Playing fair: clue burying in a whodunit

How do authors create exhilarating whodunits? Join us for this free online talk to discover the secrets behind the whodunit, through the archive of Peter Robinson, creator of DCI Banks.

Join Christiana Gregoriou, Associate Professor, School of English, as she delves into the art of the whodunit in this free online talk.  

Crime fiction is one of the world’s most popular fiction genres. And yet despite this popularity, the genre’s most defining feature – the clue – remains a mystery.  

Clue-burying relies on misdirection. In crime fiction, authors misdirect readers as to the identity of the culprit, peppering the book with clues that authors have chosen to ‘bury’. But how do we discover the secrets behind an author’s clue burying strategy?  

This talk will use the Leeds University Special Collections archive of Peter Robinson, particularly his work ‘Dedicated Man’, to explore how authors guide us through a whodunit. 

This event will be hosted online on Zoom. The joining link will be emailed to registered attendees one day before the start time. 

If you experience any difficulties while registering for this event, please contact us at gallery@leeds.ac.uk so that we can assist you.