The Detective Next Door
In a gated community known for its safety and uniformity, a series of seemingly random thefts challenge a young female detective who has recently moved in undercover. Her journey to unravel the mystery leads her to suspect her neighbors, and she must balance daily interactions with stealth investigations without blowing her cover.
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.
- Start with the confession, and make the story about why it's false.
- Make the detective wrong at the midpoint, for a good reason.
- End with the solution in a single line of dialogue.
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 Book Club BurglariesA renowned female detective, known for her ability to solve puzzles, is confronted with a mysterious serial burglar who leaves behind a rare flower at…
- Dead Fish at Low TideWhen a dedicated marine biologist and part-time detective is called to investigate an unusual phenomenon involving mass fish deaths near a sleepy…
- The Wellness Retreat HeistWrite about a seasoned detective who must go undercover in a luxury wellness retreat to investigate a string of thefts. As she delves deeper, she…
- The Detective's ReturnIn the bustling heart of a major city, a renowned woman detective retires prematurely, only to be drawn back into the field by the mysterious murder…
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