Mystery Literary Terms

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Across
  1. 6. love.
  2. 7. there is a vital change in emphasis.
  3. 8. – Someone who may have committed a crime. Someone who “could have done it.”
  4. 10. – The story character who assists the detective in solving the mystery but generally is surprised
  5. 11. – Anxiety or excitement about an outcome.
  6. 13. – A mystery story has all the components of realistic fiction including setting, characters and
  7. 14. – The “bad guy” in the mystery story whose bad deeds have set the story in motion.
  8. 17. – The resolution of a mystery.
  9. 19. – An illegal act like theft or murder committed by a villain.
  10. 20. – The process of trying to find answers for questions or unsolved mysteries.
Down
  1. 1. – The character who will solve a mystery, generally through a process of discovery.
  2. 2. The hints the writer drops that might help the reader solve the mystery.
  3. 3. The reason why a crime was committed. In a mystery story the motive is often greed, money
  4. 4. – When enemies hold your secrets against you in order to get what they want.
  5. 5. Herring – A FALSE clue which points the reader onto the wrong trail and puts off solving the
  6. 9. with woman who lead men to their doom. (Poison Ivy from Batman is a femme fatale.)
  7. 12. – Something that furnished proof of a crime.
  8. 15. Man” - This is a short for “Confidence Man."
  9. 16. Fatale – Another expression for “dangerous woman.” Mystery stories have historically been
  10. 18. – Proof of one’s location at the time a crime is committed.
  11. 21. – The person in the story who is hurt or killed by the villain’s actions.
  12. 22. the outcome because the detective is smarter and has caught more of the clues.