a reason for doing something, especially one that is hidden or not obvious
Motive
a narrative device in which suggestions or warnings about events to come are dropped or planted.
Foreshadowing
Refers to any type of figure of speech, theme, image, character, or plot element that is used many times in a genre.
Trope
a character who isn't the main focus in the story but instead supports the protagonist they ultimately help them achieve their goal, have a transformation, or move the story forward.
Supporting Character
the use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people's vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues.
Satire
a sudden, dramatic, and important discovery or development.
Breakthrough
Alias
a false or assumed identity.
Scapegoat
a person who is blamed for the wrongdoings, mistakes, or faults of others, especially for reasons of expediency.
Sleuth
a person who investigates crimes; a detective.
Witness
a person who sees an event, typically a crime or accident, take place.
Dramatic Irony
occurs when the audience knows something that the characters don't.
a plan made in secret by a group of people to do something illegal or harmful.
Plot
Forensics
applying scientific principles and techniques to collect, examine, and analyze physical evidence of a crime.
Alibi
a claim or piece of evidence that one was elsewhere when an act, typically a criminal one, is alleged to have taken place.
a scene that takes place before a story begins. This interrupts the chronological order of the main narrative to take a reader back in time to the past events in a character's life.
Flashback
a person who has committed a crime.
Criminal
Red Herring
to a misleading, or false, clue. It is a common literary device used in mysteries and thrillers that can lead readers down a false path or otherwise distract t
a person who is blamed for the wrongdoings, mistakes, or faults of others, especially for reasons of expediency.
Scape Goat
an ending to an episode of a serial drama that leaves the audience in suspense.
Cliffhanger
The process of reasoning in which a conclusion follows clues from the premises presented.
Deduction
Evidence
facts and physical details that can be used in court.
the place where an offense has been committed and forensic evidence may be gathered.
Crime Scene
Protagonist
the leading character or one of the major characters in a drama, movie, novel, or other fictional text.
Parody
produce a humorously exaggerated imitation of (a writer, artist, or genre).
an uneasy feeling that a reader gets when they don't know what is going to happen next.
Suspense
Antagonist
a person who actively opposes or is hostile to someone or something in a text; an adversary.
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