Whodunit

Whodunit is a genre of detective fiction in which the central puzzle is to identify the culprit behind a crime, usually a murder. The term is a contraction of "who has done it?" and became popular in the early 20th century. In a classic whodunit, clues, motives, and alibis are presented to guide the reader toward solving the mystery, often before the final revelation by the detective.

Origins and development often point to the Golden Age of Detective Fiction, roughly the 1920s and 1930s, when writers such as Agatha Christie and Dorothy L. Sayers emphasized fair play, careful plotting, and a closed set of suspects. The tradition values logical deduction, misdirection, and a rigorous structure in which the puzzle is central and the crime is fully explicable through the evidence provided.

Common elements include a defined crime and a limited cast of suspects, a sequence of clues and red herrings, a meticulous investigator, and a concluding explanation that reveals how the crime was committed and by whom. The satisfaction typically comes from the reader being able to reconstruct the solution using the information supplied.

Variations and subgenres cover a range of approaches. Cozy mysteries emphasize character and setting over violence, while hardboiled fiction tends to foreground a grittier atmosphere and tougher protagonists. Locked-room and impossible-crime stories spotlight elaborate schemes, and inverted detective fiction reveals the culprit early and centers on the investigation rather than reader speculation.

Notable examples and authors widely associated with whodunits include Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, and, in different modes, Arthur Conan Doyle and Raymond Chandler, among others. The genre continues to influence contemporary mystery writing and adaptations.