Episode 361: The Butler Did it - or Did He - How Who-dunnits Have Shaped Speculative Fiction

Most of us have a soft spot for mysteries and even if we don't, everyone knows the basic premise of a who-dunnit. Starting with Wilkie Collins and the first detective novel, following through Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories and finally taking a fixed shape in Agatha Christie's mystery novels, the who-dunnit appeals to us on multiple levels. Interestingly, it has also influenced other genres lending aspects of mystery, well known tropes and elements of suspense and tension to fantasy, sci-fi and even romance. This week, Jules and Madeleine take a look at why we're wired to find a who-dunnit compelling; why the story form has very much become it's own thing and how you can leverage that for your own writing.

On the slab this week: Knives Out, Death on the Nile, See How they Run and many more.

 

Title music: Ecstasy by Smiling Cynic