The Detective's Missing Mother
A young detective is handed her first major case, which eerily parallels the unsolved disappearance of her mother two decades prior. Create a story where she uses her own family history as a map to solve both mysteries.
Suggested length: A short story: 1,500 to 5,000 words, or flash fiction under 1,000
Start the clock
Pick a sprint, press start and keep going until it stops. Momentum beats polish on a first draft.
Make it yours
Three ways to take this prompt somewhere nobody else will.
- Tell it from the point of view of a suspect who is lying about something else.
- Give the victim a secret the reader learns before the detective does.
- Start with the confession, and make the story about why it's false.
Writing mystery books
Who did it? You get every clue and a fair shot at the answer.
A mystery opens with a puzzle, usually a death, and closes with the solution. In between, a detective (professional or not) gathers clues and suspects while the reader tries to get there first. A mystery looks backward, at a crime that has already happened.
What readers expect
- A crime or puzzle early on
- Clues, suspects and red herrings
- A detective the reader follows
- A solution that is surprising but fair
A tip before you start
Play fair. Every clue your detective uses should appear on the page first, ideally hidden in plain sight.
More Female Detective prompts
- The Storm Night DisappearancesA female detective, known for her unorthodox methods and razor-sharp instincts, is called to a small, coastal town where a series of seemingly…
- The Dancer's Coded PlaybillsA retired ballet dancer inherits a crumbling mansion from an unknown relative and finds a series of coded messages hidden in old playbills and music…
- The Marathon WarningDuring a high-profile marathon in a bustling city, an elite female detective finds herself caught in a race against time when a mysterious runner…
- Letters from the Hometown PastAfter receiving troubling, anonymous letters hinting at buried secrets in her hometown, a detective returns to uncover the truth. What starts as a…
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