I didn’t know where else to ask this or how to phrase my title post, but let me explain. I’m an editor, and I’m currently working on a manuscript for a client. It’s a murder mystery, but instead of it being told in usual story format, every chapter is a piece of evidence, be it an interview, an overheard conversation, a ripped up note, etc. You, the reader, are the investigator hired to solve the murder, and by following all the evidence provided, you need to be able to suss out the killer, and the final “chapter” will tell you if you’re correct. Over the course of editing this book, I’ve become fascinated by this format; I’ve never come across anything like it before. Is this a specific genre? Where can I find more books like these?
by thew0rldisquiethere1
7 Comments
There’s a genre bending graphic novel called Bodies that they adapted for Netflix that’s really cool
Closest I’ve seen to this idea is *The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle* by Stuart Turton. It’s filled with manipulative characters and nothing is quite what it seems. A man wakes up without memories and is trying to not only piece together his identity, but also solve a murder in the process! Do yourself a favor and don’t read spoilers on this, just dive in.
What you describe reminds me of [ergodic literature](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ergodic_literature). It’s kind of one step stranger from the old fashioned epistolary novel.
“Bats of the Republic” by Zachary Thomas Dodson. portions are police records, or excerpts from a novel within a novel. There’s even an envelope in back with a letter you take out.
“House of Leaves” by Mark Z. Danielewski. Contains letters, commentary, just very weird.
“Illuminae” by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff. The text comes from multiple sources, including emails, government reports, etc.
On the other hand, it might be a puzzle mystery:
“Cain’s Jawbone” by Edward Powys Mathers. The pages have been printed in an entirely haphazard order, but it is possible – through logic and intelligent reading – to sort the pages into the only correct order, revealing six murder victims and their respective murderers. Very few people have solved this.
This sounds a lot like two-minute-mysteries and the like, which are often aimed at children and obviously much shorter, but with the same concept of “here’s all the facts, figure it out.” I tried googling a little bit to find a more accurate genre that “whodunnit” but couldn’t quite nail anything down.
*S. (Ship of Theseus)* by J.J. Abrams and Doud Dorst is exactly what you are looking for. I have never been so immersed in the “realism” of a fictional story as when I experienced this book. Check out some of the user photos/videos at this link:
[https://www.amazon.com/Ship-Theseus-J-Abrams/dp/0316201642/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2L6ZD1G17T1RU&keywords=s.+ship+of+theseus&qid=1699543420&s=books&sprefix=s.+ship+of%2Cstripbooks%2C361&sr=1-1](https://www.amazon.com/Ship-Theseus-J-Abrams/dp/0316201642/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2L6ZD1G17T1RU&keywords=s.+ship+of+theseus&qid=1699543420&s=books&sprefix=s.+ship+of%2Cstripbooks%2C361&sr=1-1)
The board game
[Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective: The Thames Murders & Other Cases](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/2511/sherlock-holmes-consulting-detective-thames-murder) basically does this. Obviously it’s not a book, but there is a lot of reading in it. Sounds like you might like it. Comes with 10 cases (last I heard), but they last basically as long as you want (you decide when you think you’ve solved it); typically 1-2 hours each.
Janice Hallett’s **The Appeal**, **The Twyford Code** and **The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels** are all mysteries told in epistolary form — through emails, letters, interview transcripts, text messages etc. They’re a lot of fun!