Murder at Rio Carnival
At the heart of Rio de Janeiro's Carnival, an American expatriate and local journalist partner up after witnessing a seemingly accidental death that they suspect is a murder. Their investigation takes them deep into the city's vibrant neighborhoods, where they encounter samba schools, corrupt officials, and the powerful elite. Craft their adventure as they use their diverse backgrounds to solve the mystery before the end of the festival.
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.
- Limit it to one location and one night.
- Let the most helpful witness be the one with the most to hide.
- Tell it from the point of view of a suspect who is lying about something else.
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 Multicultural Mystery prompts
- Murder at the Afro-Caribbean FestivalDuring the vibrant Afro-Caribbean festival, a notorious masked figure known only by their traditional moniker is found murdered. The main character…
- The Festival SabotageA disaster at a multicultural festival is initially thought to be an accident. However, a local chef with a past filled with culinary espionage…
- The Thief's Folk MusicA quiet, multicultural neighborhood in London witnesses a spate of inexplicably precise burglaries. The only clue left behind at each scene is a piece…
- The New Year RiddleEvery year during the Lunar New Year, a small Asian community in a European city receives an anonymous gift that benefits everyone. One year, however…
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