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Mystery Structure
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In today's episode, Brook and Sarah discuss how a mystery is typically structured and what happens when a mystery takes a different approach.
Discussed and mentioned
His & Hers (2025) Netflix-based on the book (2020) by Alice Feeney
Murder, She Wrote (1984-1996) CBS
Related episodes
Reverse Mysteries (released February 24, 2026)
For more information
Instagram: @cluedinmysteryContact us: hello@cluedinmystery.com Music: Signs To Nowhere by Shane Ivers – www.silvermansound.com Sign up for our newsletter: https://cluedinmystery.com/clued-in-chronicle/ Order Life or Delft by Brook and Sarah For a full episode transcript, visit https://cluedinmystery.com/mystery-structure/
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Transcript
Introduction to Hosts and Mystery
00:00:12
Speaker
Welcome to Clued in Mystery. I'm Sarah. And I'm Brooke, and we both love mystery. hi Brooke. Hi, Sarah. It's so great to be recording with you again today.
The Role of Structure in Mystery Stories
00:00:24
Speaker
Yes, I'm looking forward to our conversation about mystery structure. Absolutely. So as mystery readers, we love following clues, weighing suspects, and trying to stay one step ahead of the sleuth, whether they're an amateur or a seasoned detective.
00:00:42
Speaker
We await that moment when everything comes together in a way that feels both surprising and inevitable. But that sense of satisfaction doesn't happen by accident.
00:00:55
Speaker
Authors rely on a tried and true structure to make these stories work. Now, every genre has a structure, whether it's romance, horror, action-adventure. But mystery, maybe more than others, depends on an underlying framework.
00:01:13
Speaker
And when a story is working well, the framework stays invisible. We aren't even consciously thinking about the structure or what sometimes is negatively called the mystery formula.
Interest in Inverted Mystery Structures
00:01:26
Speaker
Even so, when a story doesn't follow the structure or breaks from it in an unexpected way, it really stands out to us. And sometimes that leads to something fresh and memorable, but other times it leaves us feeling unsatisfied or even kind of put off.
00:01:47
Speaker
And Sarah, I think you and i really started thinking about the idea of structure when we covered inverted mysteries. Because in that episode, we talked about a style of story that reveals the culprit right from the beginning and then shifts the story to whether that villain can elude capture by the detective or a sleuth.
00:02:09
Speaker
And it really inspired us to think more about the ways mysteries are told.
Typical Beats of a Mystery Story
00:02:15
Speaker
So today we're going to take a closer look at the idea of story structure in mysteries and maybe talk about the things that we think are okay to bend or what we just think you can't change in order to keep it a satisfying story.
00:02:32
Speaker
So really briefly, because we're going to probably define story beats and talk about these much more deeply, but If you're not an author and you're not thinking about a story in this way, I'll just kind of outline that what we're referring to as these beats are a crime is committed an investigation takes begins, it takes place, ah the sleuth has a misstep or a few missteps, then there's some sort of realization that flips everything on its head. And finally, this resolution and a feeling of justice and as I said, there's a lot more to each of those steps and room to play, but that's going to be the fun part of you and I, you and me, Sarah, breaking down and talking about where the adjustments can and can't be made.
Criticism of Mystery as Formulaic
00:03:24
Speaker
So I thought a great place to start would be with that notion that we hear often, which is like mysteries are just formulaic and they just always follow the same pattern. And and so it's seen as a criticism. Um,
00:03:41
Speaker
And kind of let's kind of break that down a little bit. Well, i I think that's a ah great question to start with, Brooke, because, you know, we've talked before about, like, what is the appeal of mystery? And it's that resolution at the end, right? um And that appeal, you get to that resolution because you hit all of those steps that you talked about, right? And so if you didn't get there, if as a reader or a viewer, you're not kind of led down this path, it's not going to be a satisfying resolution. And I think that's kind of what we were talking about in the inverted mystery, how Ketchum episode, where, you know, I think we talked about a couple of things. Those are kind of hard to come by because they're, they're hard to write, I think. um
00:04:37
Speaker
And sometimes they're just not as satisfying. right Because you're not taken on that journey. Exactly. Right. Well, and I think it's a little unfair when I hear that. um Of course, you know we're biased because this is our favorite type of story. But as I said in the intro, every single type of genre fiction follows some sort of, whether you want to call it a pattern or a formula, ah there's a very definite formula to romance fiction.
00:05:09
Speaker
fiction, for instance, or ah you know action adventure, horror movies. um So to just call out mystery, I think, is a little unfair because Every genre has that. And they're all kind of based on that um hero's journey. they're They're tweaked and kind of massaged because of what the genre expectation is. But this is a way that stories have been told for you know centuries because it's exactly what you said. It feels very satisfying to us as you know kind of as humans to go through that journey with the main character.
Comfort in Familiar Story Patterns
00:05:52
Speaker
You know, you think about television series, for example, Murder, She Wrote. um And there's a definite structure to those stories. Like you said, the crime occurs, the investigation begins, you're introduced to the to the various suspects and each of them has a potential motive. um And then Jessica Fletcher weeds out which one it is. And in some series, it's more pronounced where, so the the sleuth interviews the various suspects and is heading down one path and then takes a ah hard turn because it actually ends up being the least expected of the suspects.
00:06:36
Speaker
And, you know, you see, you can take, you almost any kind of um certainly cozy series would follow that kind of path.
00:06:48
Speaker
Right. And i think as viewers or readers, we know that that's what we expect. That's what we want.
00:07:00
Speaker
Exactly. Exactly. There's a, there is a comfort in Knowing what to expect and knowing that at the end, you know, justice will prevail and good will prevail. And yeah, I think it's a i think it's a comfort, not a limitation.
00:07:25
Speaker
i like that way of of thinking about it, Brooke. There's also this ah need for, you said, if the beats or stages of the story aren't followed, it's not as satisfying.
Story Structure as a Roller Coaster Ride
00:07:42
Speaker
So I was thinking of this as it's sort of like a roller coaster ah where, you know tension, tension, tension builds, and then you have kind of a release. And then once again, you climb and there's release. And a roller coaster that just went flat is not going to be very much fun.
00:08:01
Speaker
Plus, you can't do either one forever. You can't just like build tension forever. to infinity or or have thrills. I've read those stories where it's just like one action moment after another. And it that would be an example of a roller coaster that just in that just constantly goes down, right? But what we crave and what we enjoy in a story is kind of that ebb and that flow. And if you follow the story structure, ah that's exactly what is built into it.
00:08:33
Speaker
Well, and and I think that structure is necessary to make sense of the story, right? It would be a very short story if it was, ah there was a crime committed, the detective walks in the room and says it was you. Right? Like... It's no fun. You need that process of, you know, who could it be? And maybe this is where the criticism for something like cozy is that...
00:09:01
Speaker
It can feel a little too formulaic, right? You've got the angry neighbor. You've got the long lost relative. You've got the estranged spouse, estranged spouse all of whom could have been the villain.
00:09:18
Speaker
You know, if if there's not enough variation in the types of characters, you That's when I think a series doesn't work particularly well.
Rearranging Puzzle Pieces for Interest
00:09:29
Speaker
Right. But if you've got all of these different, you know, settings, if you've got all of these different kinds of suspects, then that I think makes that formula work.
00:09:42
Speaker
Exactly. Yeah. And I think that some of those puzzle pieces can get moved around. I mentioned that, you know, there's usually some missteps and another way to think about that is the red herrings ah because the sleuth follows the wrong path for a while. And it doesn't just have to be interview, interview, interview, red herring.
00:10:04
Speaker
You can move those puzzle pieces around, especially in the middle of the story and keep that interest, as you said, so that it's not just a cookie cutter way of telling the mystery story. And I think that that works better for me because I will, I will accept that if, if an author tells the story in the exact same manner, maybe there are different characters, but then that can get a little tedious. It's like, Oh, I, this is exactly how she put together her last mystery. Yeah. That's, that's not very much fun.
00:10:40
Speaker
Yeah. if there's always three suspects, one is from work, one is from the friend relationship, and one is from the family relationship, then you know yeah that does get a little bit tiresome.
00:10:54
Speaker
Yeah. And I've seen ah advice where make them all lie the first time, and then you go back and you interview them again, and then the second time. And it's like, okay, you can do that once in a while. But if every single one of your stories does that, then it it kind of takes the fun out of it.
00:11:12
Speaker
Brooke, do you think that that structure that you were talking about at the beginning, the different beats, is that the same whether we're talking about a cozy with an amateur sleuth, something that is maybe a little grittier with a police detective, you know, a procedural um and a domestic thriller, for example, do you think that that those are the same?
00:11:34
Speaker
I think that broadly they are the same, but the situation changes a little bit in a thriller because all of those things still happen. But I feel like we as the readers or the viewers kind of become the one experiencing it. We see that there's been a crime.
00:11:54
Speaker
We start to put things together in the story. Mentally, we take some wrong turns, right? we We start thinking, oh, it's the husband or whatever, right? As as we're experiencing the story.
00:12:07
Speaker
um And then things start to clear up for us because a new piece of evidence is presented in the story. And then in the end, we have our own sense of resolution. And most of the time there isn't a sleuth in those stories, but we become the stand-in sleuth, I guess. Yeah, I think that's right. We are um we're along with that main character doing that doing that investigation.
00:12:38
Speaker
What about when stories are told from multiple points of view? Yeah, it gets tricky, doesn't it? um Again, i think it creates that experience for us as a reader or a viewer.
00:12:54
Speaker
But ah see, that's where I feel like it's hard to say that mysteries are always the same, because that's an example of a way an author took the framework and then played with it enough that we still get the same sense of satisfaction But it's most definitely not a cookie cutter story because they've introduced some other points of view or maybe a second timeline. And those are some really fantastic ways to play with the structure.
00:13:24
Speaker
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. And then... I guess another way to play with the structure is, like you mentioned, a dual timeline, right? So you've got whatever's happening in present day, and then you get fed information about something that happened in the past and see how that influences what's happening now. Um,
00:13:53
Speaker
So that way, or where there are, you know, two parallel stories that at some point converge, taking place years or or decades apart from each other.
00:14:08
Speaker
Yeah.
Using Dual Timelines in Mysteries
00:14:09
Speaker
I mean, i I think about your series, Sarah, and that's what's happening. And I think one great thing that stories like that do is drive reality it drive at least me, it drives me to keep reading because ah you're finding out what's happening in one timeline, but then you're really anxious to get back to ah to the other time. In your book, in particular, it's a time period. So it's a very good driver for a reader, I think. But then again, that convergence at the end not only are you getting the solution to the crime, but you're also seeing how everything fit in with these two different timelines. And when that's done really well, it's it's like doubly satisfying then.
00:14:53
Speaker
So I can think of examples where that maybe doesn't work, right?
Timing in Revealing Suspects and Twists
00:15:00
Speaker
Either for too long as a reader, you're questioning, why are we reading about what happened 25 years ago. What does none of these characters are the same. This has nothing to do with the main story. And then it's only kind of pulled together at the last minute. That is not particularly satisfying.
00:15:26
Speaker
No, that is a great demonstration of what I think is my biggest pet peeve. Maybe the thing and so in a mystery structure that I can't deal with is timing.
00:15:39
Speaker
Like, I think you can break a lot of rules for me to still enjoy the story. Like, I think I enjoy how Ketchum's much more than you, but the timing just really bothers me. One recent example is, uh,
00:15:55
Speaker
a new show. It's a limited series on Netflix, his and hers. And it's a small town murder mystery. um And I was quite engaged throughout, but the ending didn't land for me. We're given what's feels like the full resolution. So you've made it through the entire process. You've, you've had the inevitable surprise.
00:16:18
Speaker
And then the epilogue reopens with this major twist And I think once you put the bow on it with the resolution, you can't then reopen it. And that just really did not sit with me. I think the twist was good.
00:16:39
Speaker
i just think that the timing of it was all wrong so that you could have still made the storyline work. I don't know if I'm describing that well enough, but ah timing is so important.
00:16:50
Speaker
Yeah. So I haven't seen it. And if i remember, it's based on, is it based on a book by Alice Feeney? Yes. Yes. Yeah, so, and I haven't read the book, so I don't know where that twist happens in the book. and it would be really interesting to see if they've made an adjustment for the screen adaptation than from what she originally intended. ah But yeah, that's ah that's a great example. I think another example um of where the timing is really important is if the bad guy is introduced at the very end.
00:17:26
Speaker
Absolutely. You know, if you've seen the sleuth rule out all of these potential suspects, and then it turns out to be a character that is only introduced at the very end, right? Like that doesn't, that doesn't really work either.
00:17:40
Speaker
Exactly. Yeah. And we are kind of skirting around talking about some of the the rules of mystery, um which I think we'll do in another episode. But it all goes together, right? the The way that you introduce the mystery, the way you introduce the suspects, the way you reach the resolution.
Creating Satisfying Mysteries with Rules
00:18:02
Speaker
um There is a sequence that that needs to happen for that to work.
00:18:07
Speaker
Yeah, great point. the The rules of mystery, which I can't wait to talk with you about, Sarah, and traditional story structure that we're talking about today have to go hand in hand. And and that's, I think, what makes just the most satisfying mystery stories.
00:18:27
Speaker
Well, Brooke, thank you. I think this is such an interesting conversation to just talk about structure a little bit more deeply. Yes, thanks, Sarah. This was great.
Listener Stories on Structure Deviations
00:18:36
Speaker
And ah listeners, we do have a question of the week for you.
00:18:40
Speaker
What's a story you've read or watched that didn't work for you because it strayed too much from the traditional mystery structure? We'd love to hear your thoughts. Send us an email or come find us on Instagram and Facebook.
00:18:54
Speaker
But until next time, thank you for joining us on Clued in Mystery. I'm Brooke. And I'm Sarah. And we both love mystery. Clued in Mystery is written and produced by Brooke Peterson and Sarah M. Stephen.
00:19:08
Speaker
Music is by Shane Ivers. If you liked what you heard, please consider telling a friend, leaving a review, or subscribing with your favorite podcast listening app. Visit our website to sign up for our newsletter, The Clued in Chronicle, and get mystery news, podcast updates, and bonus episodes.
00:19:25
Speaker
We're on social media at Clued in Mystery.