What is a mystery?
• Mysteries are often filled with suspense, but they are also puzzles.
• Part of the fun of a mystery is matching wits with the criminal; and figuring out “whodunit.”
Elements of a Mystery
•Detective work, such as finding evidence and questioning witnesses and suspects
Vocabulary Used in Mystery
•Alibi – a claim that a person accused of a crime was somewhere else when the crime was committed
Vocabulary Used in a Mystery
•Detective – one who investigates crimes, usually for or with the police
Vocabulary Used in a Mystery
•Evidence – information and facts that help prove something or make you believe something is true
Vocabulary Used in Mystery
•Solution - the answer to a problem; an explanation
•Arrest - to stop or hold someone by the power of law
Vocabulary used in Mystery
Red Herrings – distractions or false clues that lead a detective or reader off track or make it more difficult to solve the mystery
Vocabulary Used in Mystery
Foreshadowing – the author’s use of clues to hint at what might happen later in the story
Suspense – a feeling of anxious uncertainty about the outcome of events in a story