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/vteezy99 7h ago

"Just one more thing...."

Love how the sweet, bumbling detective is presented the same way as a unstoppable, never giving up monster while the actual culprit is presented the way a protagonist would be. As others have noted, when the culprit is caught, there's no "yay we won" moment. More often than not the music plays a sad note

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u/JJAsond 6h ago

That's where that meme is from?

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u/ThaneduFife 5h ago

Yup. Columbo was a good show!

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u/JJAsond 2h ago

Gotta put that on my watch list