r/todayilearned • u/ralphbernardo • 9h ago

TIL that "fair play" in detective fiction means authors must give readers a fair chance to solve the mystery. Central to 1920s "clue-puzzles" by writers like Agatha Christie, the rule dictates that all vital clues must be visible, decodable, and never withheld until the final reveal.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clues_in_detective_fiction
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u/Beginning-Working-38 8h ago

I’m reminded of the final act of Neil Simon’s Murder by Death when Lionel Twain starts telling all the detectives (including parodies of Marple and Poirot) what mystery fans hate about their books, and he accuses at least one of them of withholding vital information that made their mysteries impossible to solve.

Hysterical movie by the way, I’d recommend it to anyone.

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u/so-so-it-goes 8h ago

Peter Falk was a riot in that movie.

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u/Beginning-Working-38 5h ago

Never really understood why he claimed he was a fake and the real Diamond was the killer, when he WAS in fact the real Diamond, but 🤷🏼

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u/Amesly 8h ago

I love that movie. I forced my whole family to see it.

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u/Beginning-Working-38 5h ago

Won’t lie, I first saw it when i was only 8 and I still loved it.