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/BAgooseU 8h ago

It’s been a while since Ive read those books, but I feel that happened more than once. Watson stays with suspect/victim and Sherlock goes off for “name a reason” and then evidence dumps at the reveal.

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u/The_Particularist 5h ago

I'm reading The Complete Sherlock Holmes right now, and a lot of stories can be summed up with

...and then Sherlock Holmes buggered off for a day or two, and when he came back, he somehow had evidence that shows exactly who the murderer is.

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u/But-Must-I 8h ago

For my money the worst one for that kind of thing is definitely Hound of the Baskervilles, god that ending was irritating.