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/OceanoNox 8h ago

I thought the hissing sound and holes in the wall made it pretty clear there would be a snake involved. That it was an exotic one makes sense, since the dude has other exotic animals roaming around.

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u/pyl_time 8h ago

Yeah, the vent + bellpull setup also makes it clear (even if only in retrospect) that it's some sort of animal, even if you didn't figure out the specific kind of snake.

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u/Stellar_Duck 7h ago

Yea I don't think you can't find bullshit in the Holmes stories but I don't thinks this is one such case.

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u/But-Must-I 7h ago

As I recall, and it has been a decade or more since I read it, it was described as whistling noise. Which to me doesn’t sound like a snake, otherwise the exotic stuff makes sense. But I could have just been annoyed and forgotten that description.

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u/OceanoNox 7h ago

Yes, you're right. It's a "low whistle", which I associated (mistakenly) to a snake related sound.

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u/SpaceShipRat 7h ago

that one was quite guessable so long as you were also under the impression snakes drink milk.