How to Write a Detective Team

If you want to write a mystery, I’ll state the obvious: you must have a detective. But detectives come in all shapes and sizes, so you have a lot of room to maneuver. As you write, you might find your story is better if you have a duo of detectives. When I began my first novel, my detective was 19-year-old Rae Riley. Since my mystery was aimed at teens, my amateur detective had to be one. But as I wrote, I realized Rae’s father, since he is the sheriff of their fictional Ohio county, had to join her in the investigation or else he’d look incompetent. So I stumbled into a mystery-solving team, and my stories are the better for it. Below are my tips on how to write a detective team.

Decide if you write from the POV of one member or both.

POV (point of view) is critical to how you plot your mystery. Rae is my main character, and I write in first person. The story has to happen to her, and she has to make the story happen. Her father, Mal, can provide her information, but readers only see him through her eyes.

If I was writing from both of their POVs, then I could have scenes with just Mal and have him discover things that Rae may not be aware of, but the reader would be. Who my POV character is and how many I have affects how I lay out the clues.

The team should have contrasts.

If you’re two detectives are too much alike, then you only need one of them. Holmes and Watson have appealed to readers for over a century because the characters contrast.

Rae is a quiet, thoughtful amateur photographer. She has a photographer’s eye for noticing details. She also has a drive to help people, which draws her into cases.

Mal is more outgoing, confident, and carries a lot of authority in his manner. He’s also very protective, especially of his children.

Because of the contrasts in personality …

The team should have conflict.

Nothing’s more boring than two characters who never disagree. One of the delights in the Nero Wolfe mystery series is how the eccentricities and quirks of the great detective Nero Wolfe aggravate his right-hand man Archie Goodwin.

Rae’s desire to help people in trouble brings her into conflict with Mal, who wants her to stay safe. This conflict brings some needed tension to a warm relationship that could get too cozy to stay interesting.

Creating a detective team is a lot of work but a lot of fun. What detective teams do you love to read?

October 12, 2023 6

Let’s Write a Mystery Together Online, Part 2

Here’s the second installment of “Let’s Write a Mystery Together Online”. The first part can be found here if you want to write with us. I’ll take up after the last comment on last week’s post. Thanks to Jodie Will and M. Liz Boyle for contributing last week. Please add to the story in the comments. The more people who play, the more fun it is to write the story.

*****

Julia snatched the Cokes from my hand and set them on the table. “Cal, we’ve got to follow him.” Pulling out her fob, she raced down the stairs.

I had just enough time to fall into her truck before she tore away from the beach.

Flooring it, Julia got close enough for us to follow Aiden’s hatchback away from the beach and lake, winding higher and higher into the thickly wooded hills as the sun sank behind them, touching the half-stripped branches of oaks and maples with crimson light.

“How could Oliva destroy Aiden?” I said, my gaze glued to his tail lights.

“We have to find out.” Julie tightened her white-knuckled grip on the steering wheel.

Aiden peeled off a gravel road and screeched to a halt beside the burned hulk of the Kelton mansion. He jumped out of his car.

Julia braked hard, and we both stared at the ruins.

“What’s Aiden doing here?” she said.

October 9, 2023 1

Weapons Resource for Mysteries

If you write crime fiction, at some point, you’ll need a weapons resource for mysteries. If your knowledge of guns and knives only consists of guns take bullets and knives are usually sharp, then The Writer’s Guide to Weapons by Benjamin Sobieck is for you. Like the title says, this book doesn’t just report and explain weapons. It was written for writers to give them a better understanding of how to use weapons in their fiction.

Treasure Trove of Information

The book is divided into three main sections: firearms, knives, and must-know weapons info. There’s also a glossary as well as a bibliography. Along with descriptions of particular weapons, the author lists its advantages and disadvantages and then provides a brief example of how the weapon could be used inaccurately and accurately in a story and an explanation of “what went wrong” in the inaccurate story.

In both the firearms and knives sections, Mr. Sobieck lists must-know laws involving those weapons. The copyright is 2015, so more research will be needed if you think a specific law affects your story. What I found most helpful was the author’s explanation of the “stop the threat” rule. A person has a right to defend themselves as long as the other person is a threat. If your main character knocks out the bad guy, who was threatening him with the knife, he can’t go over and kick him. The bad guy is no longer a threat. The kick is a crime.

I also loved the sections in part three. “Top Weapons Myths” dispels 25 false ideas about weapons, such as the reality of shooting a padlock or how ridiculous or mechanically impossible it is for a shooter to repeatedly click a handgun when it’s out of ammunition.

Another section I found especially interesting is “True Crime Stories from Real Crime Writers”. These are eyewitness accounts of what it’s like to be shot, stabbed, in a gun fight, or attempting to shoot a gun from a criminal’s hand. For example, a friend of the writer’s was stabbed in the back. Although the back of her shirt was soaked with blood, she didn’t realize it. It didn’t hurt.

The list of websites in the back give you a good starting point for even more research.

If you write mysteries, what kind of research have you done or are planning to do?

For more advice on writing mysteries, click here.

October 5, 2023 2

Let’s Write a Mystery Together Online, Part 1

October is mystery month here on JPC AllenWrites. So let’s write a mystery together online. Here’s how it works:

I provide a photo prompt on Monday.
I write a small section of the story.
Anyone else can contribute to the story during the week by adding a sentence or paragraph or more in the comments.
Please keep it PG and clean
The next Monday, I’ll post another photo and continue the story from the last comment.
By the end of the month, we’ll have a complete story!

Anyone is welcome to add their inspiration in the comments. I’m kicking off this mystery with the photo above.

*****

“What’s she doing here?”

My cousin Julia glared daggers at the dark-haired girl who turned every head as she strutted across the beach Every guy looked toward her, and every girl looked away.

Julia glanced up and down the beach. “Where’s Aiden? He doesn’t need Olivia latching onto him.”

“Too late.” I tightened my grip on my Coke.

My older brother’s ex-girlfriend oozed up to him, a flirty smile on her perfectly painted lips.

“Here.” Julia thrust her Coke into my empty hand.

“What’re you going to do?” I said.

“What do you think? Drop kick her into next week. He’s spent six months getting over her. He doesn’t need …”

Julia ranted on, a speciality of hers, as Olivia stood on her toes and whispered something into Aiden’s ear.

Aiden jerked away.

Olivia stepped back, no trace of that smile on her high-cheekbones face. Actually, no trace of any emotion. That was first time I’d seen Olivia without some expression. Usually a nasty one.

Aiden strode quickly toward the parking lot.

October 2, 2023 2

Month: October 2023