How To Write Like The Best-Selling Author Of All Time

Agatha Christie: The Mastermind Behind the Perfect Crime

Agatha Christie, the best-selling novelist of all time, has a fascinating story behind her success. In 1916, she was not even considered the most promising writer in her family. Her older sister, Madge, had already penned several short stories, while Agatha had yet to publish anything. When Agatha expressed her ambition to write a mystery novel, Madge was skeptical. She challenged Agatha, betting that she couldn’t create a compelling mystery that Madge herself couldn’t solve. Today, the novel born from that bet stands among nearly 100 other mysteries penned by Christie, each one a masterfully constructed puzzle of clues, misdirection, and human drama. So, let’s delve into how she crafted these perfect crimes.

Setting the Stage for the Perfect Crime

One of the most crucial elements in Christie’s stories is the setting. From a remote island to a snow-stalled train car, she favored locations isolated from society. By limiting the scope of her stories, Christie narrowed down possible suspects and built tension by forcing characters to remain in one place, even with a killer among them. Sometimes, she further amplified the drama by making the characters strangers, creating an atmosphere of mistrust.

Characterization: Simple yet Effective

While her settings were eerie and extraordinary, Christie’s characters were quite the opposite. One of the biggest criticisms of Christie’s novels is that they’re full of two-dimensional characters. However, Christie intentionally avoided complex characters. By reducing people to a handful of simple traits, she provided readers with predictable suspects. However, she also used the audience’s expectations against them, often leading to surprising plot twists.

Authenticity and Balance in Storytelling

Despite the simplicity of her characters, Christie worked to make them feel authentic. She closely observed the people around her and constantly noted details from overheard conversations. She would then rearrange these details to piece her mysteries together, often switching who the murderer was as she worked. This approach kept information murky and disoriented even the sharpest readers. However, she also understood the importance of balance between being clever and being confusing. To maintain this balance, she kept her language simple and accessible, using short sentences and clear, snappy dialogue to help readers follow the information.

The Art of Misdirection

With Christie, a good clue is one the reader will remember, but usually fail to completely understand. For example, when a character cries “Everything tastes foul today,” just minutes before he dies, the reader races to determine who poisoned his beverage. But they’re likely failing to truly consider this clue. If everything tasted foul that day, then he’d been poisoned long before that drink. Christie also used clues to intentionally mislead her audience. For example, readers might recognize a clue associated with one suspect, only to learn that it was being used to frame them.

The Unconventional Detectives

Outside crime and clues, there’s one more ingredient in Christie’s formula: the detective. Christie created many sleuths, but her most enduring are Hercule Poirot and Miss Jane Marple. Neither this petit Belgian refugee nor this elderly amateur detective are traditional heroes. But their outsider status is exactly what helps them slip past security and make suspects let their guard down.

Conclusion

As you might have guessed, Agatha won her sister’s bet. Her eccentric detectives, clever clues, and simplified suspects form a blueprint that has stumped countless readers. And now that you’ve uncovered her strategies, the only mystery left is what stories you can tell with these secrets.