a claim or piece of evidence that one was elsewhere when an act, typically a criminal one, is alleged to have taken place.
a narrative device in which suggestions or warnings about events to come are dropped or planted.
Foreshadowing
a person who is blamed for the wrongdoings, mistakes, or faults of others, especially for reasons of expediency.
Scape Goat
Evidence
facts and physical details that can be used in court.
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
an uneasy feeling that a reader gets when they don't know what is going to happen next.
Suspense
a plan made in secret by a group of people to do something illegal or harmful.
Plot
a sudden, dramatic, and important discovery or development.
Breakthrough
Scapegoat
a person who is blamed for the wrongdoings, mistakes, or faults of others, especially for reasons of expediency.
Alias
a false or assumed identity.
the place where an offense has been committed and forensic evidence may be gathered.
Crime Scene
Parody
produce a humorously exaggerated imitation of (a writer, artist, or genre).
Refers to any type of figure of speech, theme, image, character, or plot element that is used many times in a genre.
Trope
Antagonist
a person who actively opposes or is hostile to someone or something in a text; an adversary.
Witness
a person who sees an event, typically a crime or accident, take place.
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
Dramatic Irony
occurs when the audience knows something that the characters don't.
Forensics
applying scientific principles and techniques to collect, examine, and analyze physical evidence of a crime.
an ending to an episode of a serial drama that leaves the audience in suspense.
Cliffhanger
Sleuth
a person who investigates crimes; a detective.
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 reason for doing something, especially one that is hidden or not obvious
Motive
The process of reasoning in which a conclusion follows clues from the premises presented.
Deduction
Protagonist
the leading character or one of the major characters in a drama, movie, novel, or other fictional text.
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
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