Genres

Mystery films

Definition

Used for fictional works in which a detective (sometimes merely an endangered individual forced to "detect" for his own self-protection) attempts to solve a crime, usually a murder or theft. The detective may be an amateur, a private investigator, or a plainclothes member of a police force, but whatever the identity, the mystery places the emphasis on the search for clues and rational power of the detective, rather than the efforts of police or lawbreakers. In the mystery, suspense derives from the narrative's puzzle-like structure, with a group of suspects, whose testimony and motives must all be investigated until, in the surprising conclusion, the intelligent detective perceives the flawed alibi or other clue betraying the culprit's identity.

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