eMysteries Toolkit

The European Commission's support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents, which reflect the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. [Project Number: 2019-1-DE03-KA201-060127] 46 Suspects Encourage speculation of potential suspects in the story. The novel presents several characters and parallel plots that point readers in different directions. Potential suspects are taken into custody and released for lack of evidence. Detective Describe the detective, noting any details of importance. Erica is called by Eilert to witness the dead woman in the bathtub, Alex, who turns out to have been Erica’s close friend when they were children. Erica is emotionally involved with the victim and her circumstances. She is a friend, a detective, a writer in search of a good subject for a book. She has personal relationships with most other characters she comes across because she had spent her childhood in Fjällbacka. There are also the police detectives, especially Patrick, who is in love with Erica. Like her he is present in all the books of this Fjällbacka series. Clues List the clues, both those obviously laid out by the author and any hidden clues that require more consideration. In the excerpt above there are several clues: the house is cold as the boiler had not been fixed. This allows the detectives to establish an approximate time for her death. The second clue is that Alex, the dead woman has a lover that worships her and calls her ‘an ice princess’ (note: it is not ‘his’ princess). Sequence of events Outline the incidents that occur in the text, putting them in the order that they happened. This particular novel has several distinctive periods that are not presented chronologically: Alex’s childhood days in Fjällbacka; her departure to Gotenburg when she was 10; her stay abroad; her sojourns in Fjällbacka until her death; the time after her death. There are incidents in each of these periods that matter to solving the puzzle of her death/murder.