Read The Elements of Mystery Fiction: Writing the Modern Whodunit for Free Online

bartenders, jockeys and tennis players, computer nerds and real estate brokers—all can find themselves in situations where they might need to solve a murder. A husband might be driven to find his wife’s killer, for example, and readers will readily believe that a parent would stop at nothing to track down the kidnapper of a child.
    The challenge for the writer is to give amateur sleuths powerfully compelling reasons to pursue their own investigations instead of hiring a professional.
    They must be strongly driven to persevere, even when the stakes get higher and the risks multiply. If readers don’t buy the amateur sleuth’s motive, the story, no matter how clever and dramatic it might otherwise be, will flop.
    The motive should result from the story’s events, not your sleuth’s personality. It’s not enough to portray your hero or heroine as naturally curious or brave or persistent. You must create a situation that compels even the most reluctant protagonist to take action.
    Since amateurs bring no necessary experience or expertise to the murder investigation, the writer who decides on an amateur can usually avoid the intense research that goes into creating a believable professional.
    If you give your amateur hero a convincing reason to chase down a murderer no matter what the danger, a reason that readers can empathize with, you’ll sink your hook in deep.
    The amateur is likely to change more than the professional as she pursues her investigation. The amateur has probably never before been particularly courageous or resourceful or persevering, and certainly has never had to track down a killer. Now she is forced into a situation that tests her will and courage and intelligence as they have never been tested before.
    Gender, appearance, and other characteristics
     
    Your sleuth can be old or young, rich or poor, gay or straight, lighthearted or gloomy, strong or weak, attractive or plain. There are no formulas and no taboos.
    James Lee Burke’s Dave Robicheaux is a recovering alcoholic. Barbara Neely’s Blanche White is an African-American housekeeper. Lawrence Block’s Bernie Rhodenbarr is a burglar who runs a bookstore. Jake Page’s Mo Bowdre is a blind sculptor. Dana Stabenow’s Kate Shugak is an Alaskan Aleut detective. Tony Hillerman’s Jim Chee and Joe Leaphorn are Navajo policemen. Linda Barnes’ Carlotta Carlyle plays volleyball and drives a cab. Robert Parker’s Spenser is a weightlifter and a gourmet cook. Katherine Hall Page’s Faith Fairchild is the wife of a minister and a former New York caterer. All are popular and memorable sleuths.
    Mix and match gender, job, hobby, personal history, appearance, and other characteristics to create your own unique, complex, multidimensional sleuth.
    The series sleuth
     
    The recurring hero or heroine is a staple of mystery fiction. When considering a first novel for publication, acquiring editors often base their decision on the promise of future novels with the same sleuth. They know that readers develop strong loyalties to appealing heroines and heroes. Mystery readers often care as much about the sleuth’s personal problems as they do about the puzzle she’s working on.
    But the series sleuth must be designed for the long haul. If your first novel features a librarian as a protagonist, you’d better be able to convince an editor that your librarian is an internationally renowned expert in rare and valuable books who is periodically called upon to consult in cases of theft and forgery.
    A psychologist whose specialty is child abuse, such as Jonathan Kellerman’s Alexander Delaware, makes an effective series hero. So does Rick Boyer’s Doc Adams, a forensic dentist. An auto mechanic who’s an expert at identifying stolen vehicles could be a series hero. So could a professor of sociology who wrote her doctoral dissertation on rape, or a museum curator or an antique collector whose expertise makes him a useful adviser to those who investigate