A good detective story has a recognisable rhythm and plot points. But how did these tropes come about? And what happens when you break the rules?

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Books and articles mentioned in order of appearance: —The Red House Mystery by A. A. Milne —T. S. Eliot on detective fiction —The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins —S. S. van Dine's "Twenty Rules for Writing Detective Stories" —Strong Poison by Dorothy L. Sayers —The ABC Murders by Agatha Christie —Unnatural Death by Dorothy L. Sayers —Ronald Knox's Decalogue —The Golden Age of Murder by Martin Edwards —Busman's Honeymoon by Dorothy L. Sayers —The Hollow Man by John Dickson Carr —The Eye in the Museum by J. J. Connington —The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie —"Who Cares Who Killed Roger Ackroyd?" by Edmund Wilson —Five Little Pigs by Agatha Christie —The Crime at Black Dudley by Margery Allingham

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