In a good mystery series, authors create mind-boggling crimes for detectives and readers to puzzle out by each book’s end. Coming up with intriguing murders, suspects, and clues requires great ingenuity. And it starts with the right victim.
In this first episode of my post series, I’m focusing on victims that really should’ve seen in coming. I’m not victim-shaming or justifying murder. But in a mystery series, the “right” victim often brings about their own undoing.
Think of it this way… If all the characters in a book were in a classroom where the killer was the teacher asking for volunteers, there’d be one standout, raising her hand, and saying, “Pick me! Pick me!”
For writers, understanding the who, what, when, where, how, and especially why of the story’s first murder is the cornerstone of the plot and usually marks the inciting incident of each book in a mystery series. And it’s a challenge—reinventing the murder wheel over and over again in new ways. Knowing the tropes, or things you often see in literature, helps writers use them better or bypass them altogether.
This post explores different versions of the same murder trope I see over and over. I’m calling it … Death by a Jerk Move.
So, here are the surefire ways to get axed, poisoned, throttled, shot, stabbed, rundown, bludgeoned, or otherwise killed in a mystery series (and maybe in real life, too), a.k.a. Death by a Jerk Move:
#1 Get stupid drunk and announce to a room full of people that you know their secrets and that they’re going to pay.
Our list begins with the murder-victim-trope that inspired this blog in the first place. On Amazon Prime, I watched a great mystery series based on the books by Louise Penny called Three Pines. Watch it! Every two episodes, there’s an intriguing murder and an ongoing missing persons case throughout—keeping mystery-minded viewers like me engaged with a double-whammy of investigations.
One episode begins just like this… a drunk guy bursts into a full restaurant and announces his intention to reveal all their secrets. “There’s one way to get yourself murdered!” I laughed. Sure enough, the man is murdered that very night.
Would you call it Death by Verbal Diarrhea or Drunken Dramatics? You decide.
Though perhaps an obvious way to get murdered, it’s a fun trope for the reader and author. The reader immediately wants to know what secrets led to the victim’s demise, and with this setup, the writer can stretch her creative muscles by slowly dishing them out.
In the Three Pines case, it was unclear to whom the drunken blabber directed his threats, making them all instant suspects. Throw in that he was a stranger to most and had a secret identity, and the plot thickened right away.
For a trope twist… perhaps the paranoid murderer gets the person who knows her secrets drunk on purpose—a test to see if she’ll spill the beans. And even though she keeps her drunken trap shut, the murderer kills her anyway, just to be sure.
Though a drunken blab is a blatant invitation to murder, people make dumb choices all the time. Like…
#2 Tell people you’re changing your will.
This one’s an oldie, but goodie. A frequent trope in Agatha Christie’s stories, announcing a will-change is like rich-people suicide–Death by Greedy Relative—and gives more credence to the phrase mo’ money, mo’ problems. Threatening to take away wealth that someone expects upon your eventual death is like adding salt to the wound of waiting for natural causes. Eh, people hate getting shafted. And they aren’t very patient anyway.
Death by Greedy Relative often happens via poison… in a delicious chocolate cake, perhaps?
And it’s not such an old trope… Taylor Swift uses it in her song Anti-Hero. If I were her, yes, I’d worry about getting knocked off by my greedy daughter-in-law. Taylor, have a will but don’t tell anyone what’s in it. Seriously, keep ‘em all guessing. And add a codicil that in the case of a suspicious death, your money goes to charity, every penny. That’ll show ‘em.
For a trope twist… Forget rich relatives with large estates and consider unique (and more realistic) inheritances. A family’s collection of old cars, coins, train sets, or artsy dioramas could inspire murder. Any special thing that the family owns could be desirable to the one who has no other chance of getting his fair share. People can also “inherit” children, pets, land, family secrets, Great-Grandma’s award-winning recipes, businesses, or a spot on the board. So, think outside the dollars.
#3 Refuse to help the desperate.
Refusing to help someone out is another jerk move along the same lines as threatening to disinherit. How often have you heard a murderer/suspect say, “But I was desperate!”? Desperation isn’t just a trope but a reality for many people. Someone who needs money/drugs/an organ donor and has nowhere else to turn could easily take the murder route for survival. In a mystery series, the person refusing to help often winds up dead because murder solves the problem in the short term. Or the refusal to help inadvertently causes the death of the desperate one when his problem isn’t solved.
Either way, it’s Death by Desperation. And for writers, it’s a cinch finding ways to push desperate people into murder.
For a trope twist… What if a character’s desperation is deceptive? The result of his or her paranoia or a trick to trap someone into “helping.” Or instigate their paranoia, too.
#4 Be a dick to people. Abuse your power.
Watch any mystery series, and you’ll see this trope (maybe more than once). A jerk gets what’s coming to him—and it’s no surprise. It’s the cornerstone trope of Death by a Jerk Move. Usually, within minutes of seeing his or her awfulness in action, you can give a knowing nod, “Yep, there’s the murder victim.” Abusers and bullies rank high on the most-likely-to-be-murdered list.
Death by Practicing Villainy or Death by Dickishness.
In my third Delilah Duffy Mystery, I toyed with this trope, too. I wanted an Agatha Christie-style murder—a poisoned dinner party. In early drafts, I created a villainous character to kill off—a man everyone despised. But once I got into the story, I realized it felt boring and overdone. Wouldn’t it be a more interesting case without an obvious motive? After giving my murder victim a personality makeover by turning him into a well-loved, all-around great guy, I ended up with a better mystery.
So, for a trope twist… do the opposite. Make your villain not so villainous (or make him a secret villain). Or keep the trope and find new and unusual ways to abuse power and be a dick.
And if you want a victim murdered because she abuses her power, remember that power can be abused anywhere from board rooms to classrooms to households to grocery stores. Maybe a good trope twist would be to vilify someone who doesn’t seem so powerful at first glance.
#5 Partake in an at-risk lifestyle.
Certain decisions increase one’s chances of being murdered exponentially. Becoming a drug addict or dealer. Joining a gang. Working the pole at a strip club. Perhaps your intentions are good—to earn quick money for a better purpose like college or taking care of your grandma. But intentions don’t matter. Regardless of how clean, good-hearted, careful, or smart you are, at-risk choices like these put you in the periphery of bad, creepy, disturbed people. And increase your chances of ending up on an episode of Cold Case Files.
This one’s called Death by Bad Decisions. It could also be Death by Surrounding Yourself with Bad People.
From a writer’s point of view, these cases are the toughest to create because they’re the hardest to solve (which is why so many end up on Cold Case Files). With a plethora of unsavory suspects unwilling to talk to investigators for fear of incriminating themselves, answers are elusive.
Course, that doesn’t mean it can’t be done… and done very well.
For a trope twist, perhaps the murder victim joined the club/gang/dealers hoping for protection/to hide from an even larger threat… but the killer found her anyway. It’d be so easy for detectives to get lost in unsavory suspects and avoid the upright ones.
Anyway, this Jerk Trope feeds well into the next…
#6 Cross the wrong jerks.
Joining Death by Bad Decisions, say hello to Death by Bigger Fish. In any criminal hierarchy of power or organized crime, underlings risk getting “taken out” by crossing their higher-ups. And, for that matter, higher-ups risk getting “offed” by their underlings for a better position in the group. Either way, crossing the wrong people often leads to murder.
Death by Bigger Fish is an ironic one because there’s usually a code of ethics within the organization, even though it’s a criminal one—honor among thieves. And with their business entirely motivated by greed, it’s often greed that brings about an individual’s undoing. Live by the sword. Die by the sword.
So, to name a few… Skimming the profits. Doing a little side business. Helping a competitor. Being a snitch. There are many ways to chum the waters and bring the bigger fish calling.
For a trope twist… How about a female-led organization?
#7 Try your hand at blackmail.
Common sense is often shoved aside to make a quick buck. I especially love it in a mystery series when a side character knows a killer’s identity and threatens him with blackmail to stay silent instead of–HELLO--going to the police. News flash—he’s a killer! Why pay out when murder’s worked well for him so far? And why would the blackmailer ever assume he’s safe? Blackmail is Russian roulette, and blackmailers usually get the bullet. Because if it’s a choice between a lifetime of payouts while always fearing loose lips, any decent, determined killer will go with Plan B.
Death by Backfired Plans or Death by Plan B? It’s when a jerk tries to take advantage of another jerk and ends up, well, being out-jerked. Is that a thing?
I’ve used this trope in my mystery series to raise the stakes in an already tricky case. BTW… If you’re thinking of writing a series, too, check out my posts on Pros & Cons and Do’s & Don’ts.
For a trope twist… Make your blackmailer anonymous, and the killer’s paranoia over who it might be lead him to kill the wrong person. Or make your blackmailer smarter in other ways—all too often, the blackmailer fails to have his own Plan B to prevent the killer from coming after him.
#8 Don’t make amends.
Everyone has regrets. A common trope in the mystery series crowd is when past mistakes result in present murder—the victim is murdered for some terrible thing they’ve done for which they’ve shown no remorse or attempt to rectify. And typically, if there’s a criminal aspect to their offense, they’ve been a slippery fish when it comes to justice. They’ve eluded or evaded the system. It’s usually…
Crime against the Innocent + Broken Justice System = An Avenger Taking Matters into Her Own Hands
This one’s also inspired by going outside the mystery series trope — the great Adam Sandler movie Billy Madison. In it, Billy must go back to school to prove he can graduate without his father’s help. He soon realizes he was a jerk and a bully his first time around, so he reaches out to those he hurt to make amends. A phone call to one of his victims, played by Steve Buscemi, gets him stricken from his People to Kill shitlist. Since we soon see that Buscemi’s character is disturbed and hellbent on revenge, making the phone call saves Billy Madison’s life.
But typically, no one bothers to make up for past mistakes, certainly not ones from high school. And never in a mystery series. So, this one’s affectionately called Death by Shitlist.
Children abandoned by terrible parents, avenging a death caused by drunk driving, unresolved anger toward abusers, bullies, and other dickish, unrepentant villains (see #4) could all lead to murder. Time doesn’t heal all wounds. For some, time only solidifies the angry foundation, especially if life is good to the one on the shitlist and not to the list holder. And, for a writer’s bonus, investigating a motive that began decades ago challenges detectives—it’s hard enough getting accurate information in the present. But the fun loophole is that the avenger usually wants the world to know why and getting that confession requires writing ingenuity.
For a trope twist on Death by Shitlist… Maybe the killer warns his victims, giving them a chance to make amends. But they don’t. Or maybe, for one victim, it’s an even more tragic case of mistaken identity.
#9 Have an affair
This trope’s so common I almost forgot to add it… almost. But an episode of Poirot called The Hollow reminded me. If a character needs to be fast-tracked to a body bag, having an affair is a popular and speedy way to do it.
So, say hello and wink, wink to Death by Dalliance.
Betrayal is a keen motivator. And murdering the betrayer can be a knee-jerk reaction done in anger or a longtime plan of revenge. Either way, bitter spouses make great suspects.
But the mistress is a good candidate for murder, too. She could be taken out by an angry wife for being a homewrecker or a cheating husband who can’t let the affair ruin his life. This murder trope drips with deceit, betrayal, and juicy motives.
For a plot twist… Let the “mistress” be a man. Why don’t we have a word for him? Philanderer... according the Poirot description, but that doesn’t seem good enough. Anyway… Or let the betrayed invent a revenge that’s worse than murder.
With 9 different versions of Death by a Jerk Move, ideas should be percolating for your mystery series. But, if you still don’t know where to start, then mix and match. Or put all the tropes in a hat and draw one. It’s a useful game to inspire brainstorming.
Or think of your favorite mysteries. If they used tropes like the ones on this list, perhaps you could, too.
Or, hang tight. My next post–More Ways to Get Murdered–should help.
And try my other posts on mystery story ideas: Petty Crime, Cars, and A Mystery Series Love Story. There’s no shortage of ideas around here, especially not with lots of coffee.
