highs of danger.
Sometimes it’s not even about the addiction. A fair share of them have relationship problems that leave them broken. They have anger issues that drive their family away, or their nerves are shot from a particularly nasty case.
A great example of this trope is in Henning Mankell’s Wallander. The titular character has borderline alcoholism, diabetes, no friends, bad relationships, and ultimately retires—with Alzheimer’s.
A Better Way to Do It:
First, there’s nothing wrong with a character struggling with drugs, alcoholism, or mental illness. The problem is that the genre exploits this so many times that it becomes tiring. What’s wrong with having a detective whose most problematic trait is inexperience or naivety?
Some writers might be working in the assumption that the worse it is, the better. But that’s not exactly true. While people do like characters who struggle to redeem themselves, not exploring other characters seems like a lost opportunity.
Take a rookie cop and show people how they cope with their firsts at work—the first case, shooting, or interaction with a victim. It’s interesting to see how an inexperienced character progresses through the story, eventually reaching detective and beyond.
Barring that, maybe a detective who’s not drowning in a flood of issues will prove engaging. It definitely makes you wonder what else they can do when they don’t have to deal with so much baggage.
2. Victims No One Will Miss
There are two reasons why nobody will miss a victim. One, they’re total jerks or monsters. People hate them to the point that when something bad happens to them, it generates more satisfaction than sympathy.
Two, they’re the people who “don’t matter”—sex workers, gay people, people of color, the homeless, and the poor. In other words, those who aren’t in a position of power who greater society will soon forget.
Most of the time, the narrative quickly moves away from them and focuses on the pursuit of the criminal. The victims become background information, serving only as a gateway to the crime.
In Agatha Christie’s Murder at the Orient Express, the victim turns out to be a gangster who murdered a three-year-old girl. His crime was so despicable that retaliation was guaranteed. Poirot even comments that not killing him would have been more suspicious.
A Better Way to Do It:
Part of an investigation is learning why the crime was done in the first place. This means exploring events in the victim’s life that lead to the crime. In the process, we learn more than surface information about them. It helps people decide what they should feel.
What this trope lacks is depth for the victim. They’re forgotten soon after the case is opened. But even though they’re already dead, these victims still have an effect on the story.
In order for them to not be forgotten in the story, add elements that bring them back to mind. Perhaps a grieving friend or family member becomes a source of information for the detectives.
3. Dying Message
The detective is almost at a breakthrough—all they need is one crucial piece of information. Fortunately, someone calls them saying they have it. They arrange a meeting and lo and behold, the mysterious contact is dead by the time the detective arrives.
Or maybe the detective finds them grievously wounded and barely alive. They manage to stay alive long enough to answer a question or say their goodbyes.
Either way, the mysterious contact is able to leave a clue for the detective—a name or phrase written with their blood, their last words, a specific pattern, or a piece of evidence.
A recent example of this can be seen in the movie Knives Out. One of the characters screams “You did this!” before passing out. It turns out, she’s actually saying “Hugh did this!”
A Better Way to Do It:
One of the biggest criticisms about this trope is that it can be extremely ridiculous. People who leave dying messages are, well, dying. They don’t exactly have the time to make puzzles or cryptic clues. Yet they do it anyway!
One of the most ridiculous ones I’ve seen is in The Da Vinci Code. A dying victim drags himself around an art gallery, scribbles messages on paintings, and arranges his body in a particular pose before finally expiring.
How hard is it to leave a straightforward clue? It seems to me that convoluted dying messages like these are a result of a writer trying to be clever. While it creates a striking image, it’s also unrealistic.
Dying messages are exciting, but a balance between suspense and realism must be met. Complicated clues simply distract readers and viewers from the narrative.
A good idea is to use the message as a distraction. Make the killer plant a false message. Or have the victim hate someone so much that they’ll point to them as the culprit instead of the real killer.
4. Everyone Has a Secret
In an investigation, it’s normal to search for witnesses who can give reliable testimonies or provide any helpful clues. In real life, people would mostly comply, unless they have a serious reason not to.
But in detective fiction, almost everyone seems reluctant to help—mostly because if they do, their ugly secrets come to light.
The victim’s wife was seeing his best friend behind his back. The mysterious visitor was an acquaintance from a dark past. The sole witness to the crime had a grudge.
Things are more complicated than the detective originally thought. Now they find themselves in the middle of a conspiracy that also puts them in danger. Everyone is now a suspect and the detectives must figure out who can be trusted.
Most small-town crime dramas exercise this trope. In a remote village where everyone knows everyone, long-buried secrets and resentments are only revealed when a murder is committed.
A Better Way to Do It:
In reality, most people are willing to help solve a crime. If they’re not guilty of anything, why should they hesitate?
Having characters who are largely suspicious may enhance the atmosphere, but it also means there’s no variation in their behaviors. They’re always skulking around, hesitant, and a pain to deal with.
Injecting people who are genuinely concerned about the crime—not helpful simply because they have an ulterior motive—gives the detective another angle to work from.
This can also add to the drama. In tight-knit communities, helping the cop might be seen as treasonous. Or, maybe they fear the killer may go after them the next time.
5. The Lightning-Strike Moment
In a lot of fiction, there is a moment where the universe seems to align and a character suddenly figures out the solution to a problem they’ve been pondering for a long time.
Detective fiction is no stranger to this trope. There are times when a detective stares at a mess of clues and suddenly connects the dots. Or they could be doing something totally unrelated that somehow gives them clarity about a case.
The triggers for these eureka moments vary from story to story. Sometimes it’s a chance remark, an obscure reference, or even a silly accident.
In The Cat Who…series, Koko the Siamese cat often behaves oddly, as if trying to convey the clue. This often leads to the protagonist suddenly having a brilliant thought.
A Better Way to Do It:
This trope often falls into the trap of leaving a detective story without any detecting. It’s as if they just hoard clues and wait for them to arrange themselves into something understandable.
Because the detective stumbles into the solution, they become a detective in name only. Their profession is more about causing chaos and occasionally shooting people.
Featuring real detective work easily fixes this trope. While moments of inspiration are welcome, showing the mundane ways they solve a case not only makes it realistic but also not up to chance.
Make them wait on lab reports, conduct door-to-door interviews, and review footage—anything that makes them feel more like they’re working detectives.
6. Bad Guy Gets Captured on Purpose
When the heroes capture the villains, sometimes it’s the villains’ plan all along. They play along until they find the right time to deal maximum damage or get what they want.
Sometimes the reason is simply that they want to gloat and undermine the heroes’ confidence before eventually escaping. In this case, they’re several steps ahead of the heroes. Their escape routes are set, people are already bribed or intimidated, and the only thing left is to set off the plan.
In the TV series Sherlock, criminal mastermind Jim Moriarty breaks into the Tower of London, wears the Crown Jewels, and waits for the police. While everyone knows he’s guilty, he’s able to walk away because he intimidated the jury into saying he’s not guilty beforehand.
A Better Way to Do It:
One of the main issues with this trope is that it often only serves to prolong the narrative or give the villain an excuse for a monologue. It’s a chance for them to preen.
This trope isn’t a problem on its own; it’s when the follow-up fails to impress that things fall apart. The villain lets themselves be caught, but their escape isn’t that brilliant. Sometimes their escape isn’t even explained.
Think of a criminal currently locked inside a cell in the police station, surrounded by cops. They manage to get out of the cell, get the evidence they need, and simply slip away. It raises the question of how incompetent the good guys are to be tricked that easily.
Making sure that the escape is as good as the capture makes this trope more enjoyable. Surely, a villain who can plan his own capture should also have a good escape plan.
Detective Fiction Cliches
Detective fiction is an exciting genre to enjoy. But, like many genres, it often suffers from stories that can’t let go of cliches.
These concepts were once fresh, but frequent use has made them predictable. Imagine reading multiple novels where the main detectives are copies of each other.
For example, hardboiled fiction often features detectives who are cynical, alcoholic, quick-witted, ill-tempered, and prefer wearing trench coats. Read enough of them and you might find it hard to distinguish which character is from which book.
Sometimes it still works, but it often just feels boring; there’s no excitement because the story’s too familiar. Fortunately, writers and directors are constantly pushing to subvert and reinvent these tired tropes.
Which detective fiction trope do you think needs an overhaul? Share it in the comments below!
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Cole is a blog writer and aspiring novelist. He has a degree in Communications and is an advocate of media and information literacy and responsible media practices. Aside from his interest in technology, crafts, and food, he’s also your typical science fiction and fantasy junkie, spending most of his free time reading through an ever-growing to-be-read list. It’s either that or procrastinating over actually writing his book. Wish him luck!
