The Who, the How, and the Why of Literary Murder

While I was rereading my own novels as a prelude to finishing In Victrix, I was reminded of an old adage about genres:

Mystery is solving a crime, while thriller is racing to prevent the crime. Horror is watching the crime happen

(If anyone knows the origins of this quote, please tell me!)

We are also well conditioned by now about crimes, murder is particular, needing means, motives, and opportunities to prove. We’re used to out detective struggling with questions of How, Who, and Wh...