S30E3 - The Locked Room Mystery

People love a good mystery. It's the intrigue and the puzzle that draws readers in and keeps them enthralled with the story. One of the best plot tropes for this is the Locked Room Mystery.

There are two ways a Locked Room Mystery can be told. The first a closed system, like in Clue, where there are a limited number of suspects because the murder or crime occurred with that set number of people within a locked room/a cruise ship/a mansion in middle of nowhere. The second is when there is an actual locked room where seemingly no one got in or out, leaving only the victim inside.

Either way, this kind of trope takes planning (yes, pantsers, that means plotting), and a dedication to crafting a puzzle that seems unsolvable. Listen to this episode for more tricks on how to write a Locked Room Mystery that will keep your readers invested in your book.

First aired March 10, 2022.