Writing Red Herrings

When writing mysteries, some might argue it’s hard enough to write the mystery and plant the clues that will lead both detective and reader to the eventual solution. But what about when it’s time to add in the red herrings?

What is a Red Herring?

A red herring is anything that seems important or suspicious to us as readers or our detectives as they search for clues, but ends up leading us on a false trail. That means it could be an object, an event, or even a person! The red herring’s job is to be an extra clue, something that leads you away from the ‘real’ clue, but while distracting, it doesn’t replace the real clue. Think of it this way: if you’re plotting out your mystery and each clue gets an index card, maybe there are five clues. So five cards. Your red herrings might add an extra two cards to the pile instead of subtracting.

A false clue should, like a real one, never stand out. Blend it logically into a conversation, find it along with other items, allow it to have a purpose in your story.

False Suspects & Lies

Are you ever amazed when you watch a mystery show how all of the characters have a reason to want the victim dead? Or how often all of the characters lie to the police? By the end of the show you’ve discovered that most of them are lying about inconsequential things (or smaller, red herring crimes all on their own), but the detectives have had to sort out all of the stories, truths, lies, and half-truths before getting to the solution. Agatha Christie is a master at all her innocent characters having means, motive, and opportunities to knock off the victim, which is why sorting the guilty from the innocent takes so much work in her books.

If you watched Murder Before Evensong (based on the book by Reverend Richard Coles),

you saw how well multiple story threads can be woven together. Villagers were hiding secrets like poaching, alcoholism, potential affairs, thefts, homosexuality (it takes place in England in the 1980s), tax dodges, a child out of wedlock, poisoned pen notes, AND multiple murders. Even when the vicar and the inspector know people are lying, what are they lying about? Because of course, everyone wants to hide their secrets—and nothing can stay a secret when there's murder involved.

That's the benefit to containing your group of suspects: it makes it easier to create the believable secrets and motives that would give everyone a reason to want the victim dead.

Misdirection

What about using a real clue that can be given multiple interpretations? This kind of misdirection is a classic red herring. Maybe it's a word that can mean more than one thing. A list of items that includes both the real and false clues.

When Linnet Ridgeway is murdered in Agatha Christie's Death on the Nile, it appears she has written the letter "J" in her own blood next to her before dying. "J" can only point to Jacqueline, the woman who has been tormenting her, threatening her, and even shown Poirot a gun like the one used to kill Linnet. But Jacky has a solid alibi and Linnet was killed instanty, unable to write anything. The letter is meant to point to Jacky to keep Poirot from looking for someone else. When a splash is heard at night and Rosalie Otterbourne refuses to explain why she was seen throwing something in the water, it could be that she has thrown the gun overboard but it is actually something completely unrelated—a family secret she is trying to hide. On the other hand, when Miss Van Schuyler misses her stole, it could be one of her fantasies, but turns out to be a clue you don't see coming. These misdirections come from a combination of subplots woven into the main story thread and character quirks Christie developed earlier on. We see them, but don't see the importance behind the real clues while latching onto the red herrings.

Whatever you decide, remember to play fair with your reader. Make sure they have all of the information they need so that at the end of the book, they can look at the solution you give them and see how they could have solved it, because the information was there. Otherwise, they'll feel cheated and won't reread the book. Place your herrings cleverly and readers will be rereading to see what they missed right away!

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