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67 Thrilling And Chilling Mystery Writing Prompts

You’re a huge fan of riveting mystery plots.

You’ve read some of the best mystery fiction ever written (some well-known, some not), and you just know you could create a mystery that would keep your readers enthralled to the shocking end. 

Think how gratifying it’ll feel to hear readers raving that you kept them guessing until the final reveal! 

All you need right now are some high-quality murder mystery ideas like the ones in this post. Read on to find the seed of your new bestseller .

May it lead to many others. 

67 Mystery Writing Prompts 

Look through the following mystery story ideas and make a note of those that get your mind working in strange and vaguely uncomfortable ways. You know better than anyone the prompts that speak to you louder than others. 

If you get a chill as you’re developing the idea, chances are good, your reader will, too. 

1. You’re a memoir writer with a complicated love life. An estranged cousin calls asking if you’ll help her write a “tell-all” memoir . Then she disappears.

2. You’re a private investigator looking into the murder of a philanthropist’s reclusive wife. Two people confess, each swearing they acted alone. You suspect another.

3. You’re the assistant to the creator of the first empathic AI, who disappears just as the first psychopath AI blows away the competition at a global tech convention. 

4. Your candle shop wins a prestigious award. Last year’s winner is angry and slanders you and your products. You find their body behind your store, covered in wax. 

5. You research your genealogy and find that several people from different branches all died in the same mysterious location — of unknown causes.

6. A well-known motivational speaker is about to give a TED talk when they take a drink from a fresh water bottle and collapse. Their assistant disappears.

7. She’s always been faithful to her husband. So, who’s been trying to frame her for adultery? And what does her husband’s dead lawyer have to do with it?

8. You’re lost in the woods, no thanks to a poorly-planned nature hike, when you find the hatch to an underground bunker. A picture on the wall stops you cold.

9. Someone is stealing items from the graves of historical figures buried in the New Orleans cemeteries near your home. What does your latest Etsy purchase have to do with that?

10. Every eligible woman was eager to claim his attention at the ball, but only one would add his name to her dance card — and something else to her collection. 

11. A grandfather you never met has left you an unusual item in his will with a warning: “Don’t underestimate this gift. It’s always been meant for you.” 

12. You’re a witness to the opening of an Egyptian sarcophagus that’s only just been discovered in a buried tomb. Resting on the mummy’s chest is an old camera.

13. A few minutes after you buy a friend’s older smartphone from them (for a bargain), you get a phone call from someone who’s tracking your every move. 

mysterious man holding a sickle mystery writing prompts

14. Your business computer has just been hacked by a pro, who happens to be a resident in the local nursing home — and the father of last night’s date. 

15. You’re on a solitary walk through the woods near your new home, and you find a set of fresh footprints leading deeper in, possibly toward the lake. You follow them. 

16. You’re on your way home from a vacation when an airport official tells you your passport must be a fake. Your country of origin doesn’t exist. 

17. You take a short walk out in the snow and come back to find a fresh, icy handprint on the glass by your door. There are no footprints leading to it. 

18. You visit a tea shop, and a woman pulls you aside and convinces you to buy a special blend she’s created, warning you to only drink one cup a day — and only at night. 

19. While looking for the cabin retreat you signed up for, you get lost and end up at a cabin that resembles what you expected. They welcome you. 

20. Every night, a new house of worship in your town is ransacked. Each time, the thieves steal a hidden sacred object but leave more expensive things untouched.

21. A rogue doctor overseas has created a life-saving vaccine for a deadly pandemic but disappears before he can share it. 

22. You’re a seasoned detective looking over a murder scene at your ex-wife’s residence. So far, her dog is the prime suspect. 

23. The winner of the beauty pageant is the last person everyone expected. Then she wins the lottery jackpot and wakes up with a dead guy in her closet. 

24. You’ve agreed to deliver a package to a recluse living in a neglected manor in exchange for $100,000,000. They never told you he’d want you to stay. 

25. The night before you head home from college, someone calls you from the home phone and leaves a disturbing message. Now, no one’s answering the phone. 

26. You think you know the identity of your “Secret Santa” until you see the most recent gift: a gem your suspect could not have afforded (and wouldn’t have given). 

27. After the “prophecy,” he changed her name and never expected her to spell out the name “Petra” with her wooden blocks. The near-drowning was not an accident.

28. At night, she sleeps with a different stone beneath her pillow. This morning, she woke to feel as if she’d spent the night running. She wasn’t wrong. 

29. The murder victims all had admitted to the same phobia. And all of them died just as they’d overcome it. Now, the hypnotist who’d helped them was missing. 

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30. You arrived early for a job interview and have noticed two candidates walking into a room but not leaving it. The secretary who calls you in is visibly shaking.

31. You visit a practicing witch who happens to be the prime suspect in a murder. Only she wasn’t even in town when it happened. And she’s your sister. 

32. The winning pie was the murder weapon. And the pie plate looked identical to your mother’s favorite — the one that had disappeared after she died. 

33. A woman claiming to be your sister warns you not to get in touch with your birth parents. She leaves a duffel bag with you and, within a day, disappears.

34. A marriage counselor arranges a scavenger hunt for a struggling couple, based on their history. Someone changes the clues, though, and one of them ends up dead.

35. You go to a friend’s wake and see a different body in the casket. Hers is nowhere to be found. And there’s a note under the corpse’s right hand — addressed to you. 

36. A woman returns a lost wallet and becomes the target of a stalker. An item from the wallet (one she’d considered keeping) ends up in her mailbox. 

37. Members of a notorious fraternity are found dead and partially “dismembered.” Their leader has the most reason to fear and goes to you for help and protection.

38. You’re reading a book given to you by a quiet but friendly classmate who lives down the hall when you realize it’s about you. And you die in the end.

39. You subscribe to a candle of the month club recommended by a new colleague, and your first candle reveals a ring that once belonged to a local murder victim. 

40. A desperate housewife fakes her own death, then ends up in the trunk of her husband’s car, wearing a dress that cost twice as much. 

picture of an old abandoned house mystery writing prompts

41. A talented musician who performs at a local coffeehouse is found wiped of his memory when his faithful dog leads a police officer to him. 

42. A group of carefully selected teens returns home from a conference to find their parents have all disappeared, leaving identical typewritten notes. 

43. An orphanage with a reputation for finding good families for every child in their charge finds itself under a microscope when one teen returns with a horrific tale.

44. A stranger uses magic to hide his true intentions as he grooms a new target — the young daughter of a rising politician — to do the unthinkable. 

45. You return home and notice strange behavior among the townspeople and an even stranger weekly ritual. You investigate and make an enemy.

46. Bored with your small-town life, you happily accept an offer of a month-long internship at a London bookshop. You get there and find the owner dead. 

47. You run a cafe and have just hired a troubled teen. Unfortunately, her reputation raises the ire of some locals, who point the finger when a customer ends up dead.

48. You take a job at a local bakeshop run by identical twin sisters, one of whom wants to start a business of her own. One of them dies, leaving you a note.

49. Every member of this community took vows of non-violence and silence, so when one is found dead in the herb garden, you and your deaf partner investigate.

50. Random objects in your home go missing, replaced by strange, typewritten poems . You wake up to find one of these poems resting on your pillow.. 

51. A bouquet of flowers arrives each week from an unknown admirer. Each flower means something, and those meanings have taken a dark turn. 

52. Whenever you order from your favorite Chinese restaurant, the fortune cookie’s message sounds eerily personal and prescient. There’s a reason. 

53. When you’re feeling low, your new best friend knows just what tea to brew to make you feel better. It turns out she can also help you remember things long forgotten. 

54. You could swear you’re being followed, but when you turn, no one’s there. Once you’re home with your doors and windows locked, they’re closer to you than ever. 

55. You’re a cop investigating the murderer of a homeless person, but your new partner, who grew up here, seems determined to trip you up at every turn. 

56. When a local bartender is found dead, his curious neighbor finds a secret door propped open by his corpse. The door leads to an underground world of trouble. 

57. You overhear a murder confession and hide where you can see the penitent when the door opens. You recognize the face and barely manage to keep quiet. 

58. You’re looking through a deceased relative’s possessions and planning to donate most of it until you find a note she left you — about stolen evidence. 

59. You wake up to the sound of a blizzard, and you’re dressed in someone else’s winter clothes, wondering how you got there — and what happened to your date?

60. You turn a corner in your new neighborhood, and someone stops in front of you, looks you up and down, presses a key into your hand, and says, “I’ll be back for this.”

61. You didn’t know you had a doppelganger until you came face to face with her at the new coffee shop on the corner. She’s not nearly as surprised as you are.

62. You’re stress-shopping early Black Friday sales when you notice the cameras seem to be following your every move. The manager nervously invites you into his office. 

hands of a person with blood in black and white mystery writing prompts

63. Five fellow college students have been murdered in the same week. Each had stolen something on a dare. One of them mailed their stolen item to you. 

64. You’re decorating for Christmas, and you find a book that belonged to your ex. A note falls out of it addressed to someone who died shortly before he left. 

65. Self-care hasn’t been a priority for you lately, but you accept an invitation to a weekend spa retreat. You didn’t expect your host to be the boss who fired you. 

66. You’re a photographer looking over wedding pictures when you notice a figure with a blurry face that appears in every shot. His face is turned toward the groom.

67. You’re telling your children a story about a babysitting job that went terribly wrong. But you’re not telling them everything. And there will be consequences. 

How will you use these mystery writing prompts?

When it comes to storytelling, only a small share of the magic is in the gift of an inspiring prompt. The rest of it lies in you. 

Begin by choosing one of these prompts and freewriting for a few minutes — or for as long as you like. Paint a picture for yourself, and describe everything your senses tell you. 

Whether you lean toward horror or romantic suspense story ideas, you’ll find a way to make each chosen story prompt your own. 

May each adventure teach you something new.  

You’re a huge fan of riveting mystery plots. You’ve read some of the best mystery fiction ever written (some well-known, some not), and you just know you could create a mystery that would keep your readers enthralled to the shocking end.  #writingprompts

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  • Writing Prompts

70 Mystery Writing Prompts That’ll Keep Your Readers Hooked

From whodunits to unsolved crimes, here are over 70 mystery writing prompts that will keep your readers hooked from beginning to end. 

The mystery genre is all about gathering clues and evidence to solve a crime or mystery of some sort. Common mysteries to solve may include murder, kidnappings, theft and any other unsolved crimes. The thing that makes a mystery story so appealing is that no one knows who the true culprit is until the very end of the story. And the big reveal at the end is always shocking to the reader. The secret to a good mystery lies in the plot twist . You have to be two steps ahead of your readers – Get inside the head of your readers and think, “Who would your readers think the main culprit is?” Then switch it around, and pick someone who is highly unlikely to be the real baddie.

You can pick a random prompt from our mystery writing prompts generator below to practice your plot twist skills on:

In a mystery novel, characters are a huge part of the mystery. Common characters may include:

  • Street smart detective – They ask all the right questions, but are the answers to be trusted?
  • Bent cop – Known for planting fake evidence at crime scenes.
  • Mysterious guy – No one knows anything about them, and therefore they could be an easy suspect in the case.
  • The scapegoat – The one everyone is blaming.
  • The obvious suspect – All clues point to this person.
  • The unobvious suspect – No real evidence against this person, but somehow they link to the crime in question.

When writing your mystery story think about the characters you would include carefully before diving in. We even recommend creating character profiles for each character, and maybe even a mind-map to show their connection to the crime in question.

70 Mystery Writing Prompts

List of over 70 mystery writing prompts, from unsolved murder cases to items that vanished into thin air:

  • The richest man on Earth has a hidden vault filled with millions of dollars, expensive jewellery and gems. One night he goes to add to his collection of gems and notices a sentimental piece of jewellery missing.
  • One-by-one random things keep on going missing in your house. First your watch, then a teapot. Who is taking them and why?
  • One of your classmates mysteriously stops coming to school. It’s been nearly 2 weeks since you last saw them. What could have happened to them?
  • A police officer finds a dead body at a barber’s shop in town. The cause of death was drowning. No one knows how the body got there and who did it.
  • A person takes a game of snakes and ladders too literally. In random locations around the city, snakes and ladders have been placed. Where do those ladders go? Why are snakes placed in these random places? Can you solve this strange mystery?
  • You wake up in a warehouse with no memory of how you got there. The warehouse office is filled with newspaper clippings of missing people from the past 20 years. Who is the kidnapper and why are you in this warehouse?
  • Last night a series of supermarkets and warehouses across the city were robbed. The thief or thieves only steal toilet paper. Can you solve this case?
  • Meet Benji, the cat detective. Benji is a feisty feline who is on a mission to capture the great tuna can thief. 
  • At exactly 7.08 pm last night a scream was heard from 59 Pebble Lane. The neighbours knocked but no one was home. Later that night, the police arrived at approximately 2.13 am to find a cold dead body on the floor in a pool of spilt tea.
  • You are a reporter for the Imagine Forest Times newspaper, you are writing an article on the missing bird eggs in the local forest.
  • Imagine you are a security guard. It’s your first night shift at the local art Museum. The next morning a priceless painting goes missing, and you are blamed. You need to prove your innocence before you are sent to prison, but how?
  • Write a time travel mystery story where the main character keeps going back in time to find out who really murdered their parents.
  • You and your friends go to the fairground. You decide to ride the carousel. Round and round you go, and then the ride stops. When it stops you notice one of your friends is suddenly missing. Where did they go? (See our list of writing prompts about friendship for more ideas.)
  • The main character in your story is caught red-handed with the missing jewel in their hand. But did they really steal this jewel?
  • Write a diary from the perspective of a paranoid person who thinks their neighbour is stealing from them.
  • Write down an action scene where the main character trails the secondary character to an abandoned warehouse. What do you think will happen next?
  • Someone has been stealing mobile phones at your school. You think you know who it is, so you set up a try to catch the thief.
  • A bent police officer has been planting false evidence at crime scenes for years. Who are they protecting and why?
  • Write a script between two characters who are meeting in secret to discuss some new evidence in a murder trial.
  • Imagine you are a detective interviewing a suspect in the crime of jewellery theft. Write down some questions that you might ask the suspect. If you have time, you can also write the possible answers from the suspect’s point of view.
  • You discover a note in your bag. It says, “I know what YOU have done!” – Who can have left this note, and what are they talking about?
  • Write a story about a young police officer who is solving the murder case of his best friend from high school. The twist is that this police officer turns out to be the murderer.
  • For over 10 years, your twin sister was missing. But there she is – Suddenly walking in the middle of the street. Where has she been? What happened to her?
  • Imagine you are an investigator examining the scene of a murder crime. What types of clues would you look out for? Can you make a list of at least 10 possible clues you might find?
  • A police car is chasing a potential suspect in a murder trial. Halfway through the chase, the police car disappears. The suspect slows down their car, and wonders, “What happened? Why did they stop coming after me?”
  • You come home from school one day and notice that your mother’s things are gone. Your first thought is that she left you and your father. But the truth is that she was kidnapped by someone.
  • A mysterious person has stolen all your teddy bears and is holding them for ransom somewhere. Each day you get a cryptic riddle. If you can solve each riddle you will receive one teddy bear back each time. 
  • It’s the year 3,000. Your main character is a lawyer for a robot. They must prove this robot’s innocence in a human murder trial. (See this list of sci-fi writing prompts for more inspiration.)
  • Someone keeps stealing textbooks from your school. One day you go to school and see a huge statement art piece outside the school made from the stolen textbooks. Can you find out who did this?
  • Cinderella has turned into a detective. She needs to solve the case of the stolen glass slippers. After all those glass slippers are super rare.
  • The main character in your story must prove their innocence in a murder trial. How would they do this? What evidence would they need?
  • The main character in your story discovers that their brother is the real killer. They then try to destroy all evidence linked to their brother to protect them.
  • “Poppy! Poppy! Where are you, buddy?” Mindy searched for her pet Labrador everywhere. But she was nowhere to be seen. It turns out all the dogs in town have been missing since last night. What could have possibly happened to them?
  • Someone has been leaving embarrassing photographs of various people all over town. Can you track down this person? Why are they posting these photos? 
  • Write a mystery story titled, ‘Piece-by-Piece’ about a jigsaw puzzle thief who is stealing random puzzles pieces.
  • You notice some muddy footprints leading into a thick forest at your local park. You follow this trail of footprints to a secret hatch in the woods. The door of the hatch has been left open. When you go inside you discover something shocking.
  • Your dog digs up an old lunchbox in your backyard. Inside the lunchbox, you find a key, an address and some old newspaper clipping of missing people. You think you can solve this case of the missing people by just visiting that address. But things get a little more complicated…
  • This is a mystery story about a boy named Billy who’s home alone and is playing with a toy truck when he finds a strange box. His mother, a lady with a past, is suspicious of this mysterious box, so she calls the police. Billy’s mother is a detective, and they find that the box is really a trap, and Billy is kidnapped.
  • Write a crime mystery story about how a little girl’s dream of becoming a scientist led to her death. Why would anyone murder a young girl who wants to be a scientist? How did this happen?
  • A small-town sheriff gets caught up in the biggest robbery in history. When over a million dollars just vanish into thin air, people are quick to blame the shifty-eyed sheriff from out of town. But is he really the culprit in this crime?
  • When Sara was a young girl she was kidnapped by a strange man and woman who took care of her. But now Sara wants to know what happened to her real parents. Are they still alive? Are they still looking for her?
  • The clock is ticking. Somewhere in the city, a group of hostages are locked up. With every hour that goes by, one hostage will be killed. The main character, a street-smart detective must solve the clues to find the location of these hostages in time.
  • A police officer finds himself in a very unusual situation. It is just before 6 pm on a Friday night when police were called to a disturbance in the street. The call came from a man who was allegedly threatening a woman with a knife. The man was arrested at 6.05 pm and taken to the police station. However, it was later revealed that the woman left at home has been murdered by someone else, but who?
  • A murder mystery party takes a dark turn when one of the guests is murdered for real.
  • Write a mystery story titled, ‘Who Stole My Homework?’ The main character’s A* worthy English essay is stolen by someone, but who?
  • Use this sentence as inspiration: Inspector Robins pulls out his notebook and writes down two words: Green fingers.
  • “10 car windows broken in 10 days! What does it all mean? What does it mean?” Exclaimed Detective Riley.
  • During a stop and search, a police officer finds a dead body in the boot of a car. But is the car driver really to blame?
  • A lost bracelet ends up in your best friend’s locker at school, along with other precious items. Your best friend is wrongly accused of stealing these items.
  • One girl must find her stolen prom dress before the prom. In the days leading up to the prom, more and more of her accessories for prom night are being stolen. Who is this thief?
  • Write a mystery thriller titled, “Come and Get It”. It’s about an arrogant criminal who is stealing sentimental items from each police officer in the state, He leaves these items in random locations in the city, along with a note that says: Come and get it!
  • Every night the car alarms for every car on your street turn on at exactly 2.03 am. why is this happening, and who is responsible?
  • A mysterious hacker has hacked into the city’s power grid. They have the power to on and off electricity whenever they want. Can you catch them before they do any more damage?
  • A secret admirer is leaving expensive gifts for your main character. At first, these gifts seem great, but then they soon take a dark twist (see our Valentine’s Day Prompts for more inspiration).
  • Your main character is at their senior prom. Dancing the night away. Suddenly the lights go off. Pitch darkness for a minute. When the lights come on, your best friend is gone. And there’s a message in red paint on the wall: You’re next!
  • Your teacher gives back your English assignment, and you got an F! Looking closer, you realise that this is not your assignment at all! The same starts happening in your other classes. Someone has been swapping your assignments – But who?
  • For the past few days, you have been receiving anonymous emails from someone. The emails are telling you not to be friends with him. You don’t take any of these emails seriously until the police come knocking on your door.
  • A family picnic at the park becomes unbearable when you open up the basket to discover every family members untold secrets.
  • You are at a Chinese restaurant with your family. It’s time to open up the fortune cookies. When your mother opens up her fortune cookie, it says: “One of your children has been very naughty!”. Then your father opens his cookie up, it says: “Who’s been sneaking around behind mommy’s and daddy’s back?” All eyes at the table are on you. But what did you do?
  • Your main character is a bent cop. Trying to manipulate the course of justice, and helping real criminals get away with murder. One day, someone plants evidence that gets this bent cop arrested for a murder they did not commit.
  • Write down a scene between two characters. In this scene, the ‘real’ criminal is trying to convince a detective that someone else is guilty of the crime of stealing from a church.
  • There are three potential suspects in the murder case of Phillip Green. You are the lead detective on this case. What questions would you ask these suspects to find the real murderer? Make a list of at least 10 questions you may ask.
  • A health inspector arrives at a vegan restaurant to discover rotten vegetables, and raw, old meat. The owners know nothing about this and believe someone planted this as sabotage. Who can have sabotaged the vegan restaurant?
  • Write a short mystery story for kids titled, ‘Why is the sky blue?’ One child’s curiosity about the sky leads them to discover a secret playground in the park.
  • Your main character is a news reporter who is convinced that the killer of Rosie Moore is still out there. They know that the police have convicted the wrong person for this heinous crime. Can your main character find the real killer before the wrong person is sentenced to life in prison?
  • Someone has been replacing all shampoos around town with a hair removal solution. When half the town’s hair starts falling out, it is up to you, a top detective to solve this crime.
  • Write a mystery story set in the future where a secret cyber group called the ‘Merry Man’ are hacking the bank accounts of rich people and giving this money to the poor. Your main character is a police detective trying to hunt the members of this cyber group down.
  • A mysterious person is playing a nasty game of hide and seek with you. They have kidnapped your friends and family members and hid them in various locations within the city. You have exactly 1 hour to find each person before something bad happens to them.
  • Someone has left a note in your locker at school. The note reads: Help me, please! You ignore this note, but more notes start appearing in your notebooks, bag and even at home. Until eventually you get a package through the mail. You open this package and scream…
  • Write an animal mystery tale about a dog who wants to find the original owner of a doll he found in the park.
  • Can you solve this bonus mystery prompt: Someone has been stealing socks from the locals at night. Who could this be and why would they be doing this? (See video prompt below for more ideas.)

Did you find these mystery writing prompts useful when writing your own story? Let us know in the comments below!

mystery Writing Prompts

Marty the wizard is the master of Imagine Forest. When he's not reading a ton of books or writing some of his own tales, he loves to be surrounded by the magical creatures that live in Imagine Forest. While living in his tree house he has devoted his time to helping children around the world with their writing skills and creativity.

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Home / Book Writing / Mystery Writing Prompts: 35+ Ideas to Get You Started

Mystery Writing Prompts: 35+ Ideas to Get You Started

From classic whodunits and cozy capers to hard-boiled crime novels and police procedurals, there's a lot of fun to be had in the mystery genre. Being able to give the reader the thrill of uncovering a mystery along with the protagonist is a special talent. And it all starts with the idea. So keep reading for special tips and a list of mystery writing prompts. 

  • What makes a good mystery?
  • Examples of great mysteries to read. 
  • Mystery story ideas.

Table of contents

  • The Crime is the Thing
  • Plot-Driven but Character-Supported
  • Only Tell the Reader What They Need to Know
  • Red Herrings Abound
  • Increase the Stakes
  • Write What You'd Like to Read
  • Great Mysteries to Read (Or Re-Read)
  • Cozy Mystery Writing Prompts
  • Crime Mystery Writing Ideas
  • Mystery Thriller Writing Prompts
  • Random Mystery Writing Prompts
  • Getting Your Mystery Book in Front of the Right Readers

Ingredients for a Good Mystery

There are certain commonalities among mystery novels or short stories . And while you want to avoid doing a cookie-cutter version of another story, you will want to ensure certain tropes and story beats are present in your tale. Just make them your own!

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Whether you're a discovery writer or someone who likes to plot everything out, it's essential to have some idea about the crime. Every mystery needs a crime as a catalyst for the story . And to avoid a lot of false starts or dead ends, it's good to know the who (the culprit/antagonist), and the why. With these two factors in mind, you can fill in the other things as you go along. Or “discover” them, as some like to say. 

Mysteries are known as plot-driven stories, but that doesn't mean you can have static or flat characters . Your protagonist, whether a hard-edged detective or a golden-years grandma, needs to be likable, complex, and imperfect. You’ll notice that many protagonists in mystery fiction are a bit of a mess. But they still have redeeming qualities that are usually apparent early in the story . This helps the reader get invested in the story. 

Of course, we can’t forget about the bad guy (or gal). The antagonist should also be complex and possess a clear reason for committing the crime (even if that reason is unfathomable, as is the case with serial killers). 

Mystery readers like to put the pieces of the puzzle together as the story progresses. Even if there's no way for them to figure out who did it or why until the climax, they'll try anyway. So the last thing you want is to give the reader too much information too fast. If the clues are too obvious, the reader may be disappointed. And that's the last thing a mystery author should want!

A red herring, otherwise known as a false clue or a bit of misdirection, is an essential element of any mystery. Don't be afraid to point the finger at other characters in the story before the protagonist finds out who really did it. This is to be expected, and it's the bread and butter of many a mystery novel. 

Any well-written popular fiction book will consist of increasing and easing tension . And mystery stories are no different. As the protagonist gets closer and closer to solving the mystery, in fits and starts, the stakes should get continually higher. Much of the time, the stakes are life or death, but not always. As long as they increase to the point of ultimate danger at the climax, you should be good. 

And, perhaps the single best writing tip anyone can heed: write the story you'd like to read . As an avid mystery reader, you will instinctively have a feel for a good mystery. You can refine and perfect it when you edit. But if you write a story that excites you, chances are a lot of other readers will feel the same!

To write a first-rate mystery, you have to have read many mysteries, both good and bad. The good so you know what to do, the bad so you know what not to do. Fortunately, the good will most likely outnumber the bad. And the recommendations below are all good. 

  • Anything by Agatha Christie
  • Any Sherlock Holmes story
  • Gone Girl , Gillian Flynn
  • The Big Sleep , Raymond Chandler
  • The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo , Stieg Larsson
  • The Thin Man , Dashiell Hammett
  • The Girl on the Train , Paula Hawkins

Mystery Writing Prompts

There are a lot of sub-genres under the mystery umbrella, so I've split the following creative writing prompts into sections. Use them as story starters or simply for inspiration. Make them your own or use them as-is. And remember: the more you write, the more inspiration will come to you. 

Cozy mysteries are lighthearted in both tone and description. Although usually having to deal with murder, these stories focus more on the quirky characters than the brutal crime. And usually, the murder victim is a bit of a stinker (so the audience doesn’t feel too bad about their death). 

1. A local baker is found murdered in her home just as the town baking contest approaches. All signs point to her arch-rival, old Mr. Dillard. But did he really do it? It falls to Mr. Dillard's understudy to find out.

2. The irate butcher in a small town winds up dead from a heart attack. But as life goes on and cuts of his meat sell, town citizens discover clues in their dinners. And it quickly becomes apparent that the butcher was murdered – and he left clues leading to the culprit. 

3. Sue and John's marriage is on the rocks. They just don't have the spark anymore. But when they're thrust into the middle of a murder mystery, they soon find that their love is stronger than ever. 

4. While taking a long ferry ride from the mainland to their hometown on an island, a small group discovers the body of a crotchety old man dead in the engine room. One of the people on the ferry did the deed, but which one?

5. A woman goes chasing after her dog one night, only to literally stumble across a stranger's dead body in a ditch. Afraid she'll be implicated in the crime, she must solve it before the bumbling local police get involved. Luckily, her dog is a bit of a sleuth. 

6. When a man comes home to his small town for a reunion, he has a bit too much to drink. He wakes up to find a gun on his person, but he has no idea where it came from. Turns out, it's a murder weapon, and the victim is none other than his old rival. 

7. When a snowstorm strands a group of strangers in a ski chalet, one of the guests ends up dead. Most everyone (but the main character) denies knowing the murder victim, but it quickly becomes clear that all the guests know each other in one way or another. 

8. A lowly zoo janitor must solve a murder with the help of the zoo animals when her terrible boss turns up dead in the gorilla cage. 

9. The quirky characters attending an office party suddenly become murder suspects when the company president turns up dead. 

10. When the town psychiatrist turns up dead, everyone is a suspect. The psychiatrist knew everyone's deepest secrets, and it turns out she was using them for nefarious purposes. 

Gritty crime novels don't skimp on the gory details. They often feature a deeply flawed detective who's just holding on by a thread. But they can also feature ordinary characters who find themselves in extraordinary situations. Use the following plot ideas to get your creative juices flowing. 

11. A detective nearing the end of his career starts receiving strange texts. He soon learns that the texts reference murders that are happening around the city. He must rally to catch the murderer. 

12. A young woman enlists the help of a brand new detective to solve her sister's disappearance. But they soon find that there's much more happening than one girl's abduction. 

13. A kid sneaking into an abandoned building to sleep for the night stumbles on a murder scene. He sees a man shoot the victim. The murderer sees his face and chases him, but the kid gets away. The only problem is, the kid saw a badge on the murderer's belt. He's a cop. 

14. A new crime lord is moving into the city. He's ruthless and not afraid to go after cops. But there's one cop who won't look the other way. 

15. When a serial killer starts targeting teachers at the local college, a campus police officer must move fast to find the killer. 

16. Everyone suspects the young man of killing his father at sea for the inheritance money, but no one can prove it. No one but your main character – the suspect's own brother. 

17. Part of the murder was caught on social media, but the murderer was wearing a mask. It's up to one new officer to solve the case. 

18. A teenage girl is kidnapped, but there's no ransom note. The girl herself calls and tells the police to leave her alone. But her parents are a mess and the detective promises he'll get the girl back. 

19. A newly married woman finds clues suggesting her husband isn't at all who he says he is. As she searches for the truth, she finds there's a massive criminal conspiracy at play. 

20. After finding a bunch of tapes at a garage sale, one young woman sees some startling images in one of the videos. She must track down where the tapes came from so justice can be done. 

Mystery/thriller stories have steadily been among the most popular out there. But this subgenre isn't always about unraveling the mystery. Much of the time, the reader already knows who the antagonist is. The suspense comes from wondering whether the main character will prevail in the end. If you enjoy thrillers, choose a creative writing prompt below and see where it takes you. 

21. A retired black-ops special operator finds that his friends keep turning up dead. And at each murder scene, there are clues that point to top-secret missions only a handful of people could possibly know about. 

22. While staying at an exclusive resort in the South Pacific, your main character stumbles upon a human trafficking operation. She tries to go to the police, but they're on the take. It's up to her to bring the bad guys down. 

23. Your protagonist starts seeing a half-familiar face around town. But every time he looks closer, the person is gone without a trace. The problem is, your protagonist has a murky past. And the face he keeps seeing belongs to someone he killed many years ago. 

24. A drifter catches a ride on a bus, headed nowhere in particular. But when he hears half of a phone conversation from the woman behind him, he can't help but try and help her out of her predicament. The thing is, she doesn't want his help. And the half of the conversation he heard is far from the whole story. 

25. People are spontaneously combusting in one detective's city. But a killer soon starts taking credit for the strange deaths. The detective and an arson investigator must team up to get to the bottom of the mystery. 

26. An ex-soldier comes home to find his sister in deep with a local drug dealer. When he tries to get the dealer off his sister's back, he accidentally kills the guy. Pretty soon, he's wanted by the police and the drug organization. And he has to find a way to make things right. 

27. An undercover narcotics officer finds himself in the middle of a conspiracy to kill a high-ranking state politician. The only problem is, they're holding his girlfriend hostage to make him do what they want. 

28. With his dying breath, an old man admits that he's not your main character's father. This sends the protagonist on a journey to find out where she really comes from. And the truth is stranger than she ever could've thought. 

29. The story opens with a SWAT team breaking through the windows and arresting your protagonist. They've found his DNA all over a murdered CEO's body. But your protagonist has never met the CEO in his life. He must break out of jail and uncover the truth. 

30. When involved in a minor fender-bender, your protagonist gets out of the car and finds that the other driver is dying. He says he's been poisoned and whispers the name of the person who did it just before he dies. 

Here's a mix of historical, science fiction, and even horror mystery writing prompts to use for your creative writing exercises. Whether you're writing a short story or drafting a novel, it all starts with an idea and a word on the page!

31. A serial killer is using the cover of the German invasion of France to kill people. It's up to one detective to find the murderer – while also being involved in the resistance movement. 

32. Using special deepfake technology, one killer beats the cameras in the futuristic society to commit his – or her – murders. 

33. A dark underground society preys on those in poverty-stricken areas, recruiting and tricking people to use as human sacrifices. When a found-again Christian learns about this, he knows he must stop it, but he's unsure of how far he should go to face such evil. 

34. Navigating the South during the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s, one detective must bring to justice the Klansmen who are responsible for several deaths. But given the protection these men get from those in their close-knit community, it will be much harder than he ever expected. 

35. A woman survives a car accident that kills her partner. She blames herself until she starts having strange dreams that suggest something much more sinister is at play. 

There's no better way to increase your writing skill than by practicing with story prompts. But what about when you're ready to put your finished book out into the world? You'll need to bring several factors together to give your mystery novel the best chance of success. These factors include cover design, categories, keywords, and marketing. 

The problem is, getting these things right can be difficult and time-consuming. That's why we made Publisher Rocket . This self-publishing tool can help you bring all the factors mentioned above together to help your book succeed. It does this by pulling and aggregating information directly from Amazon. You can do it all manually, but it takes hours and hours. With Publisher Rocket, you can do it in minutes.  

  • See the book covers of the top-selling books in various mystery categories. You can use the similarities to inform your designer about what you want. 
  • Decide on the right categories with the category search function. It can help you find the sweet spot with categories that have high demand but low or medium competition. 
  • You need to put 7 keywords in your book's metadata on Amazon. Publisher Rocket can help you decide which keywords are best. 
  • Using the AMS Keyword search, you can get a list of appropriate keywords to use in your Amazon Ads campaigns, which help you get visibility and sales. 

Check out Publisher Rocket here to learn more!

Looking for more prompts? We've got more to choose from:

  • Horror Writing Prompts
  • Romance Writing Prompts
  • Children’s Book Ideas

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See why over 47,000+ authors and publishing companies use and love Rocket to help them sell more books.

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When I’m not sipping tea with princesses or lightsaber dueling with little Jedi, I’m a book marketing nut. Having consulted multiple publishing companies and NYT best-selling authors, I created Kindlepreneur to help authors sell more books. I’ve even been called “The Kindlepreneur” by Amazon publicly, and I’m here to help you with your author journey.

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50 Intriguing Mystery Story Ideas!

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Mystery story ideas often follow a similar pattern. Early on, a dead body turns up, a valuable item goes missing, or a puzzle begs to be solved. The reader knows that by the end of the book, questions will have been answered, which is a comforting element in even the most gruesome murder mysteries.

This simple structure allows for endless creative and original variations. And ten different writers could take the same writing prompt here and write ten vastly different stories! I’ve been reading a lot of mystery novels lately — mostly cozy mysteries, not gritty crime novels, although I might enjoy those, too. That inspired me to write this list of prompts for mystery story ideas.

You can also use this list as an idea generator for free-writing.  Whether you stumble across a story idea you love in the process, or you just get your creative writing juices flowing again, it’s so worth it.

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Although I had mystery novels in mind, some of these could become a subplot in a different fiction genre, from fantasy and romance (especially romantic suspense), to historical fiction and thrillers. (And you might also be interested in my list of 50 thriller plot ideas !)

Be sure to save the post for future reference (or pin it on Pinterest!)

50 MYSTERY STORY IDEAS: plots and writing prompts | magnifying glass, book, glasses

Mystery Story Ideas

1. A woman asks a writer to write the story of her life. Then she goes missing.

2. Murder victims are found buried with some of their wordly goods, Viking style.

3. Three people close to the murder victim have confessed. Each of them swears they acted alone.

4. Notes and gifts from her “Secret Santa” at work take a strange turn.

5. It’s going to be a beautiful wedding at a beautiful destination, but two people in the wedding party have been murdered.

6. The creator of a high-tech prototype that will change an industry has gone missing.

7. Her parents believe her to be their biological child, but they all learn otherwise.

8. The dead woman’s wedding ring is found in a ditch forty miles away.

9. A museum conservator is restoring an old painting, and an X-ray reveals something shocking or mysterious painted or written in the layer beneath.

10. A sorority sister who bullied prospective pledges is found dead.

11. As a man researches his genealogy, he finds that ancestors from a few different generations and a few different countries made visits to the same remote place.

12. Someone replaced the woman’s contact lens solution with a damaging liquid. (This mystery story idea brought to you courtesy of a phobia of mine!)

13. He’s always been a faithful husband, but someone has planted false evidence of his having an affair.

14. A detective is hired for a high price to find a thief who stole something that doesn’t appear to have any real value.

15. Every unmarried lady at the ball wanted to dance with the duke, so it’s too bad he was found stabbed in the garden.

16. In the middle of a wilderness, someone finds an abandoned bunker with security cameras, powered by a generator.

17. The graves of historic figures are being robbed.

18. Clues to the mystery come to him in dreams, but nobody believes him.

19. Serial murders in cities in two different countries are very similar.

20. A man she didn’t know left her a valuable and unusual item in his will.

21. A writer researching his biography of a Golden Age movie star comes across something that makes him suspect that contrary to the official story, she was a murder victim.

22. The accidental death of this investigative reporter seems a little too convenient.

23. The murders all relate to common fears, such as public speaking, flying, and heights.

24. A woman wakes up with a headache and goes into work, only to learn that she’s been missing for a month.

25. Writers are being murdered at the mystery writers’ convention.

26. The painting must have been stolen from the museum in broad daylight, but the security cameras malfunctioned and no witnesses have come forward.

27. Three different guests at the Air BnB died later under mysterious circumstances.

28. A practicing witch or voodoo priestess is accused of murder.

29. The murders are re-enactments of famous murders in novels or movies.

30. He claims to be the rich man who was lost at sea two decades ago.

31. The inspector’s friend is murdered while he is talking on the phone to the inspector.

32. A dead body is found in an unclaimed piece of luggage at the airport.

33. He was murdered on his honeymoon on a cruise ship, and his new, much-younger bride was the only one on board who even knew him.

34. A woman who didn’t know she was adopted meets her twin sister, who gives her a dire warning.

35. One of the pies submitted to the state fair contest was poisoned.

36. The report of a celebrity’s death is false, but he dies soon after.

37. The murder victims all have the same tailor.

38. Who would kill the guest of honor at their 100 th birthday party?

39. The victim was found drowned in a whiskey barrel at the distillery.

40. A wife arranges a romantic “scavenger hunt” for her husband, but someone else changes a few of the clues.

41. The thief who steals rare books always leaves a sonnet behind. (As someone who’s written a few sonnets, I’m particularly fond of this mystery story idea, but you can think of all kinds of creative “calling cards” for criminals!)

42. The wrong body is in the casket at the visitation. No one knows who it is, or where the other body is.

43. The murders were definitely committed by a human, but resemble the attacks of wild animals.

44. After the woman returned the lost wallet, someone began stalking her.

45. The book she’s reading seems to be telling the story of her own life, though she doesn’t think she’s ever met the author.

46. A man who faked his own death must be found in time.

47. Someone in a villain costume and mask attempts to kill an actor at a fan convention. The actor is saved by a fan dressed as a superhero.

48. An Egyptian mummy, or what appears to be one, is found in an unlikely place.

49. A man is found murdered following a heated argument with several people on social media.

50. A body is found in the organic vegetable garden at a hippie commune.

Do you have some thoughts on mystery story ideas?

If so, I’d love to hear from you in the comments! 

And if you want more inspiration, please check out my book 5,000 Writing Prompts !  It has 100 more mystery writing prompts in addition to the ones on this list, plus hundreds of other master plots by genre, dialogue and character prompts, and much more.

mystery novel writing prompts

Thanks so much for stopping by, and happy writing!

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62 thoughts on “ 50 intriguing mystery story ideas ”.

  • Pingback: 50 Mystery Plot Ideas and Writing Prompts! – All About Writing and more

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I love cozy mysteries and I love these prompts. A couple of them have spoken to me already and I’ve never written a mystery before.

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Thanks, KC! And yeah… cozy mysteries are a whole new world for me, and I love them. 🙂

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And I thought I could come up with some off the wall stuff…Thanks Bryn! You’ve offered up several gems.

Haha, thank you Anne!

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Your writing prompts should get the writing juices flowing. Thanks for sharing.

Hey, thanks for reading! And for commenting!

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Thanks for the mystery prompts, Bryn! I’ve queued up a link to share tonight for Write it Wednesday on my blog.

Oh, thank you. It’s always an honor!

  • Pingback: Você não tem uma ideia, mas quer, pode e deve escrever mesmo assim – Romancearte

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Is 46 a transvestite mystery then?

It’s either a typo, transvestite, cross dresser, a man who was dressed as a woman as part of his job, or dressed as a woman as a way of hiding from the trouble he’s in. Your choice 🙂

Ha! It’s a typo. I corrected it. 🙂 Thank you!

PS I do that ALL THE TIME in my writing! I always have to correct a few pronouns when I edit a story.

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Number 2 is brilliant and I would binge watch an entire Scandi-noir series based on it.

Hahaha! Thanks, Maggie!

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You helped me a LOT, thanks! I wrote stories on #9 and #11. I liked several others, but couldn’t think of ways to put them into stories. I tweaked #9 quite a bit. You have awesome ideas! ??

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Hi Bryn, just to say your “Master List for Writers” rocks – love it!

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Thanks a lot Bryn… the ideas were nice… can work as a kick starter…!!

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this was very helpful thank you so much (they were also in a very understanable english, im only 13 and from denmark)

These ideas are genius! Please write more for mystery and other types of books. (if you have time.) I LOVED EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOUR IDEAS.

Hello, Bryn! Thank you so much for making this! it’s really inspire me:))

these are useless

just kidding there good

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is it okay to use these prompts for movie ideas?

  • Pingback: 4 Places to Find Plot Ideas for Your Mystery Novel | | Silviya's Writing Nook

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Its really good to have these prompts…..they speaka lot for the forwarding story

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so glad to have found you! Love it! Story Ideas for a whole Lifetime!!

Hi there! I’m so glad it’s helpful! Thanks for the nice comment; I really appreciate it!

Yayyyyy I wanna be a author can I know how to become a AUTHOR BTW I’m 11 yrs old and I love reading and writing stories Love it!

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thank you i am 11 with my friend we are writing a book

Saul, that’s awesome! I wish you and your friend good luck on your book. Have fun!

Hello, I just found this, and thanks so much! I really wanted to write a mystery novel but I couldn’t come up with anything. Thanks a lot for the effort u put into these ideas and I’m so glad that people like you exist…. ❤

im 12 and im writing a mystery series! so helpful !

Good luck on your mystery series!

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Thanks for the prompts!

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What a lovely collection of mystery ideas!

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  • Pingback: 50 idées de complots mystérieux et invites d’écriture! – Bryn Donovan

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A lot of good ideas here Bryn. Thanks for the inspiration!

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I think 99% of content that could lead to a mystery story, comes from people. In solving the mystery, usually it’s a question of finding out what happened, right? I think it’s just as important to know WHY someone did something. The human factor, not just the event, is like, so important, right?

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Nice, and helpful. Let me see if I can connect two or more together and come up with a good plot.

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thank u so much! i am 11 yrs old and I’ve been writing short and simple stories since 7 or 8 years old. i came up with the idea to write a mystery novel/murder mystery when i remembered the “Sweet Valley High” series that i read most of by Francine Pascal and how much murder and drama got developed after the 94th one. Anyway, my mind was blank and the ideas i did came up with weren’t exactly genius. i was searching and stumbled against your ideas. they are sooo helpful!! i can literally imagine one of those ideas that u wrote into a movie (for example, your 1st one where everyone is searching for the woman and find nothing. then her adopted brother who had a bond discovered where she was and knew that he should tell no one. he talked to her through lights and letters written on the wall(i got that from STRANGER THINGS) and rescued her from the people who were holding her hostage) i stretched that but i can really imagine this in my mind right now. well, i am so grateful for your ideas. i hope more people can find your ideas helpful worldwide. thank again 🙂

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i think that that is really cool. i used to start stories like that around 8 and 9 and i am also 11 looking for more stories

i will also be really happy if u reply 😉

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hiya im also 11 i was wondering if you could help me on a 100 word unsolved writting challenge?

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Be careful kids. You do not know that the people contacting you are not adults pretending. Never give out your details to strangers. Keep safe. Keep writing.

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will do, thanks 🙂

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Number 41 is awesome!! I might use it, but in my story the thief leaves behind haikus. Thanks for the prompts!!!

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Hi can you please help me out on a private dective story

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I have been reading posts regarding this topic and this post is one of the most interesting and informative one I have read. Thank you for this!

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A cult believes the victim is not human/heretic.

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My problem right now isn’t finding an idea. It’s how to bring it to fruition. Any advice on that would be helpful

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Best Crime and Mystery Writing Prompts of 2023

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Krystal N. Craiker

Mystery writing prompts titles

Readers love mystery stories because of the suspense, the puzzle, and the plot twists.

The mystery genre is a great genre to explore for writers who love writing suspense and enjoy learning about true crime.

Writing a crime or mystery novel can be a lot of fun, but it can be difficult to come up with fresh ideas.

Writing prompts are a great way to get your creative juices flowing. These writing prompts and story ideas can give you enough fodder for everything from a short story to a whole series of novels.

The great thing about writing prompts is they aren’t restrictive. The prompt will probably be unrecognizable by the end of your story because you changed it so many times.

Even if you stay true to the prompt, you can still write an original story. If you give five authors the same story idea, you will get five unique stories.

So, take these mystery writing prompts and make them your own.

Use them as inspiration and change them up. Write a whole novel based on one of them. Take bits and pieces from several prompts for something epic. Or just use them as writing exercises .

Historical Mystery Story Ideas and Prompts

Police procedural and detective writing prompts, cozy mystery writing prompts, general suspense thriller novel writing prompts, serial killer mystery writing prompts, how to use mystery prompts in writing.

  • Bootleggers in 1920s Chicago keep winding up dead. Two detectives must partner together to solve the murders. One detective has dedicated his life to ending bootlegging, as his father was a raging alcoholic. The other is a homicide detective who dabbles in bootlegging on the side.

Mystery writing prompts 1

In World War II, an army nurse goes missing in the Pacific Theater of Operations. The disappearance is written off as a defection by superior officers, so it’s up to her nurse friends to discover what happened.

A dead body appears at a noble’s house party in Regency England. No one claims to know who the victim is, which leads to two mysteries: who is it and whodunit?

A town in the Mughal Empire falls victim to a serial killer. The victims are all middle-aged mothers. A young woman, whose mother was the first victim, works with a military general to find and stop the murders.

Mystery writing prompts 2

King Louis XIV’s favorite virtuoso is found dead. He tasks a reluctant lieutenant with investigating everyone at Versailles to find and stop the killer. Every witness tells the lieutenant a different version of the murder because they all have something to hide.

Someone has kidnapped the daughters of two prominent figures from both sides of the Mexican Revolution in 1912. Both leaders send a detective to investigate the kidnappings. The two detectives are from rival sides of the revolution, but they must put aside their differences to find the missing girls.

Mystery writing prompts 3

A detective in the Orlando Police Department must investigate the mysterious deaths of three Disney World princesses. The detective hates children but now spends every day at the most kid-friendly place on earth.

A Scotland Yard detective is at risk of being fired for her reckless behavior. She’s sent to a remote village to investigate the disappearance of a local baker. None of her superiors care about the case, but she quickly finds herself in a dangerous game of cat and mouse with the killer—and no backup.

Coffee is delivered to the police station by an anonymous donor. One of the cups doesn’t have a name written in the cup. Instead, there’s a creepy note, and the cup is filled with something far more sinister than coffee.

A burnt-out police detective must work with his ex-wife, a renowned forensics expert, to solve the murder of a prominent member of the government.

Mystery writing prompts 4

A police officer is on a family vacation to an isolated mountain town with no active police department. When the owner of the lodge is found dead, and all the phone and internet lines are cut, it’s up to the officer to solve the case before the murderer takes another victim.

An investigative journalist believes that several high-profile thefts, spread over five decades, are related. The only person who believes them is a quirky small town sheriff.

Mystery writing prompts 5

An elderly small town librarian winds up dead in her own library. It appears to be from natural causes, but the day before she emails her most bookish patron with the subject line: Clue for my murder. The body of the email contains only a library call number for a book.

A star athlete on a full-ride scholarship and a studious aspiring scientist must solve a series of mysterious deaths in their dorms before their dream university is closed forever.

The grumpy owner of a local pub (who hates children) and a young girl from the local elementary school pair up to solve the disappearance of an elementary teacher who moonlights as a bartender.

A successful businessman returns to his coastal hometown for the holidays. After drinking spiked eggnog, he wakes up in the boat of his high school girlfriend, who is now a professional fisherwoman. He has no memory of the night before, but now he’s the prime suspect in a murder investigation. With the help of his ex, his overbearing mom, and his former chemistry teacher, he must work to clear his name.

Mystery writing prompts 6

The murder of the resort’s entertainment director rocks a peaceful resort town on a tropical island. No one particularly liked the victim, but the head maid and a quirky bellboy feel obligated to solve the murder to avoid losing guests and, therefore, hotel income.

An accountant has always believed that her mother died in a car crash. When her grandmother passes away, she finds a half-finished investigation in the old woman’s basement. Her grandmother suspected murder for almost two decades and never told a soul! She picks up her grandmother’s investigation to discover what really happened to her mom.

Mystery writing prompts 7

A sweet 90-year-old woman enters a police station and confesses to a series of murders spanning 70 years. The problem is she is fuzzy on the details due to her age—or is she? Detectives must investigate the murders as she remembers the names and locations of her murder victims.

Fed up with the bureaucracy and corruption of the criminal justice system, an assistant district attorney fakes their own death to enter the seedy underbelly of the organized crime world. They want to bring down the killers who keep getting away with murder—and their mysterious top boss.

A criminal psychologist helps profile an unknown murderer in a brutal triple homicide. But as she completes her profile, she notices some shocking similarities to her washed-up brother, who lives with their elderly father.

Mystery writing prompts 8

All over the country, people are dying of arsenic poisoning. They all had one thing in common, they took the same vitamins. An investigator from the Food and Drug Administration visits the manufacturer, only to find a sinister conspiracy that goes much deeper than just a few factory workers.

The office gossip winds up dead after a company retreat. Multiple people had a motive. The main character let their dark secret slip that weekend, and now they must solve the murder to avoid the truth getting out.

A series of bank heists occur on the same day in four different countries. The next week, several heads of crime organizations descend on Monaco. An Interpol agent must go undercover in the high-stakes world of organized crime and gambling to solve the mystery.

Mystery writing prompts 9

Prisoners keep winding up brutally murdered at a penitentiary. Several of the imprisoned serial killers are suspects. A federal investigator, with a hatred for even the most petty criminals, is sent to investigate the murders. He must work closely with inmates and learn that they are only human. Bonus: the serial killer is a prison staff member, not an inmate.

A serial killer terrorizes a major metropolitan area, but officials can find no common link between the victims except how they’re killed. When her sister is murdered, an Uber customer service representative takes matters into her own hands. The murderer is an Uber driver who saves addresses and waits months before returning for the victims to avoid suspicion.

Ten people, from across the country, wind up dead. They’re all killed in exactly the same way, and they all have a page from Shakespeare’s Complete Works pinned to their shirt. A detective pairs with a literature professor to solve the case before the Bard Killer can claim any more victims.

Mystery writing prompts 10

A series of murders occurs in the Midwest. All the victims fit the same profile: young with dyed hair. Every victim visited a busy truck stop the day they died.

Someone is murdering L.A. food truck owners, leaving only their charred remains behind. The protagonist is a forensic anthropologist who is married to a food truck owner.

The first victim enters a crowded store wearing a bomb. They are clearly under duress, but they steal a cheap item, only to be blown up remotely, causing many deaths. Organized crime and terror units investigate this, only for another victim to go in exactly the same way a few weeks later. By the third victim, it’s clear there’s a sadistic serial killer at play.

Using mystery prompts can help get your story flowing. It’s a great way to challenge yourself as a writer.

Prompts are open to interpretation, so it’s up to you to find the next great story within them.

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Krystal N. Craiker is the Writing Pirate, an indie romance author and blog manager at ProWritingAid. She sails the seven internet seas, breaking tropes and bending genres. She has a background in anthropology and education, which brings fresh perspectives to her romance novels. When she’s not daydreaming about her next book or article, you can find her cooking gourmet gluten-free cuisine, laughing at memes, and playing board games. Krystal lives in Dallas, Texas with her husband, child, and basset hound.

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67 Terrific Mystery Writing Prompts and Story Ideas

Writing Prompts |

67 Terrific Mystery Writing Prompts and Story Ideas

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This is the third article in our 500+ free writing prompt series . In today’s article, we will focus on 67 mystery writing prompt for adults.

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As always, these writing prompts are meant to inspire your creativity. Please feel free to use any of these writing prompts as you wish.

Remember that writing prompts are only the seed to a potentially great story. The way you flesh out the plot and execute on character development while building suspense will ultimately decide the success of your mystery novel.

We’ve broken up these mystery-writing prompts into the following categories to make it easier for you to navigate:

  • Heist Writing Prompts
  • Bank Robbery Plots
  • Murder Mysteries
  • Kidnapping and Disappearances
  • Psychological Thrillers
  • Amateur Sleuths
  • Police Procedurals

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mystery novel writing prompts

Article Topics

10 Heist Writing Prompts and Mystery Story Ideas

Some might consider this group of heist writing prompts very similar to bank robbery prompts and they’d be right. In fact, bank robbery plot ideas are just a specific type of heist storylines.

But in this section will focus on some heist plot ideas that go nowhere near Bank. I for one typically enjoy these types of heists a bit more fascinating.

mystery novel writing prompts

1. A series of cathedrals are being ransacked and robbed throughout New York. What are the criminals looking for?

2. Interpol is called in to investigate a museum robbery. When they get there, they’re shocked to see every painting has been stolen. And they need to figure out who did it and how did they get out without anybody noticing.

3. The series of well-executed robberies strike across the globe within a 24-hour period. Due to the distance of each of these crimes they would otherwise be considered unrelated, if not for the fact, that each robbery the items were stolen were priceless Leonardo da Vinci artifacts.

4. A database of potential cancer eradicating research is hacked, stolen, and erased.

5. The presidential journals from every president in history are stolen from the Library of Congress vault.

6. A potentially devastating piece of secret DNA evidence is stolen from the royal archives threatening the legitimacy of the British royal family.

7. Blood banks across America are robbed simultaneously. Creating an instant shortage.

8. A decommissioned nuclear ballistic missile was stolen while in transit somewhere in the defunct Soviet Union. Now American intelligence officers must gain cooperation from the Kremlin if they are to help recover it.

9. The World Climate Change organization has its computers wiped and all data stolen from its databases.

10. Every Crypto Currency exchange is hacked and wiped clean on the same day, leaving world markets in a panic.

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10 Mystery Writing Prompts With Bank Robbers Involved

mystery novel writing prompts

No group of mystery writing prompts would be complete without the obligatory bank robber story ideas. In this section, we will take a look at a few mystery story ideas centering on just that, bank robberies.

1. A series of Middle Eastern banks are robbed however none of the cash taken. Instead, only select safe-deposit boxes are disturbed and emptied. When more enforcement looks into these boxes each was opened by a false identity.

2. When the national mint is broken into and robbed, and FBI behaviorist must recruit the nation’s most infamous bank robber to help him try and solve the robbery.

3. When an ex-CIA agents bank accounts and safe deposit boxes are emptied unexplainably, he is left with no choice but to try to track down the person responsible.

4. A series of bank vaults containing artifacts of some of the Renaissance Period greatest artists are robbed within hours of each other.

5. The Vatican City national Bank is robbed. None of the goals or cash is taken, only a series of ancient scrolls.

6. A cyber attack wipes out the World Bank. Now authorities must figure out who is behind it and how to recover the information before the world is thrown into utter chaos.

7. The largest bank in the Cayman Islands is robbed wiping out the fortunes of degenerates across the globe. Can the money be recovered before these miscreants unleash havoc trying to recover it themselves?

8. Fort Knox is thought of to be the most impenetrable gold reserve in the world. What happens when its contents inexplicably disappear overnight and all that’s left behind is a warning of more to come?

9. When the world’s biggest religious organizations side a historic treaty to acknowledge each other’s existence and store their greatest historical artifacts together in a world vault for preservation, the here heist to end all heists wipes it all away.

10. The first U.S. Bank to accept money from the newly legalized Cannabis Industry is robbed and 1% of the nation’s GDP is lost. 

mystery novel writing prompts

11 Murder-Mystery Writing Prompts and Story Ideas

Everyone loves a good murder mystery. In most mystery authors, will try to tackle a murder mystery at some point in their careers.

Now murder can be a popular topic in any mystery, but here are a few writing prompts where the primary mystery is solving the murder itself.

1. A retired New York police officer gets wrapped up in a series of murders occurring on the small Caribbean island when the first person that turns up dead as a woman he was seeing.

2. A rich aristocrat dies, when 10 family members are called in for the reading of the will their weekend in the Château turns darker still. One by one, they are being hunted and killed. Now a local detective needs to figure out what’s going on before they’re all gone.

3. A small-time private investigator that normally specializes in catching accident fidelity suddenly gets thrown into a murder case when the man he was hired to trail turns up dead and so is the wife who hired him.

4. A body washes up on the Jersey shore, upon further inspection the corner find symbols tattooed on the victim’s body. What do they mean?

5. A female forensic detective is shocked when she inspects a recent victim’s mutilated body. This is no random victim, but one of her old flames. When he becomes the first in a series of old boyfriends to be horribly murdered, she’s to find the connection and who is behind it.

6. Seven murders occur in a small town on the same night. To make things even stranger, seven children show up at the police station the following morning confessing to the crimes, but they all insist they worked alone.

7. A police detective gets the call of all calls one night. When he arrives at the murder scene he finds his ex-wife dead, with forensic evidence pointing to himself.

8. A local beauty queen wins the city pageant, when her body turns up dead it’s found within item from each of the other contestants on it.

9. Spring break travelers head to Fort Lauderdale. When they all turn up dead, local police are left trying to find the motive and suspect.

10. The world’s leading climate change authority is killed hours before he/she announces the groundbreaking discovery. 

11. A foreign dignitary is killed on American Soil while visiting the White House. 

14 Fiction Kidnapping Story Plots and Writing Prompts

Anyone that’s ever been wrapped up in a compelling kidnapping story knows just how engaging it can be. I would be remiss in creating any mystery writing prompts or story list without including some good old-fashioned kidnapping and disappearance ideas.

1. A European tour bus operator driving a group of tourists through France has his riders disappear one by one throughout the trip.

2. A group of teens has their parents disappear on the same night. When they get no help from the police, their only choice is to band together and find their parents.

3. An MIT engineer working on a new biological energy source disappears without a trace.

4. An orphanage with a great track record of finding children new homes gets a knock at the door when a local detective connects an otherwise unrelated series of child disappearances.

5. At a political fundraiser for an up-and-coming congressman, a jovial night turns sideways when he disappears.

6. A small town sheriff is left to clean up the pieces when a series of disappearances ravish it. What’s most odd is that the disappearances started exactly in parallel with the opening of a new government facility that was hailed as the very thing that would save it.

7. A local detective is left investigating a series of disappearances from a local psychiatric hospital. The patients in this hospital were all wards of the state with no known relatives.

8. A series of ransom notes hit Hollywood. The odd thing is in each of the kidnappings; the ransom notes came prior to the person actually disappearing.

9. The Olympic village is thrown into panic as a series of athletes disappear on the same night without warning.

10. A London campus is in frenzy as five of their top professors, along with each of their top students disappear without a trace.

11. A famous national park trail becomes the site of seven disappearances in seven days. The FBI must now figure out what’s going on.

12. A family vacation to the Grand Canyon is thrown into utter chaos when both parents disappear, leaving two team children behind.

13. The crew to a well-known ghost hunting show visits and abandoned Castle has long been rumored to be haunted. The Internet erupts during a live stream from the castle where each of the crewmembers and actors inexplicably vanished without a trace.

14. A wife and her child disappear 2 hours before their supposed to be reunited with her returning veteran husband. 

mystery novel writing prompts

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7 Psychological Mystery Writing Prompts

Psychological mystery can be a little tricky because I think all good mysteries have a psychological component to them.

However, in these writing prompts wanted to throw some ideas out there where the unknown behind the crime it is just as unsettling as a crime itself.

1. A series of break-ins terrorize a small town, but what makes these break-ins so scary is that nothing is stolen or moved. However, the intruders go out of their way to make it clear that they were there.

2. A Woman walks into a small town police station reporting that her husband has gone missing. The odd thing is, both her and her husband were reported missing 10 years ago to the day. Stranger still, their bodies had been found three months later.

3. A mysterious box shows up on the desk of a detective in Erie Pennsylvania. When he opens it he finds evidence that will reopen the case that had been shut over a decade ago.

4. An international flight vanishes without a trace. What’s even more unsettling is every record of the passengers on board that flight disappears along with it.

5. A small town psychic comes into a police station with information home where they can find a dead body. Upon further investigation, nobody is found. One day later, a woman disappears from her home and is found dead in the very spot Law enforcement searched the day before.

6. A series of murder-suicides hit a small town hard. There is no known link except for the proximity in which they occurred.

7. An orphan of foreign dissent shows up at a local church in the middle of the country. She doesn’t speak, has no papers, and there’s no trace of her family. But upon her arrival, children her age start to disappear throughout the town.

10 Amateur Sleuth Mystery Writing Prompts and Story Ideas

The amateur sleuth is always a fascinating mystery trope. It could be because we enjoy seeing ordinary people do extraordinary things.

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I might be because many times these inexperienced crime fighters bring just the right amount of high jinx with their imperfect approaches. But either way, the amateur sleuth is a very entertaining and cozy mystery when done right.

1. A man that recently moved down to the Caribbean to start sea sidebar, is this tasked with helping beautiful local resort owner solve a series of mysterious happenings around her bread and breakfast.

2. A close-knit group of friends sets out on a wild adventure when one of their middle school classmates disappears on their way home despite only living one block away.

3. A woman moves to Arizona to be near her elderly mom when she notices unsettling coincidences among the deterioration of her mother and the other residents. With no proof, she’s left to investigate the matter herself.

4. A Brooklyn deli owner and neighborhood will do or is unsatisfied with the local police his answers when it comes to the disappearance of a young girl that worked in the shop. He’ll now take it upon himself, to solve this neighborhood mystery.

5. A young crime stoppers club who put on elaborate reenactments of real-life crimes the size to play out and act investigation, but when they uncover new evidence in the case they become the only people who can solve it.

6. A small-town magician gets more than he bargained for when his beautiful assistant and fiancé disappear for real in the middle of his magic act.

7. A Vegas showgirl refuses to sit by any longer as more and more of her friends turn up dead in local authorities continue to have no answers .

8. A chemistry high school teacher tries to solve a rash of student deaths when the latest victim turns out to be his niece.

9. A Parisian priest gets obsessed with a series of cult-like occurrences outside the small town of Fre’jus .

10. An amateur filmmaker’s horror thriller is unexpectedly entered into the Cannes Film Festival. When parts of his movie start happening in real life he’s compelled to figure out what’s going on.

5 Police Procedural Writing Plots and Prompts

Now it’s clear how popular police procedural fiction and TV shows have become. A good police procedural will not only take the reader on a journey to solve the mystery but will make the reader feel as if they are truly part a law enforcement.

Want Some Inspiration- Check Out The Latest Police Procedural Best Sellers on Amazon

A police procedural needs to be well executed in the details true crime-fighting techniques. They take a lot more research in specificity around the particular crime-fighting unit question, but when done right they bring a whole other level a reality to your mystery plot.

1. A member of the FBI’s behavioral unit investigates a new serial killer who uses well-known criminal profiles to throw law enforcement off their trail .

2. A homicide unit investigates a series of homeless murderers ravishing the city parks.

3. When the city counselor’s daughter turns up dead on the steps of Capitol Hill local officers race find the killer.

4. When a series of witness protection informants begin to turn up dead ahead of a high-profile case, the FBI agent who helped put the case together now help protect his final witnesses.

5. The narcotics division of the local Police Department these dealing with a new synthetic drug as they’d never seen before. Now they need to find out was bringing it into their neighborhood.

That’s the conclusion of our mystery writing prompts and story idea article. I hope you can use one of these ideas as inspiration to write your next mystery thriller.

Remember this is just one post in our series of 500+ writing posts, check out the writing prompt hub page to find free writing prompts and other genres.

As always, thanks for reading and more importantly Writing!

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Incredible Mystery Story Ideas: 65 Creative Mystery Writing Prompts

  • March 9, 2022

There are few things as satisfying as fleshing out a fantastic idea. It’s a great creative writing exercise . Many writers use short writing prompts as inspiration for story starters.

What makes a good prompt? It’s relatively simple: a good prompt has a who and a what. You don’t necessarily need a where or when, but they can be included to form a more specific mystery plot.

But what if you can’t think of anything? Here are 65 mystery writing prompts to get you started. Any of these ideas can be turned into a short story or a mystery novel!

Mystery Story Ideas And Mystery Writing Prompts

Mystery story starters.

Below are starters to help you in conceptualizing, imagining, and creating a new mystery story:

  • The fast-paced city you currently reside in turns out to be moving irregularly one day. People wander around slowly, cashiers swipe items slowly, and cars seem to be slower than your walking pace. Everything slows down except you.
  • A man visited his best friend’s house, only to find a scrapbook with pictures where his face has been intentionally erased.
  • A woman has arrived home after work one night, only to noticed that there is not one other light in her apartment building that is on except for hers. Where did the other people go? And who is inside her apartment?
  • A group of teenagers were looking for an adventure, they end up at an abandoned house; a series of screams followed their entrance.
  • A man was browsing his emails one night, when a new email pops up saying: “Someone will knock on your door; no matter what it takes, secure the door.”
  • A person is detained for a crime and believes that they are innocent but their DNA is on the murder weapon and the clothes of the dead body. As a detective, you have to find ways to prove their innocence.
  • A woman’s grandfather passed away and left his last will. However, on the day before its reading, the attorney was nowhere to be found and has disappeared without a trace.
  • An 80-year-old woman is convinced that you were her teacher in 1950 and added that you were her favorite. However, you were born in 1994.
  • A man wakes up and everything feels like  deja vu . Is it because of the wrong choice he made the night before?

Historical Story Ideas and writing prompts

The following prompts include mysteries in the ancient world.

  • As the head archaeologist on the dig, you get the honor of opening up the sarcophagus. What a surprise it is to find a cell phone in a thousand-year-old tomb.
  • An ancient artifact arrives at the museum you work at. Your mentor is tasked with dating and placing the piece. When you come in the next day, you find your mentor murdered and the artifact missing.
  • A man who struck it rich in the gold rush suddenly disappears, leaving nothing but a cryptic note.
  • A sharp-tongued guard and the mayor’s aid team up in WWII Germany and try to find the true killer of the mayor. Plot twist: it’s the guard.
  • A defense attorney and the high school-aged son of the murder victim team up together to find the murderer, only to realize it’s actually a suicide.
  • The main character is a mafia member in 1920’s New York who has to get away with murder.
  • A story set in the 1900’s where the entire police force is complacent in the crime.

mystery writing prompts for mystery stories, mystery writers

Classic Murder Mystery Plot Ideas

  • A new boy arrives in your small town just in time for something to go terribly wrong at the yearly homecoming parade, resulting in at least one death. As chaos depends on your high school, one has to ask, “Who is responsible?”
  • A dead body turns up at your apartment. The local police chief of your small town is convinced you are responsible, and he’s determined to find the evidence to arrest you.
  • A woman is missing and presumed dead. As a private detective, you aren’t limited by the law the same way police officers are. You’re stumped, that is, until the next-door neighbor is killed, and you were the last person to see her alive. Well, besides the murderer.
  • Even as an experienced detective, you’re still surprised when someone confesses to a murder they’re convinced they committed, mostly because you know they didn’t do it. Or did they?
  • A relationship ends, and the following day the man is found dead.
  • A recording of a confession of murder is dropped off at your station. As the head detective, you’re tasked with finding out who the victim is and who the killer is.
  • A hardboiled PI and a stranded bridesmaid enter the underbelly of society after a mass grave is discovered. 
  • A baker who consistently stumbles into trouble is the main suspect in a murder investigation.
  • A story starts with, “I was twenty-one when I first met my killer.”
  • The detective is atoning for murdering a man in his youth.
  • A murderous hitchhiker must be caught before he strikes again, but it’s the 70’s and everyone hitchhikes.
  • A housekeeper that is a hoarder finds a decayed body in her home under a pile of things.

Mystical/Magical writing prompts

  • Your best friend goes missing, and in the chaos that ensues, you find out she’s a practicing witch. Does this have anything to do with her disappearance?
  • You follow the detective as he solves the murder, only to find out he’s narrating how his own death occurred.
  • You find a secret door in an abandoned manor you’re exploring. Upon opening it, you step back in time. Who put the door there and why? Why is the house abandoned?
  • Murder victims keep turning up surrounded by strange symbols. They look like ritual killings but end up being something entirely different.
  • You buried your sister years ago, yet here she is at your doorstep. Which one was the imposter, and which one is your real sister?
  • You’re haunted by your lover’s ghost (literally), and you have to find out who killed them.
  • A haunted house is sold in the suburbs. The protagonist can hear the ghosts, and they’re begging her to solve their murders.
  • A lost wallet appears in front of you on the sidewalk, and when you pick it up, you’re transported back in time and must solve the missing person’s case before you can return.
  • A flight vanishes mid-air, lost in another dimension.

General writing prompts

  • Someone is proposed to. The only problem is, where is their current spouse?
  • Your best friend stops by to say hi. The only problem is they’ve been missing for the better part of five years. They have no recollection of any missing time at all.
  • Secret Santa starts off with a bang when the first present is a mangled hand. Unfortunately, as the rest of the presents are unwrapped, the manager’s body emerges, piece by piece.
  • The family is together for the first time in a decade, all to read grandpa’s will and see who gets what. No one was prepared for the winner to take all approach that grandpa took towards catching his murderer.
  • A reporter investigating policy corruption disappears.
  • A house fire and a burglary next door appear unconnected, but a mysterious note implies otherwise.
  • An heiress is missing and doesn’t want to be found. Is finding her the right thing to do?
  • A forensic scientist and a babysitter are drawn into a decades-old cold case. Is the killer even alive anymore?
  • A serial killer that’s never been caught aids in the investigation of a different serial killer.
  • A manipulative janitor finds a missing child in the basement of the school he works for. How did he get there?
  • A hardboiled PI with a double identity must keep his secret safe, as he is thrust into the spotlight.
  • A whodunit story about drug trafficking that starts with a live alligator being thrown through the farmhouse window.
  • A story where every witness is lying about everything but one fact and when those facts are combined the truth can be found.
  • A story where the key suspect is a hallucination.
  • A story where the protagonist is the murder victim.
  • A story idea where the detective solved the crime but is suffering amnesia.
  • Evidence arrives at the detective’s door that may reopen a decade-long cold case.
  • The husband is in denial that his wife is missing at all and keeps trying to give evidence that she’s still around.
  • A story is set in a prison where the killer is already caught, but no one knows it.
  • A priest’s dead body is found by his congregation.
  • A story where the murder scene and mystery are told through a child who doesn’t understand everything.
  • A story where two characters who are never in the same scene together turn out to be the same person.
  • The FBI agent is completely incompetent yet somehow stumbles across the truth.
  • A story where a minor character is actually the killer.
  • A story where one of the characters has a secret that everyone knows exists but is never revealed.
  • A story where the protagonist fails, and the killer gets away (for now).
  • A story that simultaneously takes place in two different timelines.
  • A story where the protagonist’s main objective is revenge, and he’ll take down anyone who gets in his way, regardless of who they are.
  • They’re racing the clock to find someone buried alive.
  • A story where a blue-collar crime spans four decades and two generations.
  • A story that is non-linear and involves a spy searching for a murder weapon.
  • A story where the protagonist is a sociopath, but the reader doesn’t know. They may or may not be the actual villain.
  • A story where the key witness is a compulsive liar.
  • Write a story that is a retelling of a Shakespearean tragedy.
  • A journalist is wrongfully accused of murder and thrown in jail. From there, he must find a way to solve the crime and bring the actual murderer to justice.
  • A story where the serial killer had been put to death a decade ago, but it is now back.
  • A story where someone overhears something they aren’t supposed to and is kidnapped. The detective has to find them.

Mystery Story Ideas to improve your writing skills

Using These Prompts as Plot Ideas

There is no right or wrong way to use these mystery writing prompts, whether you write them exactly as suggested or you alter them as you see fit. 

The purpose isn’t to come up with a perfect piece that follows the prompt exactly, but rather to get your brain flowing so you can write more within the mystery genre.

Depending on the amount of time you have and the length of the piece you decide to write, you can easily work through a prompt a day. Choosing a prompt is as easy or as complicated as you make it. You can randomly choose one, or you can sort through them to find the perfect prompt.

Once you have the right prompt , the length of the story has to be determined. You can write a snippet, a short story , you can write a full-length novel or begin a small series of mystery novels. It’s entirely up to you.

It’s always helpful to have prompts lying around, whether the prompt is from your own mind that you scribbled down or if it was from someone else because prompts help you get the creativity started.

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31 Mystery Writing Prompts to Inspire Your Next Novel

By: Author Paul Jenkins

Posted on September 22, 2022

Categories Writing , Inspiration

Do you love writing mysteries? Are you looking for a little inspiration to get your creative juices flowing? If so, you’re in luck! This blog post will provide 31 mystery writing prompts to help get you started. These prompts will help you develop ideas for plots, characters, and settings. So what are you waiting for? Get started today!

31 Mystery Writing Prompts

1. An amateur detective finds herself caught up in an elaborate conspiracy after stumbling upon a mysterious key.

2. A wealthy banker hires a private investigator to track down his missing daughter, who seems to have disappeared without a trace.

3. When the CEO of a major company is found dead in his office, the police suspect that he was murdered by one of his employees. But as they dig deeper, they discover things are not quite what they seem.

4. An intrepid journalist sets out to uncover the truth behind a series of grisly murders that have plagued the city for years, but what he discovers is more terrifying than he could ever have imagined.

5. After her grandmother passes away, a young woman inherits an old Victorian mansion shrouded in mystery for decades. As she explores the house, she discovers strange and unsettling secrets lurking in its shadows.

6. When an enigmatic stranger appears at her doorstep promising answers to all of her questions, a young woman decides to take him up on his offer and embark on a dark and dangerous journey into the unknown.

7. As he investigates the brutal murder of his best friend, a retired cop slowly begins to unravel a sinister conspiracy that runs far deeper than anyone ever suspected.

8. When two children disappear from their suburban neighborhood without a trace, everyone assumes that it’s just another case of local kids running away from home – until one of them resurfaces with horrifying details about what happened during their time in captivity.

9. A secret society with ties to organized crime sets out on a twisted quest to eliminate a man they consider a threat to their continued existence.

10. When a beautiful young woman is found brutally murdered, the police are baffled when the only clues they discover are cryptic notes left by the killer at the crime scene.

11. When a journalist begins investigating a seemingly random murder, he discovers it’s the tip of the iceberg of a much bigger conspiracy.

12. A CIA agent discovers that a mysterious and well-respected philanthropist is using his charity to finance a secret operation that results in the death of dozens of innocent people.

13. A desperate woman agrees to help a couple of criminals break into a high-security lab in exchange for a large sum of money. However, the goal isn’t to steal anything but to hide valuable evidence that could incriminate their employer.

14. A group of death row inmates makes a surprising discovery about the nature of reality as they await their execution.

15. A curious detective investigates the murder of an unpopular television host with a long list of enemies.

16. When a young girl is abducted from a busy city street, the police must work quickly to track down her abductors before it’s too late.

17. When a prominent scientist suddenly goes missing, the police discover that he’s been conducting secret experiments on a dangerous hallucinogen that induces violent behavior.

18. A private detective investigates the murder of a woman whose body was found in her apartment with her mouth sewn shut.

19. A teenage girl gets caught up in the world of drug trafficking after she is swept off her feet by an older, mysterious stranger.

20. A jewelry store owner finds herself entangled in a web of mystery after a suspicious man with a tattoo on his right wrist walks into her store to sell an unusual antique ring.

21. A man awakens after being in a coma for several months to discover that he is the only survivor of a horrible accident that claimed everyone else’s lives on board his flight. As he struggles to deal with his loss, he begins to have eerie visions hinting at a supernatural force at work.

22. A detective is called in to investigate the murder of a famous crime novelist with a reputation for creating intricate puzzles.

23. After an elderly woman is found dead in the back of a diner, a police investigation reveals that she was the mother of a notorious serial killer who was executed years ago.

24. When a successful author goes missing, a journalist sets out to track her down and discover how her disappearance is connected to her most recent book.

25. When a well-known college professor gets wind of a scandalous rumor about one of his star students, he decides to dig deeper but unexpectedly uncovers a web of lies and deception that could put his life in danger.

26. A computer programmer is given the daunting task of overseeing the digitization of an old library but discovers a mysterious code hidden within the pages of one of the books.

27. A woman disappears while shopping in a crowded mall. When her body is discovered floating in the river, the police begin to suspect that she was the victim of a twisted serial killer.

28. After a young man is viciously attacked on the street in broad daylight, the police are baffled when they can’t find any clues to help them track down the person responsible.

29. A reporter receives a video clip from an anonymous source that depicts a grisly murder, but not everything is as it seems.

30. A renowned psychiatrist is called in to examine a young man who claims to have been taken aboard a UFO by aliens who erased his memory and performed various experiments on him.

31. A group of teenagers attempts to use the internet to track down a long-lost relative but stumble upon a bizarre conspiracy known only as “The Red Eye.”

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you write mystery and suspense.

The best mystery and suspense novels are the ones that keep readers guessing until the very end. If you’re a writer who wants to create this type of intrigue in your own stories, there are a few things you’ll need to do.

Create Believable Characters Creating believable characters is one of the most important elements of writing mystery and suspense. Your readers need to be able to connect with your protagonist on some level for them to care about what happens to them. They also need to trust that the protagonist can escape whatever situation they find themselves in. To create believable characters, start by giving them distinct personalities and flaws. Then, put them in realistic situations and see how they react. Would they be able to think fast enough to come up with a clever plan? Or would they crumble under the pressure?

Craft Impossible Situations Another key element of writing mystery and suspense is crafting impossible situations. The best way to do this is to take an ordinary situation and add a twist. For example, let’s say your protagonist is going on a date with someone they met online. They seem nice enough, so your protagonist decides to go to their apartment for dinner. Once they arrive, however, it becomes clear that their date has other plans… Now you’ve got an ordinary situation (a date gone wrong) with a twist (the date was a madman who planned to kidnap your protagonist). This is the kind of impossible situation that will leave readers guessing until the very end.

Leave Enough Clues If you want your readers to be able to solve the puzzle at the end of your story, you’ll need to leave enough clues along the way. However, you don’t want those clues to be too obvious, or there will be no suspense! A good way to strike the balance is by planting red herrings – false clues that lead your reader astray. This will add an extra layer of intrigue and make solving the puzzle all the more satisfying for your reader.

What Are Tropes in a Mystery?

In literature, a trope is a recurring motif that contributes to developing a story’s theme or atmosphere. In mystery fiction, tropes often add suspense, intrigue, and red herrings to keep readers guessing. Here are some of the most common tropes found in mysteries:

The Secluded Mansion: This trope usually features an ancient, dilapidated mansion set back from the road, surrounded by fields or woods. The mansion is usually inhabited by a reclusive millionaire or eccentric aristocrat with a dark secret. Think “The Haunting of Hill House” or “Knives Out.”

The Locked Room Mystery : In this trope, a body is discovered in a room that has been locked from the inside. There are no signs of forced entry, and the windows are barred or otherwise inaccessible. The detective’s challenge is figuring out how the murderer could have committed the crime and escaped without being seen. One famous example of this trope is Agatha Christie’s “And Then There Were None.”

The Amateur Sleuth: This is probably the most common mystery trope, featuring an ordinary person who becomes embroiled in a criminal investigation. The amateur sleuth typically has some kind of connection to the victim or the murderer, which gives them extra incentive to crack the case. While professional detectives like Sherlock Holmes tend to be more aloof and cerebral, amateur sleuths are often more emotional and relatable. Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple is probably the most famous example of an amateur sleuth.

How Do You Write Cozy Mystery?

Many readers enjoy a good mystery, but some prefer their mysteries to be cozier. Cozy mysteries are light-hearted and often humorous, with little violence or sexual content. They frequently take place in small towns or villages, and the amateur sleuth is usually someone who stumbles upon the crime while going about their everyday life. If you’re thinking of writing a cozy mystery, here are a few tips to get you started.

Create an Engaging Amateur Sleuth The amateur sleuth is the heart of the cozy mystery, so it’s important to ensure they are someone readers will want to follow along with on their adventures. Think about what makes your favorite fictional detectives so engaging, and try incorporating some of those qualities into your sleuth. Is your detective clever and quick-witted? Resourceful? Or maybe they know how to get themselves into (and out of) sticky situations? Whatever it is that makes them special, be sure to highlight those qualities in your writing.

Develop a Small Town or Village Setting Cozy mysteries often occur in small towns or villages where everyone knows each other’s business. This close-knit community provides opportunities and challenges for amateur sleuths as they investigate the crime. On the one hand, it’s easier to gather information when everyone knows each other. On the other hand, nosy neighbors can make it difficult to keep secrets! Make use of this setting by humanizing it to add humor and suspense to your story.

Keep the Romance Light While there can be a bit of romance in a cozy mystery, the investigation should always take a backseat. After all, these books are called “cozies” for a reason! The focus should be on solving the crime, not on whether or not the amateur sleuth will wind up with their dreamboat partner at the end of the book. But that doesn’t mean there can’t be any sparks between your characters! Make sure they don’t get in the way of solving the mystery.

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Writing Tips Oasis

Writing Tips Oasis - A website dedicated to helping writers to write and publish books.

27 Cozy Mystery Writing Prompts

By Brittany Kuhn

flowers on a table

Are you writing a cozy mystery novel and need some inspiration? Take a look at the following 27 cozy mystery writing prompts to get your creative juices flowing!

Solo Sleuth Prompts

1. the dance of death..

The lead in a local dance company goes missing a week before her big performance. The prime suspect is her understudy, but then the understudy goes missing, too.  In an effort to save the show, the stage manager investigates the circumstances around their disappearances, in hopes of discovering them safe and sound in time for the big debut.

2. Real-life pet detectives solve the crime.

A pet shop employee discovers a murdered body inside the pet shop one morning. The animals themselves seem to hold the clues to solving the murder. Working with the animals, the pet shop employee decides to solve the mystery of how the victim ended up in the shop and who murdered them in the first place.

3. Café latte or not-te?

A café owner discovers that a few of her recent customers have died from poisoning. Fearing that people might start connecting her café to the deaths, she sets off on a mission to discover the reasons for the murders, and clear her name before it’s even tarnished.

4. A wedding gone awry.

A wedding planner discovers the groom’s uncle face down on the ballroom floor the morning of the big socialite wedding of the year. Even though the wedding is rescheduled to take place in six weeks, the family receive threats demanding the wedding be cancelled. Determined to get this wedding to take place, the wedding planner launches her own investigation into who is taunting the family and why.

5. Solving crimes for the summer.

After locking up her classroom for the summer, a local elementary school teacher discovers a threatening note in the hall, intended for some unknown person. She launches her own investigation on who the note was intended for and tries to intervene before it’s too late.

6. The lonely, lost Valentine…

A woman decides to hunt down her would-be Valentine after he stood her up for their first date. She discovers he’s been missing for weeks. But if that’s the case, who has she been communicating with online?

7. Cheese wheels don’t stop for mysteries.

A delivery truck holding thousands of dollars’ worth of cheese goes missing on its way to the local cheese shop. Nobody knows where it’s gone and the cheese vendor can’t open without the delivery. To save his business, the cheese vendor launches his own investigation into the truck’s whereabouts and how he can get it back.

8. Did you order the death?

At the launch of a brand-new, high-end restaurant, the head chef is found dead in his office. His sous chef suspects foul play and tries to discover who would want his boss dead and stop them before they come for him.

9. Clothes never lie

While taking her clothes out of the dryer, a woman discovers someone has added their clothes, including a cryptic message begging for help. She follows the clues to find out who needs her help and why.

10. Chocolate can be bitter when it’s mixed with murder.

A local man is found murdered and holding a cryptic note connecting him to the local chocolatier. When the chocolatier clears his name as a suspect, he decides to find out for himself what the man was trying to tell him and whether it needs to be stopped.

11. Therapy for the conflicted.

A therapist’s patient is discovered dead in the town square. When the police write it off as accidental, the therapist begins their own investigation in hopes of bringing the rightful murderer to justice.

mystery novel writing prompts

12. Murders bring the property prices down.

When real estate agents start showing up murdered on the front lawn of their empty homes, one of the last ones left decides to take action and find out who’s responsible, not only to bring them to justice but to save herself before it’s too late!

13. Writing murders for hire.

A local writer discovers that her mysteries are being turned into real crimes! To stop the copycat, she becomes the sleuth in her real-life mystery to discover who the culprit is and stop them.

14. Crosswords spell death!

While completing her favorite crossword puzzle, a woman discovers a hidden distress message. She goes on a mission to discover the creator of the crossword puzzle and ensure their safety.

15. Photos reveal it all.

While developing pictures one afternoon, an amateur photographer sees a missing boy just off frame. She returns to the scene to follow the clues in order to find him, but the clues grow bigger, revealing more than meets the eye.

16. Family curses?

A genealogist discovers that multiple members of her family died suspiciously at the same age and in the same town, miles from where her family originated. She travels to this fateful place only a few weeks before she becomes that haunted age in order to discover what hunted them down, before it hunts her down first!

17. The fashion industry can be a killer.

When a novice fashion designer finds her boss’ body on the shop floor, everyone looks at her first. But once she is cleared of the crime, she chooses to investigate what happened to her boss to ensure it doesn’t happen to her next!

Group Detective Prompts

18. the mystery novel come to life.

A small-town book club that loves to read mysteries discoveries a mystery of their own: their long-standing leader has been murdered! Using the tropes of their favorite mystery novels, the book club does their own investigations to discover clues, identify suspects, and ultimately, name the murderer.

19. Sing for absolution…from murder!

Members of the local church choir start going missing, one each week for four consecutive weeks. The local police aren’t too concerned, but the choir members themselves worry about why they are missing and who might be next. The members band together to investigate the disappearances and, hopefully, bring home their missing friends.

20. Quilting a pattern of death.

While preparing for the next small-town quilting bee, a cryptic note is delivered to the quilting circle, predicting the death of one from their quilting circle. When that woman dies, another cryptic note about a different quilter is delivered. The circle’s members decide to find out who is sending the notes and prevent the second death from taking place before it’s too late.

21. Gardeners have the best hiding places.

When one of the local gardening club members goes missing without a trace, the rest of the club decide to hunt him down. They eventually find him buried in his garden but, as he lived alone, who could have possibly done it? The club uses their collective skills to uncover the mystery behind their friend’s disappearance and murder.

22. Real-life mystery investigators on the prowl.

After seeing their hometown on their favorite real crime series, a group of friends decide to search for the truth themselves. Using their network and friends, they hunt for clues and find more small-town drama than they had bargained for.

23. Vacations aren’t relaxing when you’re dead!

When a guest is found shot dead in his hotel room, the destination hotel goes on high alert. If the killer isn’t found soon, they will be shut down out of safety for the remaining guests. The hotel staff take it upon themselves to discover the killer, not only to bring them to justice but to save their jobs!

24. Puzzlers love a puzzle.

A national jigsaw puzzle convention is brought to a halt when one of the finished puzzles reveals a cryptic and threatening message. One local puzzle group decides to investigate so they can get back to solving puzzles and winning the big prize!

25. Spicy crimes leave a bad taste.

The celebrity judge of the big chili cookoff shows up dead the night before the competition. To clear their names from the suspect list, a group of the chili creators band together to find out who is responsible and bring them to justice.

26. Would like some tea…or death?

The local afternoon tea society meets once a month to have classic British afternoon tea. But when the ladies arrive and find that month’s host dead in her kitchen, they suspect foul play and turn into small-town detectives to find out who murdered their friend and why.

27. Dog walkers find all sorts of things.

During an afternoon walk in the rural foothills, a local dog walker stumbles across a woman’s body. She and her other dog walker friends band together to discover what happened to the woman and uncover more than they bargained for.

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100 crime fiction writing prompts

November 26, 2023 by Richard Leave a Comment

100 Crime Fiction Writing Prompts

Have you ever wanted to write a thrilling crime story but struggled to come up with an intriguing plot or nail-biting scenario? Look no further! This comprehensive list contains 100 crime fiction writing prompts specially crafted to spark your creative genius.

From unsolved murder mysteries and hostage situations gone awry to art heists, assassination plots, and cyber extortion schemes, these prompts run the gamut of thrilling criminal exploits. Whether you prefer gritty police procedurals, cozy small town whodunits, historical crime tales, or even supernatural thriller subgenres, you’re guaranteed to find death-defying storylines bursting with cliffhanger twists.

The prompts utilize popular hooks related to missing persons, forensic investigations, secret identities, conspiracy theories, revenge plots, antagonist mind games, criminal underworlds and more to grab reader attention fast. There are also creative takes on serial killers, prison breaks, robbery capers and other high-stakes scenarios, with unexpected perspectives that invert tropes in refreshing ways.

So power up your laptop and dig into these original prompts conceived to set free the groundbreaking crime writer lurking within you. Let clever criminals and cunning detectives come alive on the page while you craft the next breakout police drama, legal thriller or mystery saga!

Here are 100 crime fiction writing prompts:

  • A detective wakes up with amnesia and has to solve their own case to figure out who they are.
  • A hacker accidentally stumbles upon plans for an assassination plot and has to go on the run.
  • After a family member is murdered, a grief-stricken protagonist becomes obsessed with solving the crime themselves.
  • A serial killer taunts the police with cryptic clues about their next victim.
  • A small town sheriff has to track down thieves after a priceless historical artifact is stolen from the local museum.
  • An undercover cop infiltrates a dangerous smuggling ring but soon finds themselves in too deep.
  • After their spouse mysteriously disappears, an increasingly paranoid protagonist isn’t sure who to trust – not even themselves.
  • On the way back from visiting a prisoner, a prison transport bus crashes and all the dangerous criminals escape.
  • A murdered socialite has a secret life that is only discovered after their death – they were living under an assumed identity.
  • A detective keeps getting mysterious blank postcards in the mail signed only with the letter ‘X’. What do they mean?
  • After a high stakes casino heist, the only witness is a cocktail waitress who can identify the thieves.
  • An arson investigator suspects that a deadly fire was deliberately set to cover up a murder.
  • A blackmailed politician turns the tables and sets out to uncover their extorter’s secrets instead.
  • The sudden death of a Science teacher appears to have been poison – but no dangerous chemicals are missing from the high school lab.
  • The murder of a reclusive train enthusiast is made to look like a suicide – but why would anyone want them dead?
  • After a hostage situation goes wrong, a hostage negotiator has to track down the perpetrator who escaped.
  • The star witness in a high profile trial is kidnapped on their way to testify. Can they be rescued in time?
  • A package thief ends up stealing deadly explosives and has to work with police to prevent a terrorist attack.
  • The murder of a highly skilled thief baffles police – who would be capable of outsmarting them?
  • A forensic accountant notices anomalies in a company’s books and ends up uncovering a huge financial conspiracy.
  • After an attempt is made on their life, an investigative journalist goes underground to expose who wants them dead.
  • A string of unusual deaths are linked to a new app that seems to know people’s greatest fears. How does it work – and how does it choose its victims?
  • A pickpocket snatches the wrong phone belonging to a member of dangerous gang.
  • The murder of a reclusive train enthusiast appears to have been poison – but why would anyone want them dead?
  • Security camera footage that could identify a killer is erased in what seems to be an inside job.
  • A cold case is reopened after a confession letter detailing the crime arrives at the police station – but the alleged killer has been dead for 10 years.
  • A wealthy widow’s sudden death means a new heir stands to inherit everything. But suspicious details emerge suggesting murder.
  • After a politician’s aide dies under mysterious circumstances, the PR team goes into overdrive to prevent a scandal.
  • A Rabbi, a Priest and an Imam walk into the public library and never check out the religious books they borrowed – then they all disappear without at trace.
  • After a deadly yacht fire, investigators realize there’s only one person who couldn’t have started the blaze that killed a powerful senator.
  • Museum security thought the antique bracelet was safely in the glass case – but that night, the mint condition item goes missing without a trace.
  • A single snowy footprint outside a remote mountain cabin marks the scene of a grisly murder. But when forensics tries to match it, the print doesn’t belong to any of the suspects.
  • A down and out boxer is the only witness to a drive-by shooting, but can’t afford to break his mafia-controlled code of silence to identify the killer.
  • An assassin discovers their own name is next on their boss’s hit list, marking them as a loose end now that the major target is dead.
  • The murder of a skilled prosecutor threatens to derail the mob trial of the century – until an FBI agent gets an unlikely tip from a petty criminal.
  • Cleaning out her aunt’s attic, a woman discovers clues that the beloved relative was living a double life with a hidden crime agenda.
  • A drug smuggler crash lands a plane full of cocaine and goes on the run from gangsters, the law and a dirty DEA agent.
  • The star of bag lady hides in hoards and shadows turns out to be a brilliant ex-chemist with a penchant for poison and going unnoticed.
  • A cold case detective refuses to accept the explanation when the autopsy report rules his star witness’ death as natural causes.
  • The ashes of cremated corpses start turning up in random locations far from the graveyard and someone is definitely keeping them. But why?
  • Two violent rival crime syndicates discover they’ve both been answering to the same shadowy boss who has now turned them against each other as a distraction from their own crimes.
  • A villain with a peculiar blood fetish is draining victims completely dry before posing their bodies grotesquely around the city. But what is being done with all that precious red elixir?
  • A pair of clever grifters turn the tables on a ruthless gang lord who wants them dead – by stealthily stealing his identity and emptying his bank accounts before disappearing forever.
  • A surrogate mother carrying high value designer embryos worth a fortune is kidnapped in broad daylight. But when she turns up safe and sound with no memory of what happened, investigators grow suspicious.
  • A murder investigation threatens to blow open the dark family secrets of a powerful senator when it’s linked back to his troubled socialite sister’s mysterious death years prior.
  • The shocking death of a prominent anti-technology leader halts the passage of a sweeping new ban on AI research – but not before they mail out one final ominous manifesto foretelling the dangers ahead if development continues.
  • A psychiatrist secretly battles his own dark urges and split personality while working to develop a psychological profile of the surrounding city’s elusive serial killer.
  • The lone survivor of a horrific massacre at a remote farmhouse recounts conflicting memories about a sinister apocalyptic cult and the unexplained phenomenon that claimed 18 lives.
  • A fortune in antique gold coins is stolen from a museum opening exhibit thanks to a switched shipping crate, a well-placed forgery…and an unseen mastermind.
  • The gruesome Chairman Murders targeting the wealthy elite confound investigators with the macabre death tableaus left behind featuring the faces of beheaded corporation heads.
  • A ruthless vigilante hacks into live TV broadcasts to deliver video manifestos exposing government and corporate corruption then carries out bold assassinations.
  • A suspiciously untraceable new drug causes mass violence and chaos in prisons and inner cities while the affluent manufacturer cashes in on increased law enforcement budgets
  • A devious duo therapists turn vulnerable patients into hypnotized sleeper agents to act out assassination attempts, robberies, and more so they can get rich analyzing the suspects after arrest.
  • A murderous rideshare driver continually slips through the grasp of authorities thanks to hundreds of false identities being generated via algorithm to game the startup’s lax background checks.
  • A warmongering arms dealer sells weapons to both sides of every global conflict through shell companies and legal loopholes while living protected and thriving under political asylum abroad.
  • The desperate copycat crimes of a dangerous shooting spree fanatic escalate while an expert researcher delves into the disturbed psyche profile and motives of the still unidentified perpetrator they named “Shooter X”.
  • An assassin struggles with intensifying schizophrenia and violent impulses while working against the clock as each hit risks exposing more psychological instability
  • A regretful criminal genius – known for only stealing high profile masterpieces and replacing them with expert replicas – initiates their own hunt to track down where their stolen originals disappeared to when fences didn’t sell to any interested collectors.
  • The lone survivor of a tragic avalanche that claimed the lives of nine wealthy socialite friends becomes the subject of dark rumors questioning the official story of the freak mid-May snowstorm.
  • A driven journalist follows paper trails left behind by an anonymous whistleblower leading all the way through shell corporations to the CEO of a private military company selling clandestine services. But once the leader’s secret illegal operations are exposed far darker revelations about human experimentation surface.
  • A cunning murderer makes an elaborate show of appearing to follow advice from a prominent psychiatrist to throw investigations off the trail of their connection to a spree of nurse killings staged like grotesque mercy killings.
  • An online marketplace overflowing with illegal goods and criminal connections launches a wave of blackmail, extortion campaigns, and bizarre stings against politicians and celebrities leading back to its shadowy founders.
  • A skilled investigator finds their own custom-ordered engagement ring hanging around the neck of a headless torso pulled from a river and realizes they’ve been framed by the very serial killer they are chasing.
  • A murderous rideshare driver with hundreds of false identities blames a traumatic brain injury for increasingly bizarre delusions inspiring ritualistic kills all tied to the GPS voice directions.
  • A ruthless South American cartel battles law enforcement, gang rivals, informants while rapidly exploiting vulnerable populations with a dangerously addictive synthetic street drug made and trafficked at catastrophic scale.
  • A principled crusading journalist bent on exposing the rampant corruption surrounding an ambitious infrastructure mega project keeps receiving gruesome messages and bloody “gifts” warning them away from certain greedy public figures before it’s too late.
  • A scrappy TV reporter relentlessly investigates hospital financial irregularities only to end up drugged and involuntarily committed by villainous administrators – can they break out and finally break the scandal & corruption story wide open?
  • An eccentric chemistry teacher’s valuable original research is stolen after their suspicious apparent suicide and former students race shady biotech reps to be the first to unlock and exploit the dangerous experimental technology.
  • An FBI profiler’s own twisted mentor puts her skills to the test setting increasingly elaborate psychological traps centered around his intricate murder scenes positioned as a deadly challenge to solve his ultimate mystery.
  • A brilliant psychologist gets trapped in an intense battle of wits against a sinister and elusive serial bomber who stages their intricate, high profile attacks as “tests” for the investigator to pass.
  • A skilled safecracker tries to pull off one last monumental heist to disappear forever only to get embroiled in the cutthroat competition between two powerful crime syndicates because the treasure they steal is far deadlier than cash.
  • A framed politician out for justice and redemption must reluctantly team up with the brilliant fraudster who orchestrated their downfall when a mutual enemy has deadly blackmail to leverage over both.
  • A twisted voyeur places their own cameras amid an unsuspecting couple’s intimate belongings and monitors their home life while privately engineering cruel schemes that deteriorate their relationship.
  • The survivor of a mysterious plane crash uncovers unsettling clues suggesting the flight was sabotaged as part of a complex heist targeting a reclusive passenger’s priceless modern artwork collection being covertly transported.
  • After a shocking public shooting reveals his best assassin has potentially betrayed him going rogue a calculating crime boss must track down the skilled killer before their valuable secrets get exposed.
  • A profiler hunting a deranged escapee must delve back into her own troubled past for insight when her fugitive twin sister becomes the prime suspect behind increasingly unhinged murders.
  • A freak accident during a casino heist gives a thief sudden clairvoyant abilities to foresee disastrous fates allowing them to rescue others but not cheat their own deadly destiny if they interfere too much.
  • An eccentric investigator descending into amusing madness nonetheless continues cracking cold cases wide open while hunting clever serial killers who staged strange deaths as avant garde public art displays.
  • The discovery of a mutilated corpse buried beneath a beloved public monument ignites an explosive investigation exposing the prominent historic site as a homicide hotbed used by serial killers for decades without detection.
  • A skilled detective troubled by grief after her partner’s death comes out of retirement when a mysterious unsolved murder from their past serves as a calling card by the sinister killer who previously eluded them.
  • A master hacker slowly driven mad by obsessively decrypting uncrackable files spirals while hunting an elusive group of cyber terrorists planning orchestrate a cataclysmic global system crash.
  • A rogue special agent once renowned for leading daring capture missions now wages a one man war of vengeance away from oversight battling murderous mercenaries, gun runners, assassins and the corrupt bureaucrats who enabled them.
  • A principled CIA analyst has her idealism tested finding herself drawn into the moral grey areas of covert action while uncovering destabilizing secrets hidden in classified documents leaked by an equally radicalized hacker.
  • A cunning thief specializing in infiltrating wealthy estates to steal priceless art begins receiving disturbing threats warning she is being targeted by one of her victim’s relatives seeking personal revenge through relentless mind games.
  • While investigating her own mentor’s mysterious death in a high tech laboratory explosion, a brilliant chemist makes shocking discoveries revealing his classified research into illegal biochemical weapons funded by corrupt government sources.
  • A seasoned hostage negotiator still riddled with PTSD guilt from his last case tries to resolve the volatile standoff peacefully unaware it is a complex trap set up by old rivals manipulating both sides from the shadows.
  • An eccentric forensic archaeologist uses unconventional methods to excavate hidden evidence among historical mass disaster sites leading back to the prime suspect in his mentor’s still unsolved strange demise years ago.
  • A skilled safecracker gets recruited by INTERPOL to serve reduced prison time helping them investigate a sophisticated network of high stakes thieves specializing in elaborate heists targeting the world’s most secure bank vaults and museums.
  • A tenacious journalist risks his life chasing propagated conspiracy theories about seemingly natural disasters actually being cover-ups for catastrophic weapons experiments while powerful forces close in trying to silence him permanently.
  • A principled FBI whistleblower implicated in a violent confrontation gone wrong is deemed rogue before he can expose the unsettling classified experiments brainwashing ordinary citizens into unwitting sleeper agents activated to carry out deadly deeds then self-destruct.
  • A brilliant analyst’s groundbreaking predictive data models forecasting local crime trends and patterns reveal the seemingly random city violence hides an elaborately choreographed unseen criminal network orchestrating events from behind the scenes via algorithm.
  • A resourceful paramedic finds herself entangled in an intricate conspiracy after her brother is assassinated on a rescue call she attended requiring her to take on the mercenaries who have also weaponized the automated emergency alert network to mask murders.
  • A skilled arson investigator returns to her rural hometown when a raging wildfire threatens to reach the isolated commune where she endured a troubled childhood only to uncover the shocking truth – her mother radicalized the cult into becoming extremists intentionally setting blazes for a cause.
  • A rising nonprofits star fundraiser finds himself uncovering baffling financial crimes hiding amongst the charity galas, donations, and devoted volunteers requiring him to discreetly investigate powerful figures willing to kill to keep their lucrative secrets hidden.
  • A cunning antiques thief pockets a vintage music box containing a cryptic treasure map kicking off a thrilling race against rival criminals all desperate to reach the undisclosed locations first and claim the remarkable rewards waiting to be excavated.
  • A skilled skip tracer focusing on particularly puzzling people who have disappeared without a trace makes her most bewildering find yet when she locates a prominent CEO living under a false name inexplicably managing a small town diner with no memory of his actual identity.
  • An unconventional psychologist known for hypnotizing clients to access repressed memories orchestrates his own disappearance after hinting at dangerous experimental breakthroughs but the investigation reveals more happened in his final sessions than treatment.
  • A clever con artist scams grief stricken wealthy widowers by manipulating them during their times of mourning except her latest mark hiding a twisted secret threatens to turn the tables making her the vulnerable target instead.
  • A cunning antiquities expert curating a new exhibit centered around the infamous dark legends of eternally cursed ancient artifacts has an alarming accident befall his restoration team forcing him to reluctantly consider if the ominous mythic histories hold truth after all.
  • An eccentric private investigator’s seemingly mundane missing person case takes a bizarrely supernatural twist when the spiritualist medium they unwillingly team up with to conjure answers ends up possessed by the very ghost who holds the key to unlocking the mystery disappearance.

We hope you enjoyed our 100 crime fiction writing prompts and that they helped you create some amazing work. We have many other writing prompts on our site that you may find helpful. Leave us a comment below.

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50 Mystery Romance Writing Prompts & Story Ideas

As a writer, creating compelling content can be difficult, but with the right prompts, it becomes an enjoyable task. If you’re a fan of the mystery and romance genres, combining them into one can make for an exciting, captivating read. In this post, we will provide you with 50 mystery romance writing prompts that will ignite your creativity and get your writing juices flowing.

Understanding Mystery Romance

Mystery Romance is a genre that captures the essence of two genres – mystery and romance. It is a complex genre that balances suspenseful intrigue and the chemistry of two characters. Mystery romance is all about the journey of the characters as they solve a mystery while also exploring and developing their romantic relationship.

The two primary elements that make Mystery Romance an excellent read are;

  • A romantic subplot: A love story that unfolds as the mystery does.
  • A mystery plot: An unsolved mystery that keeps your readers hooked.

Benefits of Using Mystery Romance Writing Prompts

Writing prompts are a great tool for writers who struggle with writer’s block or need inspiration for their next project. They help you explore new ideas and keep your creativity flowing. Here are some reasons you should try using the mystery romance writing prompts:

  • Save time: Writing prompts give you a starting point, which is the hardest part of the writing process.
  • Enhance creativity: They can spark your imagination and help you come up with new and unique ideas.
  • Stay focused: Writing within the guidelines of a prompt can help you stay focused on your writing objective.
  • Increase productivity: Writing prompts are a great way to keep busy when you are not ready to start a new project.

50 Mystery Romance Writing Prompts

  • A detective falls in love with the thief who stole his heart.
  • A journalist falls for a homicide detective as they race to solve a string of murders.
  • A reclusive novelist finds love while investigating her own book’s storyline.
  • A spy falls in love with her target while on an undercover mission.
  • A paranormal investigator develops a relationship with a ghost while solving her murder.
  • A bounty hunter must track down the love of his life while on the run from the law.
  • A private investigator and a criminal defense attorney team up to clear her client’s name and fall in love.
  • A mystery writer falls in love with the detective who solves her own mystery.
  • A forensic researcher and a detective must solve a cold case and fall for each other in the process.
  • A police officer and a psychic detective work together to solve a string of murders.
  • A journalist goes undercover as a nanny to investigate the death of the child’s mother and falls in love with the grieving father.
  • A female detective falls for a male escort while investigating the death of one of his clients.
  • A scientist falls for the detective who helps her solve the case of a deadly virus outbreak.
  • An archaeologist and a treasure hunter team up on a dangerous adventure and fall in love.
  • An art forger falls in love with the detective who is after him.
  • A detective shows up to a small town to investigate a case and falls for the town’s librarian.
  • A young woman attempting to solve her father’s murder falls for his business partner.
  • Two detectives fall in love while attempting to catch a notorious serial killer.
  • A detective becomes involved in a detective novelist’s plot to use him as inspiration for her next book.
  • A homicide detective finds love with the witness of a murder case she is investigating.
  • A female detective falls for a male stripper performing at the club she is investigating.
  • A detective and a journalist must work together to solve a high-profile murder case while dealing with their hidden feelings for each other.
  • A crime scene investigator begins to work closely with a police officer and sparks fly.
  • A woman on the run comes across a detective who might be able to change her identity.
  • A detective falls in love with the victim’s sister while investigating a murder case.
  • A young woman falls for the detective investigating her father’s murder.
  • A detective and a lawyer fall in love while working together to prove their client’s innocence.
  • A college student falls in love with her professor, who is investigating a murder on campus.
  • A detective and a scientist fall in love while investigating a biological threat.
  • A romance novelist falls for the undercover detective who is preventing her book from being plagiarized.
  • A detective and a psychic fall in love while investigating a string of murders.
  • A detective falls for a suspect in a cold case.
  • A detective wrestler with her own feelings and past, along with the case she’s working on
  • A detective falls for an anonymous tipster, as they work to uncover corruption in the police department
  • A detective and a coroner’s deputy work together to solve a series of murders and fall in love.
  • A detective and a firefighter fall for each other while trying to solve a series of deadly arsons.
  • An FBI agent and a CIA agent fall in love while they compete to catch a small-town serial killer.
  • A detective and a bartender are brought together by an unlikely source, and sparks fly.
  • A detective falls for a victim’s daughter while investigating a high-profile murder case.
  • A detective falls in love with the woman he was meant to protect while investigating her father’s disappearance.
  • A detective and a medical examiner fall in love while investigating a meth lab suspected of using illegal chemicals.
  • A detective and a professional athlete work together to solve a high-profile murder case and fall in love.
  • A detective falls in love with the daughter of a wealthy and influential businessman and must walk on pinned toes to solve the case.
  • A detective tries to clear his best friend’s name while falling in love with his wife.
  • An FBI agent and a journalist work together to solve a case and fall in love.
  • A detective and a bail bondsman fall in love while trying to solve a string of assaults.
  • A detective consumed by tragedy finds love with the woman who brings him back to life.
  • A detective falls in love with a victim’s sister.
  • Two detectives fall for each other while trying to solve the murder of the teacher one of them is falling for.
  • A detective and a lawyer fall for each other while working on a high-profile criminal investigation.

Writing prompts are an excellent tool for writers looking to explore new ideas or expand on existing ones. Using mystery romance writing prompts, you can develop intriguing love stories that capture the essence of the mystery and romance genre. Whether you are writing a novel or short story, the prompts provided above can be a great starting point. Research a little more and allow your imagination to conjure up unique and captivating storylines your readers will love.

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Aposiopesis, write about a character who makes a dramatic life change to pursue a goal they’ve secretly always wanted., start your story with one character telling another, “it doesn’t count if you’re already planning your defeat.”.

  • Start your story with two characters deciding to spend the night in a graveyard.

Write about someone who’s been sent to boarding school.

Write about a character arriving in a place unlike anywhere they’ve ever been..

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  • Write a story where the readers are in on a secret that the characters are unaware of.

Write a story about a TV show called "Second Chances."

Write a story that starts with a life-changing event., write a rags-to-riches story..

  • Write a story around the theme: Be careful what you wish for.

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  • Write a story inspired by the most recent text message you received.

Write a story about a character who goes to great lengths to cover up a mistake.

Write a story that begins with the sentence: "it was a dark and stormy night.".

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The best novel writing prompts

Every novel springs from the seed of a story idea. So, where is your story idea going to come from?

If you’re struggling to let loose your imagination, let a creative writing prompt help you. Writing prompts for novels can provide the inspiration that writers need to come up with ideas for their next book. Best of all, they’re multi-purpose: you can use them to develop your characters, practice writing from a different perspective, explore other genres, or simply overcome writer’s block. 

If you're looking to cut to the chase, here's our top ten list of novel writing prompts:

  • Write a story about a TV show called "Second Chances."
  • Write a story that starts from the perspective of the antagonist.
  • Write a story that starts in one time period and ends in another.
  • Write a story where the protagonist dies in the first paragraph.
  • Write a story about a professional hypnotizer.

If you're interested in learning more about how to write a novel, check out our free resources on the topic:

  • How to Write a Novel 101 (free course)  — All novels, including the great ones, have the same basic components: plot, structure, and characters. Take this free course to learn more about these all-important elements of a story—and how you can subvert them to make your own book great. 

Ready to start writing? Check out  Reedsy’s weekly short story contest  for the chance of winning $250! You can also check out our list of  writing contests  or our directory of  literary magazines  for more opportunities to submit your story.

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IMAGES

  1. A Mystery Novel Template / Cheatsheet / Outline

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  2. 5 Mystery Elements for Intrigue in Any Genre

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  3. 70+ Mystery Writing Prompts & Story Ideas

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COMMENTS

  1. 67 Thrilling And Chilling Mystery Writing Prompts

    67 Mystery Writing Prompts Look through the following mystery story ideas and make a note of those that get your mind working in strange and vaguely uncomfortable ways. You know better than anyone the prompts that speak to you louder than others. If you get a chill as you're developing the idea, chances are good, your reader will, too. 1.

  2. 70+ Mystery Writing Prompts & Story Ideas

    January 26, 2022 From whodunits to unsolved crimes, here are over 70 mystery writing prompts that will keep your readers hooked from beginning to end. The mystery genre is all about gathering clues and evidence to solve a crime or mystery of some sort. Common mysteries to solve may include murder, kidnappings, theft and any other unsolved crimes.

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  5. 50 Intriguing Mystery Story Ideas!

    1. A woman asks a writer to write the story of her life. Then she goes missing. 2. Murder victims are found buried with some of their wordly goods, Viking style. 3. Three people close to the murder victim have confessed. Each of them swears they acted alone. 4. Notes and gifts from her "Secret Santa" at work take a strange turn. 5.

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    Krystal N. Craiker Content Manager and Indie Author Readers love mystery stories because of the suspense, the puzzle, and the plot twists. The mystery genre is a great genre to explore for writers who love writing suspense and enjoy learning about true crime.

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    1. A series of cathedrals are being ransacked and robbed throughout New York. What are the criminals looking for? 2. Interpol is called in to investigate a museum robbery.

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    31 Mystery Writing Prompts to Inspire Your Next Novel By: Paul Jenkins September 22, 2022 Writing, Inspiration Do you love writing mysteries? Are you looking for a little inspiration to get your creative juices flowing? If so, you're in luck! This blog post will provide 31 mystery writing prompts to help get you started.

  11. 38 Mystery Writing Prompts

    If you want to try your shot at it, here are thirty-eight mystery writing prompts to get you started! Save This Resource NOW for Quick Reference Later… 200+ Fiction Writing Prompts In the Most Profitable Genres Come up with your NEXT great book idea with over 200 unique writing prompts spanning 8 different genres.

  12. How to Write a Mystery Novel

    In this article, Gerke shares the four primary approaches for beginning a successful novel: The prologue beginning, the hero action beginning, the in medias res beginning, and the frame device. Of course, there are other approaches, but these are the most common that tend to work time and time again. 5 Great Tips for Starting a Novel Right, by ...

  13. Best Mystery / Thriller Story Ideas to Inspire Your Writing

    1 2 3 Next › Prepare to kick your writing into gear by browsing through our list of 200+ Mystery / Thriller short story ideas. New prompts are added each week, and you can search by genre.

  14. 80 Story Prompts From Top Thriller Writers

    So welcome to our 80 writing thriller prompts! These won't necessarily be the basis of your next novel, but what they will do is inspire you and help you break through the writers' block and think outside the box.

  15. 100 mystery writing prompts

    Happy sleuthing! 100 mystery writing prompts A wealthy family's prized show dog goes missing before a big competition, and you're hired to find it. You find a secret trap door in the floor of your bedroom that leads to a series of underground tunnels. Where do they go? A popular local bakery is ransacked overnight.

  16. Best Thriller and Suspense Writing Prompts of 2023

    Showing 72 prompts reset. Write a story about a monster trying to become more human. Or about a human trying to become more monstrous. Thriller and Suspense - 61 stories. Set your story in a world where everyone's decisions are made for them. One morning, your character wakes up, and chooses not to go to work.

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    A mystery author needs to flex their writing skills to craft a riveting thriller full of tension, but first they need to start with a great storyline. Creative writing prompts are a great way for mystery writers to come up with plot ideas for their next novel or short story.

  18. 30 Mystery Writing Prompts for Inspiration » JournalBuddies.com

    30 Mystery Writing Prompts for Inspiration. Great Mystery Writing Prompts— Oh yeah, Mystery writing is a fabulous genre that requires loads of creativity and imagination. And, it's perfect for writers of all ages. From spooky ghost stories near Halloween to in-depth murder mysteries that can unfold before the reader's eyes….

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  22. 50 Mystery Romance Writing Prompts & Story Ideas

    50 Mystery Romance Writing Prompts. A detective falls in love with the thief who stole his heart. A journalist falls for a homicide detective as they race to solve a string of murders. A reclusive novelist finds love while investigating her own book's storyline. A spy falls in love with her target while on an undercover mission.

  23. Best Novel Writing Prompts of 2023

    Write a story that starts in one time period and ends in another. Write a story where the protagonist dies in the first paragraph. Write a story where the readers are in on a secret that the characters are unaware of. Write a story where the villain is the protagonist. Try to get readers on their side. Write a story about a professional ...