Crime Detective Extracts – Knowledge Organiser
Conventions of the genre:
 To understand the role of narrative structure in engaging the reader e.g. red herrings and twists
 To understand the role of narrative style – impersonal and detached
 To explore and analyse devices used to intrigue and engage the reader
 To explore and analyse devices used to create mystery and suspense
 To explore and analyse the role of the villain and detective
 To explore and understand how the use of foreshadowing can be effective in this genre
Extracts
The Adventure of the Speckland
Band
Cannes Jewellery Heist Takes Shine
Off Stars on Red Carpet Day
Extract from The London Eye
Mystery
Extract from The Secret History
Extract from The Ruby in the Smoke
Extract from Detective Stories
Hannibal
Murder on the Orient Express`
Bleak House
Doyle
Unknown
Siobhan
Dowd
Donna
Tartt
Philip
Pullman
K.K.Beck
Harris
Agatha
Christie
Dickens
Other writers and texts:
 Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle
 Stormbreaker by Anthony Horowitz
 Heist Society by Ally Carter
 H.I.V.E by Mark Walden
 Double or Die by Charlie Higson
Key themes and Context and literary traditions
conventions
Stylistic features
& relevant terms
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Crime Fiction came to be recognised as a distinct literary genre, with specialist
writers and a devoted readership, in the 19th century.
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Earlier novels and stories didn’t have a detective trying to figure out how and by
whom a particular crime was committed. There were no police trying to solve a
case; neither was there any discussion of motives or alibis.
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Mystery
Suspense
Clues
Intrigue
Murder
Duality
Crime
Underworld
Edgar Allan Poe created the first fictional detective as the centre of some of his
short stories.
The 1920s and 30s are commonly known as the "Golden Age" of detective
fiction.
Early writers include: Edgar Allan Poe, Arthur Conan Doyle and Agatha Christie.
Over the decades, the detective story evolved into the crime novel. Starting
with writers like Francis Iles, more and more authors laid the emphasis on
character rather than plot.
Top crime writers include: Thomas Harris, P.D. James, Ruth Rendell, Patricia
Cornwell, Mark Billingham, Martina Cole, Ian Rankin and James Patterson.
Top detective writers include: GK Chesterton, Arthur Conan Doyle, Edgar Allan
Poe, Agatha Christie, Wilkie Collins, Ruth Rendell and Steig Larsson.
Varied
sentence
structures
Dynamic verbs
Repetition
Personification
Onomatopoeia
Imagery
Simile
Adjectives
Alliteration
Adverbs
Metaphor
Red herrings
Plot twist
Useful vocabulary
Jeopardy
Sleuths
Amateurs
Plot twist
Pitiable
Agitation
Haggard
Allcomprehensive
Dog-cart
Inference
Deduction
Impending
Blanched
Fain
Red herrings
Adjective
Brogues
Torpor
Alluded
Philosophical
instruments
Third-person
narrative
Danger
Detectives
People who do something as a hobby, rather than
as a paid job
An unexpected event such as the death of a
suspect that sends the plot in a new direction
Deserving sympathy
Upset
Tired-looking
Taking in every detail
A horse-drawn carriage
A conclusion which is based on evidence
The process of drawing a conclusion based on a
general principle
About to happen
Turned white
An old-fashioned word meaning ‘readily’
False clues that are planted to mislead
A word that describes a noun e.g. happy, furious
A type of shoe
Inactivity
Hinted
Scientific equipment
When the narrator is not a character in the story
and relates the action using third-person
pronouns, such as ‘he’ and ‘she’
SPaG Focus
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Capital letters, full stops, question mark, exclamation mark, semi colon, colon, ellipsis
Listing comma, parenthetic comma, subordinating comma, parenthesis - ()
apostrophe – omission and possession
Speech marks, brackets for stage directions
Adjective & adjectival phrase, adverb & adverbial phrase
Antonym and synonym
Active and passive voice, past, present and future tense, 1st, 2nd and 3rd person
Auxiliary verb, dynamic verbs, finite verb, intransitive and transitive verbs, modal verb, verb
phrase, continuous verb,
Vowel, consonant, trigraph, grapheme, phoneme, syllable and stress, inflection
Singular and plural, suffix, prefix, article, complement, compound words, conjunction,
determiner, fronting
Noun, noun phrase, preposition, pronoun, subjunctive,
Colloquial language, formal & informal tone / register
cohesive devices
Simple, compound, complex and minor sentences. Main clause, subordinate clause, relative
clause, object, subject, co-ordinating conjunction, simple sentence
Homophone, homonym.
Responding to the (extract, question, etc.)
 determine the key points from the text about main ideas, attitudes and values of the author
 identify the use of literary techniques and confidently explain and explore why the author might
have used them
 Explain how individual words shape and influence the reader’s interpretation and viewpoint.
Explain and demonstrate insight into how the author influences and impacts upon the reader’s
interpretation of the text and establishes a relationship with the reader
 develop a personal and original response to the text
 interpret and infer multiple meanings (particularly of individual words) and express your own
preference for meaning
 select and use pertinent evidence to support and justify your own ideas/viewpoints