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Mystery: October 08, 2014 Issue [#6586]

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Mystery


 This week: Case reopened
  Edited by: Arakun the twisted raccoon Author IconMail Icon
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Table of Contents

1. About this Newsletter
2. A Word from our Sponsor
3. Letter from the Editor
4. Editor's Picks
5. A Word from Writing.Com
6. Ask & Answer
7. Removal instructions

About This Newsletter

Quote for the week:Until we accept the fact that life itself is founded in mystery, we shall learn nothing.

~Henry Miller


Word from our sponsor

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Letter from the editor

If you want to give your fictional detectives a tough case, let them work on a mystery that was already supposed to be solved. Even the best investigators can make mistakes if seemingly convincing evidence leads them in the wrong direction.

Reopening a supposedly "solved" case has unique challenges. Evidence may have been lost or destroyed, and witnesses could have moved away or died. An innocent person may have spent years in prison, and no longer be willing to talk to detectives, especially those who were part of the initial investigation. Police, prosecutors, and judges may not want to admit they were wrong the first time around. Your characters will need very strong evidence to open a closed case.

Make sure that the evidence that led to the mistaken solution seems believable. Your characters should have come to a conclusion that any reasonable person would reach with the evidence they had at the time. Or... maybe the original investigators had reasons to want the wrong person convicted. For example, maybe someone on the police force was actually involved in the crime.

Sometimes, the original investigators may have done the best they could with the evidence they had, but new evidence was uncovered, or a witness came forward and admitted he or she had lied. In other instances, new ways of analyzing evidence were developed. In several real life cases, people convicted before DNA analysis was possible were found to be innocent once that technology was available.

Something to try if you dare: Choose one of your finished mystery stories and write a sequel. In the sequel, the characters find out the person convicted in the original story was innocent, and the real killer is still out there*Shock*.




Editor's Picks

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The Last Patient Open in new Window. (18+)
He cursed the day Betsy came into their lives.
#1324976 by iKïyå§ama Author IconMail Icon


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Halo Effect  Open in new Window. (13+)
Reviews welcomed. Darkness descends, but light prevails in a peculiar way. Nominee
#1950165 by Mrs. Nixie Clause Author IconMail Icon


The Shop Open in new Window. (18+)
I had been in a lot of antique shops that day and this one was by far the strangest.
#2007388 by Duane Engelhardt Author IconMail Icon


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This item number is not valid.
#2005446 by Not Available.


 
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Bait and Switch Open in new Window. (13+)
Can they pull off the crime?
#273727 by FÐ Spread the Christmas Joys Author IconMail Icon

 
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Ask & Answer

Question for next time: What is your favorite mystery story?

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