Transcript Tricky Treats

Mystery Terms
alibi
• An excuse that an accused person
uses to show he/she was somewhere
else than at the scene of a crime.
The police found many holes in his alibi.
breakthrough
• an advancement or discovery that helps solve a
crime
Finding her number on his cell phone records was
a huge breakthrough.
clue
•a fact or object that helps solve a
crime
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The kitten’s syrupy paw print on the
window was an important clue.
Cliffhanger
• A story that depends on unusually
strong and sustained suspense for its
dramatic interest
• Every week, the show LOST is a
complete cliffhanger.
Coroner
• A public officer whose chief duty is to
discover the causes of death possibly not
due to natural causes.
• Every time a dead body is found in the city,
the coroner must come to examine it.
crime
• an act committed in violation of
the law
Benedict Arnold was accused of
the crime of treason.
deduce
•to infer by logical reasoning
By examining the clues, I can
deduce the name of the culprit.
detective
• person who investigates crimes and
gathers information
Joe Friday is a famous detective from the
show Dragnet.
evidence
•Something such as a witness
statement or object that is used
to solve a crime.
The slashed football was entered as
evidence of the fight.
flashback
• an interruption in the plot to tell what
happened earlier
A good mystery reader will use flashback to
his advantage.
foreshadowing
•using clues to suggest what will happen
later in the plot
Good foreshadowing can create a mood of
fear and anxiety.
hunch
• a guess or feeling not based on
known fact
When I saw the muddy tracks, I had
a hunch Susan was inside.
motive
•an inner drive that causes a person
to do something or act in a certain
way
Is a holiday a good motive for
passing your next test?
mystery
• something that is secret or unknown
How the glass shattered with no one
around is a mystery to me!
plot
•the arrangements of incidents in a
story
I had a difficult time following the
plot of “The Tell-Tale Heart” because
the narrator was nuts.
purloin
• to steal or filch
Mom laughed at me when I told
her how my cat purloined the
guppy from the little boy’s fish
bowl.
red herring
•something used to divert attention
from the basic issue
We need to plant a red herring so we
can get out of the room without being
noticed!
setting
• time and place of a story
The setting of “The Tell-Tale Heart”
instantly suggests danger.
sleuth
•another name for a detective
Created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle,
Sherlock Holmes is a famous British
sleuth.
suspect
• one thought to be guilty of committing
a crime
Siegfried was the primary suspect in the
case of the missing tissue box.
suspense
•anxiety or apprehension resulting from
mysterious, undecided, uncertain circumstances.
Jonas experienced great suspense at the
Ceremony of Twelve.
victim
• one who is harmed or suffers a loss
It is most distressing when a child is
the victim of a crime.
witness
•one who saw or can give first-hand
information about something
Were you an witness to that event, or did
you just hear about it?