ABSTRACT
The typical mystery novel begins when an unsuspecting average person, going about his or her daily life, discovers a dead body. That person or some other unlikely hero (e.g., Miss Marple) then attempts to piece together the circumstances of the death. Inevitably, it is discovered that there were many people in the deceased’s life who had ample motive to commit murder. The tension builds as the amateur sleuth follows mistaken leads to a person who the reader suspects to be innocent. Then, in the engrossing climax, the sleuth suddenly figures out who really murdered the victim, and confronts the perpetrator just before becoming victim number two.
