Have you ever dreamed of being the next Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, or of joining the ranks of contemorary mystery-writers like Tana French, John Grisham, and Natsuo Kirino?  Look no futher!  In this Mystery Making Machine, you'll generate your very own mystery, including plot, characters, and more.

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INSTRUCTIONS:

As you click through our mystery machine, you'll fill out a story at the bottom of the page, so make sure you click each button (once, twice, or using your lucky number!), and then scroll down to find an entirely new mystery plot.  We hope it's a good one!

 

Part One: Broad Strokes

What's the mystery's tone?

Generate tone

What's the central object of the mystery, and what happened to it?

Generate object What happened?

And where does this story take place?

Generate location

 

Part Two: Our Hero

Now we've got the big stuff out of the way.  Now, we need some characters!  First we'll need a name for our hero.

First Name Last Name

What kind of person are they?

Generate personality

And what do they do (up until they take on this mystery, of course)?

Generate an occupation

 

Part Three: Other Characters

What story would be complete without a great sidekick and a formidable villain? Let's build a sidekick first.

Generate sidekick's name A little bit more about our sidekick...

And now for the villain. We're going to need a memorable name.

Generate villain

 

 

That's it! Scroll down to see your mystery.

 

 

 

Your Story:

In this new mystery, a(n)  named  takes up sleuthing to solve the case of the .  To solve the puzzle, our hero must hunt for clues throughout , with the help of trusty sidekick .  But can the team solve the mystery before strikes again?

 

Congrats! You've built your own mystery.

If you're not satisfied with your answers, you can randomize each piece until it's perfect! Just re-click the items above - or add in your own mystery items.

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Now you've built your own mystery, it's time to write your own award-winning mystery novel!  Or you can do what we do, and leave it to the pros.  Either way, make sure to check out our collection of recommended mystery below!  We've got great titles for reading on the beach - or for inspiring you for stories of your own.  For even more mystery books, check out the Edgar Awards.

Happy reading!