Description of the detective genre. Typical mistakes when writing detective stories

17.04.2019

The detective genre can be called the most popular among all others. People of all ages enjoy being detectives. Intricate plots, investigations and various adventures completely captivate the reader and captivate him. mysterious world. In addition, you can choose a detective story to suit every taste - be it historical, romantic, ironic or political.

Most books in this genre are published in series. For example, stories about Perry Mason, Hercule Poirot, Miss Marple and many others. They take the reader into a world full of surprises, experiences and new adventures.

Foreign detectives are represented by such famous authors, like Agatha Christie, Arthur Conan Doyle, Joanna Khmelevskaya, Erle Stanley Gardner and many others. Among domestic writers You can name Alexandra Marinina, Daria Dontsova, Boris Akunin, the Weiner brothers.

The main feature detective genre is some mysterious incident, the circumstances of which are unknown, but must be clarified. Basically, the incident described is a crime.

A distinctive feature of a detective story is that the reader does not know the real circumstances of the crime until the investigation is completed. The author guides him through the entire process of solving the incident, giving him the opportunity to make certain conclusions himself. If all the facts are described at the beginning of the book, then the work can be attributed to some related genre, but not to a detective story in its pure form.

One more important property The described direction of literature can be called completeness of facts. The result of the investigation is necessarily based on the information that the reader knows. By the time the work is completed, all information must be provided in full. Thus, the reader can find the solution himself. Only small details that do not affect the outcome of revealing the secret can remain hidden. At the end, all questions must be answered, and all riddles must be solved.

Although detectives are considered fiction, but the stories described are often encountered in life.

Some types of detectives

Closed detective. A subgenre that usually most closely follows the canons of the classic detective story. The plot is based on the investigation of a crime committed in a secluded place, where there is a strictly limited set of characters. There can be no stranger in this place, so the crime could only be committed by someone present and the investigation is carried out by someone present at the scene of the crime with the help of the other heroes. Examples of closed detective stories: Agatha Christie “Murder on the Orient Express”, “Ten Little Indians”; Boris Akunin "Leviathan"; Daria Dontsova “The Flying Impostor”; Vladimir Kuzmin “Envelope from Shanghai” (series “The Adventures of Dasha Bestuzheva”).

Psychological detective. This type The detective story may deviate somewhat from the classical canons in terms of the requirement of stereotypical behavior and the typical psychology of the heroes. Usually a crime committed for personal reasons (envy, revenge) is investigated, and the main element of the investigation is the study of the personal characteristics of the suspects, their attachments, pain points, beliefs, prejudices, clarifying the past. Examples of psychological detective stories: Charles Dickens “The Mystery of Edwin Drood”; Fyodor Dostoevsky "Crime and Punishment."

Historical detective is historical work with detective intrigue. The action takes place in the past, or an ancient crime is being investigated in the present. Example: Gilbert Keith Chesterton "Father Brown"; Boris Akunin literary project “The Adventures of Erast Fandorin”; Henry Winterfeld "Detectives in Togas"; Elena Artamonova “The Kingdom of the Living Mummy.”

Ironic detective. The detective investigation is described from a humorous point of view. Often, works written in this vein parody and ridicule the cliches of a detective novel.
Examples: Daria Dontsova (all works); Alexander Kazachinsky “Green Van”; Ioanna Khmelevskaya “Haunted House”, “Treasures”, “Special Merits”, etc.; the “Funny Detective” series, which includes works by various authors.

Fantastic detective. Works at the intersection of science fiction and detective fiction. The action may take place in the future, an alternative present or past, in a completely fictional world. Examples: Stanislav Lem “Investigation”, “Inquiry”; Kir Bulychev cycle “Intergalactic Police” (“Intergpol”); The Strugatsky brothers “Hotel “At the Dead Mountaineer””; Kirsten Miller "Kiki Strike Girl Detective".

Political detective. The main intrigue is built around political events and rivalry between various political or business figures and forces. It often happens that main character is far from politics, however, while investigating a case, he stumbles upon an obstacle from the “powers that be” or uncovers a conspiracy. A distinctive feature of a political detective story is the complete absence of goodies except the main thing. This genre It is not often found in its pure form, but can be an integral part of the work. A classic example of this type is the work of Boris Akunin “State Councilor”; Evgenios Trivizas "The Last Black Cat".

Spy detective. Based on the narrative of the activities of intelligence officers, spies and saboteurs both in wartime and in peacetime on the “invisible front”. In terms of stylistic boundaries, it is very close to political and conspiracy detective stories, and is often combined in the same work. The main difference between a spy detective and a political detective is that in a political detective the most important position is occupied by the political basis of the case under investigation, while in a spy detective the attention is focused on intelligence work (surveillance, sabotage, etc.).

A conspiracy detective can be considered a variety of both a spy and a political detective. The authors, moving towards solving the crime, build a narrative line into the historical past, which appears to be criminal, dominated by a certain secret society.

Examples of spy detective stories: Agatha Christie's "Cat Among Pigeons"; Boris Akunin " Turkish gambit"; Dmitry Medvedev “It was near Rovno”; Yulian Semyonov “Seventeen Moments of Spring”; Valery Ronshin "The Secret of Marshmallows in Chocolate."

Police detective. Describes the work of a team of professionals. In works of this type, the main detective character is either absent or only marginally higher in importance compared to the rest of the team. In terms of the authenticity of the plot, it is closest to reality and, accordingly, deviates to the greatest extent from the canons of the pure detective genre. The professional routine is described in detail with details that are not directly related to the plot, there is a significant proportion of accidents and coincidences, the presence of informants in the criminal environment plays a large role, the criminal often remains unnamed and unknown until the very end of the investigation, and can also evade punishment due to the negligence of the investigation or lack of direct evidence.
Examples: Ed McBain's "87th Precinct" series; Yulian Semenov “Petrovka 38”, “Ogareva 6”.

"Cool" detective. Most often it is described as a lone detective, a man of 35-40 years old, or a small detective agency. In works of this type, the main character confronts almost the entire world: organized crime, corrupt politicians, corrupt police. The main features are the maximum action of the hero, his “coolness”, the vile world around him and the honesty of the main character. Examples: Dashiell Hammett's Continental series detective agency– considered the founder of the genre; Raymond Chandler "Farewell, Sweetheart", "High Window", "The Woman in the Lake"; James Hadley Chase “There Will Be No Witnesses”, “The Whole World in Your Pocket”, etc.

The detective story is a recognized leader among the genres of modern children's literature. And although he is pressed on all sides by fantasy and “virtual” adventures, the children’s detective story continues to live and develop rapidly, despite its advanced age.

Among the creators of children's detective stories there are also quite venerable writers. For example, Erich Kästner, author of the story “Emil and the Detectives”, Astrid Lindgren, who wrote books about the super detective Kalle Blomkvist, Anatoly Rybakov with his famous “Dirk”.

Among the authors of modern children's detective stories are Valery Ronshin, Ekaterina Vilmont, Elena Matveeva, Anton Ivanov, Anna Ustinova, Alexey Birger, Sergey Silin, Valery Gusev, Vladimir Averin, Galina Gordienko, Andrey Grushkin, and this list is far from complete. To the authors of children's detective stories we can add the master of this genre, Boris Akunin, who published the detective story "Children's Book" and adapted his "adult" novels for children.

Varieties of children's detective stories there are many: everyday and historical detective stories, mystical (“horror stories”) and fairy tales (their heroes are characters from Russian folklore).

For example, we can cite the series: “Black Kitten” (Elena Artamonova “Fun from the Stone Age”, Valery Gusev “Agent Number One”, etc.); “Detective Agency” (Anton Ivanov, Anna Ustinova “The Mystery of the Black Widow”, “The Mystery of the Missing Academician”, etc.); “Abbey Mysteries” (Cherith Baldry “The Spell of the Monastery Cauldron”, “The Secret of the Royal Sword”, “The Cross of King Arthur”); “Detective + Love” (Ekaterina Vilmont “It’s Hard to Be Brave”, “In Search of Treasures”, etc.), etc.

An essential feature of the detective story is that the actual circumstances of the incident are not communicated to the reader, at least in its entirety, until the investigation is completed. Instead, the reader is led by the author through the investigative process, given the opportunity at each stage to build their own versions and evaluate known facts. If the work initially describes all the details of the incident, or the incident does not contain anything unusual or mysterious, then it should no longer be classified as a pure detective story, but rather among related genres (action film, police novel, etc.).

Features of the genre

An important property of a classic detective story is the completeness of facts. The solution to the mystery cannot be based on information that was not provided to the reader during the description of the investigation. By the time the investigation is completed, the reader should have enough information to use it to find a solution on their own. Only certain minor details may be hidden that do not affect the possibility of revealing the secret. At the end of the investigation, all mysteries must be solved, all questions must be answered.

Several more signs of a classic detective story were collectively named by N. N. Volsky hyperdeterminism of the detective's world(“the world of a detective is much more orderly than the life around us”):

Ordinary surroundings. The conditions in which the events of the detective story take place are generally common and well known to the reader (in any case, the reader himself believes that he is confident in them). Thanks to this, it is initially obvious to the reader which of what is described is ordinary and which is strange, beyond the scope.
Stereotypical behavior of characters. The characters are largely devoid of originality, their psychology and behavioral patterns are quite transparent, predictable, and if they have any distinctive features, they become known to the reader. The motives for the actions (including the motives for the crime) of the characters are also stereotypical.
The existence of a priori rules for constructing a plot that do not always correspond real life. So, for example, in a classic detective story, the narrator and detective, in principle, cannot turn out to be criminals.

This set of features narrows the field of possible logical constructions based on known facts, making it easier for the reader to analyze them. However, not all detective subgenres follow these rules exactly.

Another limitation is noted, which is almost always followed by a classic detective story - the inadmissibility of random errors and undetectable coincidences. For example, in real life, a witness can tell the truth, he can lie, he can be mistaken or misled, but he can also simply make an unmotivated mistake (accidentally mix up dates, amounts, names). In a detective story, the last possibility is excluded - the witness is either accurate, or lying, or his mistake has a logical justification.

Eremey Parnov points out the following features of the classic detective genre:

Typical characters

Detective - directly involved in the investigation. The most can act as a detective different people: law enforcement officers, private detectives, relatives, friends, acquaintances of the victims, sometimes completely random people. The detective cannot turn out to be a criminal. The figure of the detective is central to the detective story.
- A professional detective is a law enforcement officer. Can be a very expert high level, and maybe an ordinary police officer, of which there are many. In the second case in difficult situations sometimes seeks advice from a consultant (see below).
- A private detective - crime investigation is his main job, but he does not serve in the police, although he may be a retired police officer. As a rule, he is extremely highly qualified, active and energetic. Most often, a private detective becomes a central figure, and to emphasize his qualities, professional detectives can be brought into action, who constantly make mistakes, succumb to the provocations of the criminal, get on the wrong trail and suspect the innocent. The contrast “a lonely hero against a bureaucratic organization and its officials” is used, in which the sympathies of the author and the reader are on the side of the hero.
- An amateur detective is the same as a private detective, with the only difference being that investigating crimes for him is not a profession, but a hobby that he turns to only from time to time. A separate subtype of amateur detective - random person, who has never engaged in such activities, but is forced to conduct an investigation due to urgent necessity, for example, to save an unjustly accused loved one or to divert suspicion from oneself (this is exactly what the main characters of all Dick Francis’s novels are). The amateur detective brings the investigation closer to the reader, allowing him to create the impression that “I could figure this out too.” One of the conventions of detective series with amateur detectives (like Miss Marple) is that in real life a person, unless he is professionally involved in crime investigation, is unlikely to encounter such a number of crimes and mysterious incidents.
A criminal commits a crime, covers his tracks, tries to counteract the investigation. In a classic detective story, the figure of the criminal is clearly identified only at the end of the investigation; up to this point, the criminal can be a witness, suspect or victim. Sometimes the actions of the criminal are described during the course of the main action, but in such a way as not to reveal his identity and not to provide the reader with information that could not be obtained during the investigation from other sources.
The victim is the one against whom the crime is directed or the one who suffered as a result of a mysterious incident. One of the standard options for a detective story is that the victim himself turns out to be a criminal.
A witness is a person who has any information about the subject of the investigation. The criminal is often first shown in the description of the investigation as one of the witnesses.
A detective's companion is a person who is constantly in contact with the detective, participating in the investigation, but does not have the abilities and knowledge of the detective. He can provide technical assistance in the investigation, but his main task is to more clearly show the outstanding abilities of the detective against the background of the average level ordinary person. In addition, the companion is needed to ask the detective questions and listen to his explanations, giving the reader the opportunity to follow the detective's train of thought and draw attention to certain points that the reader himself might miss. Classic examples of such companions are Dr. Watson from Conan Doyle and Arthur Hastings from Agatha Christie.
A consultant is a person who has strong abilities to conduct an investigation, but is not directly involved in it. In detective stories, where a separate figure of the consultant stands out, she may be the main one (for example, the journalist Ksenofontov in the detective stories of Viktor Pronin), or she may simply turn out to be an occasional adviser (for example, the teacher of the detective to whom he turns for help).
Assistant - does not conduct the investigation himself, but provides the detective and/or consultant with information that he obtains himself. For example, a forensic expert.
Suspect - as the investigation progresses, an assumption arises that it was he who committed the crime. Authors deal with suspects in different ways; one of the frequently practiced principles is “none of those immediately suspected is a real criminal,” that is, everyone who comes under suspicion turns out to be innocent, and the real criminal turns out to be the one who was not suspected of anything. . However, not all authors follow this principle. In Agatha Christie's detective stories, for example, Miss Marple repeatedly says that "in life, it is usually the one who is suspected first that is the criminal."

Detective story

The first works of the detective genre are usually considered to be the stories of Edgar Poe, written in the 1840s, but elements of the detective story have been used by many authors before. For example, in the novel by William Godwin (-) “The Adventures of Caleb Williams” () one of central characters- amateur detective. The “Notes” of E. Vidocq, published in. also had a great influence on the development of detective literature. However, it was Edgar Poe who created, according to Eremey Parnov, the first Great Detective - the amateur detective Dupin from the story “Murder in the Rue Morgue.” Dupin subsequently gave birth to Sherlock Holmes and Father Brown (Chesterton), Lecoq (Gaborio) and Mr. Cuff (Wilkie Collins). It was Edgar Poe who introduced into the detective story the idea of rivalry in solving a crime between a private detective and the official police, in which the private detective, as a rule, gains the upper hand.

The detective genre becomes popular in England after the release of W. Collins’s novels “The Woman in White” () and “The Moonstone” (). In the novels “The Hand of Wilder” () and “Checkmate” () by the Irish writer Ch. Le Fanu, a detective story is combined with a gothic novel. The golden age of the detective story in England is considered to be the 30s - 70s. 20th century. It was at this time that classic detective novels by Agatha Christie, F. Beading and other authors were published who influenced the development of the genre as a whole.

The founder of the French detective story is E. Gaboriau, the author of a series of novels about the detective Lecoq. Stevenson imitated Gaboriau in his detective stories (especially The Rajah's Diamond).

Twenty rules for writing detective stories

In 1928 English writer Willard Hattington, better known by his pen name Stephen Van Dyne, published his set of literary rules, calling it "20 Rules for Writing Mysteries":

2. In relation to the reader, only such tricks and deception are allowed that a criminal can use in relation to the detective.

3. Love is forbidden. The story should be a game of tag, not between lovers, but between a detective and a criminal.

4. Neither a detective nor another person professionally involved in the investigation can be a criminal.

5. Logical conclusions must lead to exposure. Accidental or unfounded confessions are not permitted.

6. A detective story cannot lack a detective who methodically searches for incriminating evidence, as a result of which he comes to a solution to the riddle.

7. The obligatory crime in a detective story is murder.

8. In solving a given mystery, everything must be excluded supernatural powers and circumstances.

9. There can only be one detective in the story - the reader cannot compete with three or four members of the relay team at once.

10. The criminal must be one of the most or less significant characters, well known to the reader.

11. An unacceptably cheap solution in which one of the servants is the criminal.

12. Although the criminal may have an accomplice, the story should mainly be about the capture of one person.

13. Secret or criminal communities have no place in a detective story.

14. The method of committing the murder and the investigation methodology must be reasonable and justified with scientific point vision.

15. For a savvy reader, the solution should be obvious.

16. In a detective story there is no place for literary flair, descriptions of painstakingly developed characters, or colorization of the situation using the means of fiction.

17. Under no circumstances can a criminal be a professional villain.

19. The motive for the crime is always of a private nature; it cannot be an espionage action, seasoned with any international intrigues or motives of the secret services.

The decade that followed the promulgation of the terms of the Van Dyne Convention finally discredited the detective story as a genre of literature. It is no coincidence that we know the detectives of previous eras well and every time we turn to their experience. But we can hardly, without looking into reference books, name the names of figures from the “Twenty Rules” clan. The modern Western detective story developed in spite of Van Dyne, refuting point after point, overcoming self-inflicted limitations. One paragraph (a detective should not be a criminal!), however, survived, although it was violated several times by the cinema. This is a reasonable prohibition, because it protects the very specificity of the detective story, its core line... modern novel we won’t see any trace of the “Rules”...

The Ten Commandments of a Detective Novel by Ronald Knox

Ronald Knox, one of the founders of the Detective Club, also proposed his own rules for writing detective stories:

I. The criminal should be someone mentioned at the beginning of the novel, but it should not be a person whose train of thought the reader was allowed to follow.

II. The action of supernatural or otherworldly forces is excluded as a matter of course.

III. The use of more than one secret room or secret passage is not permitted.

IV. It is unacceptable to use hitherto unknown poisons, as well as devices that require a long scientific explanation at the end of the book.

V. The work must not include a Chinese person.

VI. A detective should never be helped by a lucky chance; he should also not be guided by unconscious but correct intuition.

VII. A detective should not turn out to be a criminal himself.

VIII. Having come across one or another clue, the detective is obliged to immediately present it to the reader for study.

IX. The detective's stupid friend, Watson in one guise or another, should not hide any of the considerations that come to his mind; in their own way mental abilities it should yield a little - but only a little - to the average reader.

X. Indistinguishable twin brothers and doubles in general cannot appear in a novel unless the reader is properly prepared for this.

Some types of detectives

Closed detective

A subgenre that usually most closely follows the canons of the classic detective story. The plot is based on the investigation of a crime committed in a secluded place, where there is a strictly limited set of characters. There could be no one else in this place, so the crime could only have been committed by someone present. The investigation is conducted by someone at the scene of the crime with the help of other heroes.

This type of detective story is different in that the plot, in principle, eliminates the need to search for an unknown criminal. There are suspects, and the detective’s job is to obtain as much information as possible about the participants in the events, on the basis of which it will be possible to identify the criminal. Additional psychological tension is created by the fact that the criminal must be one of the well-known, nearby people, none of whom, usually, resemble the criminal. Sometimes in a closed-type detective story a whole series of crimes occurs (usually murders), as a result of which the number of suspects is constantly reduced. Examples of closed-type detectives:

Cyril Hare, A Very English Murder.
Agatha Christie, Ten Little Indians, Murder on the Orient Express.
Boris Akunin, “Leviathan” (signed by the author as a “hermetic detective”).
Leonid Slovin, "An additional one arrives on the second path."

Psychological detective

This type of detective story may deviate somewhat from the classical canons in terms of the requirement for stereotypical behavior and the typical psychology of the heroes. Usually a crime committed for personal reasons (envy, revenge) is investigated, and the main element of the investigation is the study of the personal characteristics of the suspects, their attachments, pain points, beliefs, prejudices, and clarification of the past. There is a school of French psychological detective.

Dostoevsky, Fyodor, “Crime and Punishment”.
Boileau - Narcejac, “She-Wolf”, “The One Who Wasn’t”, “Sea Gate”, “Outlining the Heart”.
Japrisot, Sébastien, "A lady with glasses and a gun in a car."
Calef, Noel, "Elevator to the Scaffold".
Ball, John, "On a Stifling Night in Carolina."

Historical detective

Main article: Historical detective

A historical work with detective intrigue. The action takes place in the past, or an ancient crime is being investigated in the present.

Boileau-Narcejac "In the Enchanted Forest"
Queen, Ellery "The Unknown Manuscript of Dr. Watson"
Boris Akunin, Literary project “The Adventures of Erast Fandorin”
Leonid Yuzefovich, Literary project about detective Putilin
Alexander Bushkov, The Adventures of Alexey Bestuzhev

Ironic detective

The detective investigation is described from a humorous point of view. Often works written in this vein parody and ridicule the cliches of a detective novel.

Varshavsky, Ilya, “The robbery will happen at midnight”
Kaganov, Leonid, "Major Bogdamir saves money"
Kozachinsky, Alexander, "Green Van"
Westlake, Donald, "The Cursed Emerald" ( hot pebble), "The Bank That Gurgled"
Ioanna Khmelevskaya (most works)
Daria Dontsova (all works)
Yene Reite (all works)

Fantastic detective

Works at the intersection of science fiction and detective fiction. The action can take place in the future, an alternative present or past, or in a completely fictional world.

Lem, Stanislav, "Investigation", "Inquiry"
Russell, Eric Frank, "The Routine Job", "The Wasp"
Holm van Zaitchik, cycle " Bad people No"
Kir Bulychev, cycle “Intergalactic Police” (“Intergpol”)
Isaac Asimov, series Lucky Starr - space ranger, Detective Elijah Bailey and robot Daniel Olivo
John Brunner, Chess City Squares The Squares of the City, ; Russian translation - )
Strugatsky Brothers, Hotel "At the Dead Mountaineer"
Cook, Glenn, a series of fantasy detective stories about detective Garrett
Randall Garrett, a fantasy detective series about detective Lord Darcy
Boris Akunin "Children's book"
Kluger, Daniel, fantasy detective series “Magical Matters”
Harry Tortledove - The Case of the Toxic Spell Dump

Political detective

One of the genres quite far from the classic detective story. The main intrigue is built around political events and rivalry between various political or business figures and forces. It also often happens that the main character himself is far from politics, however, while investigating a case, he comes across an obstacle to the investigation from the “powers that be” or uncovers some kind of conspiracy. Distinctive feature political detective is (although not necessarily) the possible absence of completely positive characters, except for the main one. This genre is rarely found in its pure form, but can be an integral part of the work.

Levashov, Victor, “Conspiracy of Patriots”
Adam Hall, "Berlin Memorandum" (Quiller Memorandum)
Fletcher Niebel, "Seven Days in May"
Nikolai Svechin, "The Tsar Hunt", "Demon of the Underworld"

Spy detective

Based on the narrative of the activities of intelligence officers, spies and saboteurs both in wartime and in peacetime on the “invisible front”. In terms of stylistic boundaries, it is very close to political and conspiracy detective stories, and is often combined in the same work. The main difference between a spy detective and a political detective is that in a political detective the most important position is occupied by the political basis of the case under investigation and antagonistic conflicts, while in a spy detective the attention is focused on intelligence work (surveillance, sabotage, etc.). A conspiracy detective can be considered a variety of both spy and political detective

Agatha Christie, "Cat Among the Pigeons"
John Boynton Priestley, "Mist over Gretley" (1942)
James Grady, "Six Days of the Condor"
Dmitry Medvedev, “It was near Rovno”
Nikolay Daleky, “The Practice of Sergei Rubtsov”

Police detective

Describes the work of a team of professionals. In works of this type, the main detective character is either absent or only marginally higher in importance compared to the rest of the team. In terms of the authenticity of the plot, it is closest to reality and, accordingly, deviates to the greatest extent from the canons of the pure detective genre (the professional routine is described in detail with details not directly related to the plot, there is a significant proportion of accidents and coincidences, the presence of informants in criminal and near-criminal environment, the offender often remains unnamed and unknown until the very end of the investigation, and can also evade punishment due to negligence of the investigation or lack of direct evidence).

Schöwall and Vale, a series of novels about members of the homicide department led by Martin Beck
Yulian Semyonov, “Petrovka, 38”, “Ogareva, 6”
Kivinov, Andrey Vladimirovich, “Nightmare on Stachek Street” and subsequent works.

"Cool" detective

Most often it is described as a lone detective, a man of about thirty-five to forty years old, or a small detective agency. In works of this type, the main character confronts almost the entire world: organized crime, corrupt politicians, corrupt police. The main features are the maximum action of the hero, his “coolness”, the vile world around him and the honesty of the main character. The best samples The genre is psychological and contains signs of serious literature - for example, the works of Raymond Chandler.

Dashiell Hammett, a series about the Continental Detective Agency, “Bloody Harvest” - is considered the founder of the genre.
Raymond Chandler, "Farewell, Sweetheart", "High Window", "The Woman in the Lake".
Ross Macdonald - many works.
Chester Haymes, Run, Negro, Run.

Crime detective

Events are described from the point of view of the criminal, and not from the people looking for him. Classic example: Jim Thompson's "The Killer in Me"

James Hadley Chase - "The Whole World in Your Pocket"

Detective in the cinema

The detective story focuses on the actions of a detective, private investigator, or novice sleuth as he explores the mysterious circumstances of a crime through clues, investigation, and skillful deductions. Successful Detective film often conceals the identity of the criminal until the end of the story, and then adds an element of surprise to the process of arresting the suspect. However, the opposite is also possible. So, business card The Columbo series began to demonstrate events from the point of view of both the detective and the criminal.

Suspense is often retained as an important part of the plot. This can be done through the use of a soundtrack, camera angles, shadow play and unexpected plot twists. Alfred Hitchcock used all of these techniques, occasionally allowing the viewer to enter a state of foreboding danger and then choosing the most opportune moment for dramatic effect.

Detective stories have proven to be a good choice for a movie script. The detective is often strong character with strong leadership qualities, and the plot may include elements of drama, suspense, personal growth, ambiguous and unexpected distinctive features character.

At least until the 1980s, women in crime fiction often played a dual role, having a relationship with the detective and often filling the role of "woman in danger." The women in those films are often resourceful individuals, being self-confident, determined and often two-faced. They can serve as an element of suspense as helpless victims.

Aphorisms about a detective

Thanks to the criminals World culture enriched by the detective genre.
If you don’t know what to write, write: “A man walked in with a revolver in his hand.”(Raymond Chandler)
The slower the investigator, the longer the detective story. (

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1) The reader should have equal opportunities with the detective to solve the mystery of the crime. All clues must be clearly identified and described.

2) The reader cannot be deliberately deceived or misled, except in cases where he and the detective follow all the rules fair play the criminal is deceiving.

3) There should not be in the novel love line. We are talking about bringing the criminal into the hands of justice, and not about uniting yearning lovers with the bonds of Hymen.

4) Neither the detective himself nor any of the official investigators should turn out to be a criminal. This is tantamount to outright deception - the same as if they slipped us a shiny copper coin instead of a gold coin. Fraud is fraud.

5) The criminal must be discovered deductive method– with the help of logical conclusions, and not due to chance, coincidence or unmotivated recognition. After all, choosing this last way, the author quite deliberately leads the reader along a deliberately false trail, and when he returns empty-handed, he calmly reports that all this time the solution was in his, the author’s, pocket. Such an author is no better than a fan of primitive practical jokes.

6) A detective novel must have a detective, and a detective is only a detective when he tracks and investigates. His task is to collect evidence that will serve as a clue and ultimately point to who did it. low crime in the first chapter. The detective builds his chain of reasoning based on the analysis of the collected evidence, otherwise he is likened to a careless schoolboy who, having not solved the problem, copies the answer from the back of the problem book.

7) You simply cannot do without corpses in a detective novel, and the more naturalistic the corpse, the better. Only the murder makes the novel interesting enough. Who would read three hundred pages with excitement if we were talking about a less serious crime! In the end, the reader should be rewarded for their trouble and energy.

8) The mystery of the crime must be revealed in a purely materialistic way. Such methods of establishing the truth as divination, seances, reading other people's thoughts, fortune telling, etc., etc. are completely unacceptable. The reader has some chance of being as smart as a detective who thinks rationally, but if he is forced to compete with the spirits of the other world, he is doomed to defeat ab initio.

9) There should be only one detective, that is, only one main character of deduction, only one deus ex machina. To mobilize the minds of three, four, or even an entire squad of detectives to solve a crime means not only to distract the reader’s attention and break the direct logical thread, but also to unfairly put the reader at a disadvantage. If there is more than one detective, the reader does not know which one he is competing with in terms of deductive reasoning. It's like forcing the reader to race a relay team.

10) The criminal should be a character who played a more or less noticeable role in the novel, that is, a character who is familiar and interesting to the reader.

11) The author should not make a servant a murderer. This is too easy a solution; choosing it means avoiding difficulties. The criminal must be a person of a certain dignity - one who does not usually attract suspicion.

12) No matter how many murders are committed in a novel, there must be only one criminal. Of course, the criminal may have an assistant or accomplice, but the entire burden of guilt must lie on the shoulders of one person. The reader must be given the opportunity to concentrate all the fervor of his indignation on one single black character.

13) In a true detective novel, secret gangster societies, all sorts of Camorras and mafias are inappropriate. After all, an exciting and truly beautiful murder will be irreparably spoiled if it turns out that the blame falls on an entire criminal company. Of course, a murderer in a detective story should be given hope of salvation, but allowing him to resort to the help of a secret society is going too far. No top-notch, self-respecting assassin needs such an advantage.

14) The method of murder and the means of solving the crime must meet the criteria of rationality and science. In other words, pseudoscientific, hypothetical and purely fantastic devices cannot be introduced into a detective novel. As soon as the author soars, in the manner of Jules Verne, into fantastic heights, he finds himself outside the detective genre and frolics in the uncharted expanses of the adventure genre.

15) At any moment, the solution should be obvious - provided that the reader has enough insight to figure it out. By this is meant the following: if the reader, having reached the explanation of how the crime was committed, re-reads the book, he will see that the solution, so to speak, lay on the surface, that is, all the evidence actually pointed to the culprit, and, even if he, the reader , as smart as a detective, he would be able to solve the mystery on his own, long before last chapter. Needless to say, a savvy reader often reveals it this way.

16) In a detective novel, long descriptions, literary digressions and side themes, sophisticated character analysis and recreation of atmosphere are inappropriate. All these things are unimportant to the story of the crime and its logical solution. They only delay the action and introduce elements that have nothing to do with the main goal, which is to present the problem, analyze it and bring it to a successful solution. Of course, a novel should include enough description and well-defined characters to give it credibility.

17) The blame for committing a crime should not fall on a professional criminal. Crimes committed by burglars or bandits are investigated by the police department, not by a mystery writer and brilliant amateur detectives. A truly exciting crime is one committed by a pillar of the church or an old maid known to be a philanthropist.

18) A crime in a detective novel should not turn out to be suicide or an accident. To end a tracking odyssey with such a drop in tension is to fool the gullible and kind reader.

19) All crimes in detective novels must be committed for personal reasons. International conspiracies and military policy are the property of something completely different literary genre– for example, a spy or action novel. A detective novel should remain within a cozy, homely framework. It should reflect the reader's daily experiences and, in a sense, give vent to his own repressed desires and emotions.

20) And finally, the last point: a list of some techniques that no self-respecting author of detective novels will now use. They have been overused and are well known to all true lovers of literary crime. To resort to them means to admit your incompetence as a writer and lack of originality.

a) Identification of the criminal by a cigarette butt left at the crime scene.

b) The device of the imaginary seance in order to scare the criminal and force him to give himself away.

c) Forgery of fingerprints.

d) An imaginary alibi provided by a mannequin.

e) A dog that does not bark and therefore allows one to conclude that the intruder was not a stranger.

f) At the end of the day, placing the blame for the crime on a twin brother or other relative who is like two peas in a pod like the suspect, but is an innocent person.

g) Hypodermic syringe and drug mixed into wine.

h) Committing a murder in a locked room after the police broke in.

i) Establishing guilt using psychological test naming words by free association.

j) The mystery of a code or encrypted letter, eventually solved by a detective.

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Of course, Miss Marple, Hercule Poirot and Sherlock Holmes will forever remain in our hearts, but in modern films there are many worthy detectives who bravely deal with criminal plans. If you like to puzzle over riddles and... unexpected turns plot, then this selection is for you.

website has collected modern detective films that will appeal to everyone who loves solving mysteries and watching the solution of seemingly perfectly thought-out crimes.

Seven

Powerful cast, a deep plot and a wildly twisted game of cat and mouse. The movie is about how frightening the world around us has become and how accustomed we are to what is happening. This is the film after which you sit for some time, looking at the now black screen, and reflect on what you saw, unable to utter a word.

A game

David Fincher, like no one else, knows how to create an intriguing atmosphere in a film, playing with the viewer, confusing and teasing him in every possible way. And at the very end, when the tension has already reached its limit, he finishes it off with fantastic endings.

Grand Budapest Hotel

Wes Anderson's signature style: otherworldly characters, superb settings and meticulous attention to detail. This film is not at all as frivolous as it might seem at first glance. And the more thoughtfully you look, the more interesting things open up.

Oldboy

This film has been called the Asian reaction to Kill Bill. Finding himself in captivity, the main character gradually turns himself into a fighting machine in order to take revenge on those who encroached on his freedom. This film has everything that an excellent detective film should: a crime, an exciting investigation and an unpredictable outcome that turns out to be much less canonical than you might expect.

Time to kill

When you watch this film, you want to pick up a notepad and write down every dialogue - they are so gorgeous. The movie will leave behind many questions. You will think about whether a crime should always be followed by punishment and whether it should even be considered a crime if we're talking about about fair retribution.

Sleepy Hollow

A young constable is sent to a place called Sleepy Hollow to investigate a series of mysterious murders. Great combination fantasy and detective. The dark and mysterious color scheme of the film fits perfectly with the story and location and fills the film with a special atmosphere and spirit.

Silence of the Lambs

This movie is an alarming and frightening journey through a tangled labyrinth of hidden phobias, human weaknesses and darkness of the soul. If you want to get rid of nightmares, go not to a highly paid psychotherapist, but to the most remote prison room, where the best psychologist in the area, the cannibal intellectual Hannibal Lecter, sees you.

Obsession

A young man unexpectedly meets his ex-lover, who disappeared several years ago under mysterious circumstances. And now the hero is doing everything to track her down. Constant plot twists lead to delight, and sometimes even to bewilderment, gradually forming into a single picture and clarifying the meaning only at the very end.

Substitution

The chic atmosphere of Los Angeles of the 1920s will add an indescribable mood to the viewing experience. And the more you watch the development of the plot, the more clearly you will feel as if dozens of small hammers are pounding on your nerves, not allowing you to relax, forcing you to doubt and make new and new assumptions.

Sherlock Holmes

Surprisingly, Guy Ritchie's Holmes is not so far from the literary original. An adventurer and mischief-maker with an absolutely inexhaustible curiosity about the world - this character, oddly enough, is closer than many others to the real Sherlock. Of course, we no longer see the traditional felt cap and do not hear our favorite phrase about Watson - but attractive muscles and a great sense of humor have appeared.

Primal fear

Charming Richard Gere as a lawyer and the still little-known Norton, who is already making an impression with his performance. The plot unfolds in court and the dynamics and sharpness of the dialogues make even “A Time to Kill” stand aside. Until the very last frames, you will remain in doubt as to who is really guilty here. Perhaps one of the best films in its genre.

Red rivers

Kassovitz managed to create the proper level of suspense and an ominous atmosphere. In this he was helped by the performances of Jean Reno and Vincent Cassel, as well as the alpine landscapes, which maintain a gloomy mood throughout the film. The movie is shot quite cheerfully - you won't get bored. One of the most successfully constructed detective stories.

Prestige

The feeling of rivalry between two magicians is conveyed here so completely that it seems as if you yourself are starting to come up with something to beat your opponents. This film is an amazing combination of fascination and tragedy, realism and entertainment, masterful staging and beauty. And the trick was as successful as ever - intense curiosity will not leave until the very end.

The main feature of a detective story as a genre is the presence in the work of a certain mysterious incident, the circumstances of which are unknown and must be clarified. The most frequently described incident is a crime, although there are detective stories in which events that are not criminal are investigated (for example, in The Notes of Sherlock Holmes, which certainly belongs to the detective genre, in five stories out of eighteen there are no crimes).
An essential feature of the detective story is that the actual circumstances of the incident are not communicated to the reader, at least in its entirety, until the investigation is completed. Instead, the reader is led by the author through the investigative process, given the opportunity at each stage to construct their own versions and evaluate known facts. If the work initially describes all the details of the incident, or the incident does not contain anything unusual or mysterious, then it should no longer be classified as a pure detective story, but rather among related genres (action film, police novel, etc.).

Typical characters

Detective - directly involved in the investigation. A variety of people can act as detectives: law enforcement officers, private detectives, relatives, friends, acquaintances of the victims, and sometimes completely random people. The detective cannot turn out to be a criminal. The figure of the detective is central to the detective story.
A professional detective is a law enforcement officer. He may be a very high-level expert, or he may be an ordinary police officer, of which there are many. In the second case, in difficult situations, he sometimes seeks advice from a consultant (see below).
A private detective - crime investigation is his main job, but he does not serve in the police, although he may be a retired police officer. As a rule, he is extremely highly qualified, active and energetic. Most often, a private detective becomes a central figure, and to emphasize his qualities, professional detectives can be brought into action, who constantly make mistakes, succumb to the provocations of the criminal, get on the wrong trail and suspect the innocent. The contrast “a lonely hero against a bureaucratic organization and its officials” is used, in which the sympathies of the author and the reader are on the side of the hero.
An amateur detective is the same as a private detective, with the only difference being that investigating crimes for him is not a profession, but a hobby that he turns to only from time to time. A separate subtype of amateur detective is a random person who has never engaged in such activities, but is forced to conduct an investigation due to urgent necessity, for example, to save an unjustly accused loved one or to divert suspicion from himself. The amateur detective brings the investigation closer to the reader, allowing him to create the impression that “I could figure this out too.” One of the conventions of detective series with amateur detectives (like Miss Marple) is that in real life a person, unless he is professionally involved in crime investigation, is unlikely to encounter such a number of crimes and mysterious incidents.
A criminal commits a crime, covers his tracks, tries to counteract the investigation. In a classic detective story, the figure of the criminal is clearly identified only at the end of the investigation; up to this point, the criminal can be a witness, suspect or victim. Sometimes the actions of the criminal are described during the course of the main action, but in such a way as not to reveal his identity and not to provide the reader with information that could not be obtained during the investigation from other sources.
The victim is the one against whom the crime is directed or the one who suffered as a result of a mysterious incident. One of the standard options for a detective story is that the victim himself turns out to be a criminal.
A witness is a person who has any information about the subject of the investigation. The criminal is often first shown in the description of the investigation as one of the witnesses.
A detective's companion is a person who is constantly in contact with the detective, participating in the investigation, but does not have the abilities and knowledge of the detective. He can provide technical assistance in the investigation, but his main task is to more clearly show the detective’s outstanding abilities against the background of the average level of an ordinary person. In addition, the companion is needed to ask the detective questions and listen to his explanations, giving the reader the opportunity to follow the detective's train of thought and draw attention to certain points that the reader himself might miss. Classic examples of such companions are Dr. Watson from Conan Doyle and Arthur Hastings from Agatha Christie.
A consultant is a person who has strong abilities to conduct an investigation, but is not directly involved in it. In detective stories, where a separate figure of the consultant stands out, she may be the main one (for example, the journalist Ksenofontov in the detective stories of Viktor Pronin), or she may simply turn out to be an occasional adviser (for example, the teacher of the detective to whom he turns for help).
Assistant - does not conduct the investigation himself, but provides the detective and/or consultant with information that he obtains himself. For example, a forensic expert.
Suspect - as the investigation progresses, an assumption arises that it was he who committed the crime. The authors deal with suspects in different ways; one of the frequently practiced principles is “none of those immediately suspected is a real criminal,” that is, everyone who comes under suspicion turns out to be innocent, and the real criminal turns out to be the one who was not suspected of anything. However, not all authors follow this principle. In Agatha Christie's detective stories, for example, Miss Marple repeatedly says that “in life, it is usually the one who is suspected first that is the criminal.”

Twenty rules for writing a detective story

In 1928, the English writer Willard Hattington, better known by his pseudonym Stephen Van Dyne, published his set of literary rules, calling it “20 Rules for Writing Mysteries”:

1. It is necessary to provide the reader with equal opportunities to unravel the mysteries as the detective, for which purpose it is necessary to clearly and accurately report all incriminating traces.
2. In relation to the reader, only such tricks and deception are allowed that a criminal can use in relation to the detective.
3. Love is forbidden. The story should be a game of tag, not between lovers, but between a detective and a criminal.
4. Neither a detective nor another person professionally involved in the investigation can be a criminal.
5. Logical conclusions must lead to exposure. Accidental or unfounded confessions are not permitted.
6. A detective story cannot lack a detective who methodically searches for incriminating evidence, as a result of which he comes to a solution to the riddle.
7. The obligatory crime in a detective story is murder.
8. In solving a given mystery, all supernatural forces and circumstances must be excluded.
9. There can only be one detective in the story - the reader cannot compete with three or four members of the relay team at once.
10. The criminal should be one of the most or less significant characters well known to the reader.
11. An unacceptably cheap solution in which one of the servants is the criminal.
12. Although the criminal may have an accomplice, the story should mainly be about the capture of one person.
13. Secret or criminal communities have no place in a detective story.
14. The method of committing the murder and the investigation technique must be reasonable and scientifically sound.
15. For a savvy reader, the solution should be obvious.
16. In a detective story there is no place for literary flair, descriptions of painstakingly developed characters, or colorization of the situation using the means of fiction.
17. Under no circumstances can a criminal be a professional villain.
18. It is forbidden to explain the mystery as an accident or suicide.
19. The motive for the crime is always of a private nature; it cannot be an espionage action, seasoned with any international intrigues or motives of the secret services.
20. The author of detective stories should avoid all stereotyped solutions and ideas.

Types of detectives

Closed detective
A subgenre that usually most closely follows the canons of the classic detective story. The plot is based on the investigation of a crime committed in a secluded place, where there is a strictly limited set of characters. There could be no one else in this place, so the crime could only have been committed by someone present. The investigation is conducted by someone at the scene of the crime, with the help of other heroes.
This type of detective story is different in that the plot, in principle, eliminates the need to search for an unknown criminal. There are suspects, and the detective’s job is to obtain as much information as possible about the participants in the events, on the basis of which it will be possible to identify the criminal. Additional psychological tension is created by the fact that the criminal must be one of the well-known, nearby people, none of whom, usually, resemble the criminal. Sometimes in a closed-type detective story a whole series of crimes occurs (usually murders), as a result of which the number of suspects is constantly reduced.
Psychological detective
This type of detective story may deviate somewhat from the classical canons in terms of the requirement for stereotypical behavior and the typical psychology of the heroes. Usually a crime committed for personal reasons (envy, revenge) is investigated, and the main element of the investigation is the study of the personal characteristics of the suspects, their attachments, pain points, beliefs, prejudices, and clarification of the past. There is a school of French psychological detective.
Historical detective
A historical work with detective intrigue. The action takes place in the past, or an ancient crime is being investigated in the present.
Ironic detective
The detective investigation is described from a humorous point of view. Often works written in this vein parody the cliches of a detective novel.
Fantastic detective
Works at the intersection of science fiction and detective fiction. The action may take place in the future, an alternative present or past, in a completely fictional world.
Political detective
One of the genres quite far from the classic detective story. The main intrigue is built around political events and rivalry between various political or business figures and forces. It also often happens that the main character himself is far from politics, however, while investigating a case, he comes across an obstacle to the investigation from the “powers that be” or uncovers some kind of conspiracy. A distinctive feature of a political detective story is (although not necessarily) the possible absence of completely positive characters, except for the main one. This genre is rarely found in its pure form, but can be an integral part of the work.
Spy detective
Based on the narrative of the activities of intelligence officers, spies and saboteurs both in wartime and in peacetime on the “invisible front”. In terms of stylistic boundaries, it is very close to political and conspiracy detective stories, and is often combined in the same work. The main difference between a spy detective and a political detective is that in a political detective the most important position is occupied by the political basis of the case under investigation and antagonistic conflicts, while in a spy detective the attention is focused on intelligence work (surveillance, sabotage, etc.). A conspiracy detective can be considered a variety of both a spy and a political detective.

Aphorisms about a detective

Thanks to criminals, world culture has been enriched by the detective genre.

If you don’t know what to write, write: “A man walked in with a revolver in his hand” (Raymond Chandler).

The slower the investigator, the longer the detective (Viktor Romanov).

There are so many motives for crimes that the detective (Georgy Alexandrov) is scratching his turnips.

In detective stories it’s like this: some people hoard good things, others just wait for it.

From committing a crime to solving it - it's all just one detective novel (Boris Shapiro).