Mystery & Crime writing prompt
The Letter Before the Crime
A renowned detective receives an anonymous letter predicting a crime that will occur in 24 hours. The letter details are vague, pointing only to a popular public event. As the detective navigates crowds and chaos, they must use unconventional methods and instincts to prevent the crime from occurring without knowing who the perpetrator or the intended victim is.
Suggested length: A short story: 1,500 to 5,000 words, or flash fiction under 1,000
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Three ways to take this prompt somewhere nobody else will.
- 1Let the most helpful witness be the one with the most to hide.
- 2Tell it from the point of view of a suspect who is lying about something else.
- 3Give the victim a secret the reader learns before the detective does.
More mystery & crime prompts
See them all- Letters Behind the Bookshop WallDuring a routine renovation of an old family-owned bookstore, a hidden stack of letters tied to a notorious unsolved robbery from the 1930s is found behind a wall. The current owner, related to the original bookstore founder thought to be involved in the scheme, decides to unravel the truth.
- The Museum Heist CoinYou wake up to headlines that scream about a major heist at the museum you visited yesterday. Things get mysterious when you discover an ancient coin in your pocket that you're certain wasn't there before. Now, you must uncover how and why you're connected.
- The Hacker's Cold Case FilesA hacker who usually assists the police with their cyber security needs receives a peculiar file that seems to decode to dates and times of unsolved historical crimes. As they decrypt more files, they realize someone is taunting the police with clues to solve cold cases, leading to dark secrets in the police department itself.
- The Cursed Gala JewelDuring a high society gala, a renowned jewel, reported to be cursed, goes missing. The host hires a down-on-luck private investigator to find the jewel discretely. Uncovering layers of motives, the investigator stumbles upon secrets that might have been safer left untouched.
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