HeyJaredThe Tangled Web
A twice weekly newsletter for mystery writers: how to design clues, crimes, and plot twists for the mystery of your dreams.
- Indexed issues, last 90 days
- 11
- Latest publication
- Sep 29, 2026
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- Earliest in this view
- Sep 4, 2026
Latest issues
The Evidence Race: A Plot Device That Makes Any Mystery More Exciting (opens the original)
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If there’s one mystery convention I simply never get tired of reading, it’s a good ol’ evidence race. An evidence race occurs when both the Sleuth and Villain are aware of some piece of evidence—some witness, document, or other important clue—that’s out there in the world. Whoever gets to it first will win this game of cat-and-mouse: the Sleuth by using it as proof, and the Villain by destroying it.This post continues my series on mystery tropes. Read from the beginning:To see what this looks li
Why Writing a Mystery Short Story is So Hard (And What To Do About It) (opens the original)
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The Death Angels, Chapter 2 (opens the original)
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The I Don’t Know What You Did Last Summer Trope Just Got Even Better (opens the original)
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Last week, we talked about all the fun that can be had with the I Know What You Did Last Summer trope, in which a group of friends with a deep, dark secret discovers that somebody knows about it—and is bent on exacting revenge.But after I hit publish, I realized that I had more to say. So we’re back, talking about a variant of the trope: I Know What (One Of) You Did Last Summer.In this version, only one member of the Fateful Group is guilty, and the Avenger is bent on exposing and punishing him.
Behind the Scenes of The Death Angels (opens the original)
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