1. Mystery Terms

2. alibi
An excuse that an accused person uses to show he/she was somewhere else other than at the scene of a crime.
The police found many holes in his alibi.

3. breakthrough an advancement or discovery that helps solve a crime
Finding her number on his cell phone
records was a huge breakthrough.

4. clue a fact or object that helps solve a crime Transitional Page
The kitten’s syrupy paw print on the window was an important clue.
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5. crime an act committed in violation of the law
Benedict Arnold was accused of the crime of treason.

6. deduce to infer by logical reasoning
By examining the clues, I can deduce the name of the culprit.

7. detective person who investigates crimes and gathers information
In all of the crime shows, there is a detective assigned to the case.

8. evidence
Something such as a witness statement or that helpstsolve a crime.
The slashed football was entered as evidence of the fight.

9. flashback an interruption in the plot to tell what happened earlier
A good mystery reader will use flashback to his advantage.

10. foreshadowing using clues to suggest what will happen
later in the plot
Good foreshadowing can create a mood of fear and anxiety.

11. hunch a guess or feeling not based on known fact
When I saw the muddy tracks, I had a hunch Susan was inside.

12. motive
an inner drive that causes a person to do something or act in a certain way
Getting an extra holiday was his motive for doing well on the science test.

13. mystery something that is secret or unknown
How the glass shattered with no one around is a mystery to me!

14. 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 insane.

15. purloin to steal or filch
My cat purloined the guppy from the fishbowl.

16. red herring something used to divert attention from the basic issue
We need to plan a red herring so we can get out of the room without being noticed!

17. setting time and place of a story
The setting of “The Tell-Tale Heart” instantly foreshadows mystery.

18. sleuth another name for a detective
Created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Sherlock Holmes is a famous British sleuth.

19. suspect one thought to be guilty of committing a crime
Siegfried was the primary suspect in the case of the missing tissue box.

20. suspense
anxiety or apprehension resulting from mysterious, undecided, uncertain circumstances.
Jonas experienced great suspense at the Ceremony of Twelve.

21. victim one who is harmed or suffers a loss
It is most distressing when a child is the victim of a crime.

22. 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?