Discussion of Murder Mysteries Essay -- Papers

Murder mysteries have a motive to start off the investigation. Murder mysteries always have detectives, murder/ killing, alibi ´s, victims, weapons, evidence, a twist in a tail, a bit of suspense or maybe a lot of suspense. The location and the setting are some of main factors for a murder mysteries. If a murder mystery doesn ´t contain any of these, it cannot be defined as a murder mystery. Lamb to the Slaughter was written by Roald Dahl. It was first published in 1954. Lamb to the Slaughter is written in speech of time the story was published. In Lamb to the Slaughter the use of present day modern language so automatically gives the impression that it is written in present day modern and now. Roald Dahl is more famous for writing children ´s story. Roald Dahl always writes about ordinary people who get involved in difficult situations for his stories for adults. Lamb to the Slaughter is more prominent as an adults story. This is a murder mystery and one of the two short stories that I am going to investigate. The other short story which I will be investigating is The Speckled Band. The Speckled Band was written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. It was first published in 1892. The Speckled Band is also written in speech of the time the Speckled Band was first Published. The language of that time seemed to be much formal as accurate English and much less slang was used. Holmes and Watson speak very typically English and p... ... manner that the reader ´s suspension of disbelief is never broken. We are with Mary Maloney from the first sentence of the story, and only at the end do we realise that we never really knew her at all. The irony of it all is that the police who were puzzled why they could not find the murder weapon we are consuming it. This was almost a sick comical twist to the ending. When she laughs didn ´t seem funny but more sinister and evil. Compare The Speckled Band, Lamb to the Slaughter is easy to work out from the Speckled Band and more predictable. So if you are looking for a challenge The Speckled Band is the one to read but I think for the younger reader ´s Lamb to the Slaughter would be better. The Speckled was much more complicated and had much more twists and turns in it, and you weren ´t sure what was going to come next.