whodunit
11
7.7
- noun
- /ˈhuːˌdʌnɪt/
:
novela policíaca
- Agatha Christie's whodunit featured an intricate plot and a surprising twist at the end.
- whodunit mystery
- whodunit murder
- classic whodunit
Examples
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The detective novel was a compelling whodunit that kept readers guessing until the final chapter.
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Besides being a good whodunit, the book provides a fascinating look at how the music industry actually operates.
Blog text (17) -
We actually got ourselves a whodunit.
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The desire to find out "whodunit?" drives the narrative forward.
Academic text (2000) -
Robin Wilson has just completed a whodunit for St. Martin's Press.
Fiction book (1996) -
Simplified, a mystery is a whodunit: Someone's been murdered, and it's the protagonist's job to learn who the killer is.
Academic text (2011) -
Follow Sherlock Holmes's lead in this classic "whodunit" - based on the cable TV movie airing on the Odyssey Network this December.
Fiction book (2000) -
Thus, mysteries are by definition intellectual exercises—whodunits.
Academic text (2009) -
Barzun and Taylor definitely prefer classic whodunits, especially those written with wit, panache, and, above all, cleverness.
Blog text (13) -
Last night, we watched a classic whodunit where everyone was a suspect until the very last moment.
Synonyms
137
3.2
A book, play, or film about solving a crime, often a murder
17
3.0
A story or film about a murder and finding who did it
7
2.4
A story about a person who solves a crime by following clues
7
2.8
A book about a crime or puzzle that the reader tries to solve
5
2.7
A story about a crime in which a detective tries to find who did it
3
2.4
A book, play, or film about solving a crime, often a murder
How Puzzling
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
The word whodunit comes from the simple question who done it, a short, playful way journalists and writers used to name mystery stories. So a whodunit is a story about finding 'who did it'.