DETECTIVE FICTION is a genre where the reader enjoys a rare pleasure: feeling smarter than everyone — including the author. While the protagonist fumbles through clues and stares at the ceiling, the reader has long figured out it was the gardener (or, just in case, his twin brother). Ideally, a detective story promises logic, intrigue, and the triumph of justice. In practice, it’s often an intellectual game: who will outsmart whom. The author hides the evidence, the reader finds it. The author sets traps, the reader scoffs. In the end, both win — the writer gets an audience, and the reader gets to fe... Show more... Show more