The classic murder mystery is full of tropes.

You'll be familiar with lots of them.

The closed circle of suspects, the automatic suspicion of the least likely perpetrator,

the impossible crime, the locked room mystery, the final chapter reveal, the last minute twist.

In addition to these, a crime writer publishing a fair play mystery during the interwar period

had some other tricks up their sleeve too.

A detective novel is a book, of course, but it's also a game played between writer and reader.

The writer is trying to conceal the solution to the mystery for as long as possible,

and all the while the reader is trying to discover it. In the mystery for as long as possible, and all the while

the reader is trying to discover it. In the Golden Age of the 1920s and 30s, publishers and

writers alike enjoyed making additions and modifications to their books that enhance this

murder mystery gameplay. And one of these Golden Age tricks is now making a comeback. It can

be found in novels being published in the 2020s, just as it was present in those from the 1920s.

Join me, won't you?

For a closer look at The Clue Finder. Welcome to She Done It. I'm Caroline Crampton.

To explore the past, present and future of this most intriguing crime-writory device,

I'm delighted to welcome back a frequent guest and friend of She Donnit, Martin Edwards.

Martin is both a crime writer and a critic of the genre.

He is the author of many novels and short stories, as well as non-fiction titles

like The Golden Age of Murder and the Life of Crime. He is the current president of the

Detection Club and is the recipient of the Crime Writers Association Diamond Dagger. He will also be

known to many of you as the series editor for the British Library Crime Classics titles.

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