Elliot Kessler

The crime scene is an essential part of your murder mystery. It not only shows what the protagonist will be investigating but can also help develop either your protagonist or antagonist. It can show how sinister, maniacal, twisted, and intelligent your antagonist is or how innovative, observant, and creative your protagonist is. It all depends on how you present your crime scene. I will explain both by using examples from a book and a movie: “A Study in Scarlet” and “Sherlock Holmes” with Robert Downey Jr. These both star the classic detective of Sherlock Holmes, but one develops the investigator using the crime scene, and the other develops the killer.

“A Study in Scarlet” is Private Consultant Sherlock Holmes’s first outing, and it holds up today as a fantastic novel. The culprit of the book isn’t the most interesting, but that isn’t the point. It solidifies Holmes as a brilliant detective and displays this using the crime scene in the story. The moment he steps foot onto the crime scene, he notices details. He points them out to Watson, giving the height of the man they’re looking for by looking at the distance between footprints on the muddy pathway outside. They walk into the house, and Sherlock Holmes again begins collecting data around him and, in a few short minutes, gives a detailed description of the killer. It’s very impressive and very entertaining to read. The book’s second half is the complex story of the murderer, ending with the police locking him up. But the book’s first half ends with the police finding the killer that Holmes described. In only a few chapters, Holmes investigates the crime scene, finds clues, figures out who did it, and the police arrest the culprit. If that doesn’t display Holmes’s genius, I don’t know what does.

This isn’t the only way to develop your protagonist using the crime scene. Your character doesn’t have to solve the crime in two chapters. After investigating the crime scene, it can still be a puzzle for them, but they should notice the details. They should see things no one else sees and find hidden clues that seem meaningless to everyone but are vital to solving the crime. Display their personality and creativity while they investigate a scene. Do they talk to themselves? Do they picture the scene in their mind? Do they squint at objects that catch their interest? Do they slowly walk around the room until they find something helpful? Do they chew on something to help them focus? Things like that. When they talk about the crime to their co-workers, such as other detectives, police officers, or assistants, make their personality pour out with each word they say. Are they emotional about the crime? Do they speak coldly? Do they hardly speak at all? Or do they lightheartedly make jokes about the scene?

To help develop your protagonist, don’t show the crime scene until they get there. If the audience sees the crime scene from another character’s perspective, then the scene will likely develop that character more than your protagonist unless the narrator is the protagonist’s companion. Watson is a fantastic narrator, and it works phenomenally well because, while we don’t see things from Holmes’s perspective, we still see his genius at work. The audience is supposed to be in awe of Holmes, and that mood is communicated when the perspective character is in awe of Holmes. His works of genius almost seem like magic tricks until he reveals how he figured it out. It’s entertaining. But they don’t have to look like magic tricks. You can also show things from the protagonist’s perspective and allow the audience to play along, seeing the clues they see and trying to put the pieces together, making a unique experience for readers.

Now that we’ve discussed developing your protagonist with your crime scene, let’s discuss the antagonist. Let’s discuss 2009’s “Sherlock Holmes.” The most significant part of developing your antagonist using the crime scene is to watch the crimes take place. At the beginning of “Sherlock Holmes,” we see Lord Henry Lockwood in the middle of what seems to be a magical ritual, and he nearly kills Watson. It is very dark and menacing and shows Lockwood in a harsh light. However, Lockwood is arrested and hanged for his crimes, but then the impossible happens: he breaks out of his grave and escapes. Lockwood seems to have returned from the dead, putting innocent lives at risk and jeopardizing Watson’s reputation as a doctor.

The antagonist returning from the dead in a film seemingly grounded in reality is terrifying, showing Lockwood as a real threat. It indeed develops Lockwood as a force to be reckoned with. From there, we see him committing his murders. One man seems to boil alive in a bathtub; another spontaneously combusts after taking a shot at Lockwood. It is later revealed by Holmes how he committed such feats, but it is still very intimidating when there doesn’t seem to be an explanation for their deaths other than the supernatural.

Using your antagonist’s perspective to show the crimes is always the best way to develop a sinister antagonist. It does take away the mystery of their identity, but it is usually applied to stories where the antagonist’s identity doesn’t matter. The story of “Sherlock Holmes” isn’t about trying to uncover the man behind a series of seemingly supernatural murders. It’s about Holmes trying not to lose Watson as a friend, Watson trying to maintain his reputation as a doctor, and both of them together trying to stop a murderer before he plunges the entirety of England into chaos. The writers didn’t need a hidden villain for that story. They required a terrifying one that seemed unstoppable.

While they are also essential set-pieces, crime scenes can significantly develop your antagonist or protagonist for your reader. They can show your protagonist’s genius or antagonist’s menace if they are correctly executed. Whichever one you choose depends on the story you are writing.

Thanks for reading! Have a fantastic day.