19 September 2022
Why do some murder mysteries sell more copies than others? There are countless possible explanations. I'd like to focus on one: the impossibility of the murder. Perhaps the most recognizable example of an impossible murder is the locked-room mystery. But there are infinite possibilities. At the heart is a murder that, based on what the reader knows coming into the novel and at least in the early pages, seems utterly impossible based on the known laws of science and first impressions of the characters. So why do impossible murders sell? I have a few theories.