Detective Stories Writing Prompts

You are the world's greatest detective. With your near superhuman intellect, you have never failed to solve a case before. But one day, you finally meet your match: a criminal so unbelievably stupid that you cannot possibly comprehend and predict what he's going to do next.

A murder mystery where every character believes themself responsible for the death, and tries to cover it up.

An assassin has finally retired after getting enough money to last him 50 lifetimes, but being only 30, he still enjoys the thrill. He joins the police force and is immediately recruited for his skill in all Fields. But when he is assigned to hunting down himself for his past, he must be smart

Your mother was a Centaur, your father; a Minotaur. You are a horse, but with human intelligence. The recent crime spree? Definitely not you, no one ever suspects the horse.

A private investigator is hired to find a boy that has been missing for 30 years, only to eventually find out that he was the missing child and that his current "parents" kidnapped him at birth.

You’re a park ranger of a very dense forest and you take care of everything, including the supernatural cryptids. One day, a murder happens in your forest and the culprit evades the authorities. You then politely ask the cryptids for their aid in the culprit’s capture. They agree.

Both Sherlock Holmes und Dracula are set around the 1890s. So, technically, it would be possible that Sherlock was hired to investigate the deaths caused by Dracula.

A murder mystery, without a murderer. The victim just choked on a drink, but nobody believes it was an accident because of the victim's importance.

"The perfect murder." You thought to yourself happily, looking out the window. Only to see Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple are already here.

Woman goes missing, and the only person who seems to notice is her stalker.

Someone has been stealing from your house, but you don't know who. In an attempt to catch them, you leave a roll of fake money in the drawer of a stand and wait for it to go missing. While at work, you get a call from the police station.

You are a time traveler hunting down another time traveler taking shelter in the old west. You enter a saloon, looking for the suspect. The piano player, noticing your entry, smiles and begins to play "Smooth Criminal." You have found your target.

You are a homicide detective called to the scene of a murder. You quickly realize that the victim is a younger version of yourself.

As much as you want to grieve too, your mind is too focused on everyone else crying in the room. They were the only people present when the death happened and the only people that could’ve poisoned her. The only problem is that she drank from your cup and they got the wrong target.

A detective is investigating a murder, but the "clues" are actually random, nonsensical objects left by a spirit/ghost who enjoys messing with mortals. The detective, however, takes them incredibly seriously.

Late night. Dimly lit bar. Whiskey served neat in a chilled glass. Cigarette smoke drifting in the air. You will not see her in the morning. Nor will you ever forget tonight.

When someone is killed, the life of the person who struck the killing blow can be sacrificed to bring them back. This is often used to resolve solved murder cases, but upon being revived, you realize that your killer was not the one who was sacrificed…

After a messy divorce you make a new start somewhere else unfortunately your work as a detective has made you rather popular with some rather unsavory clientele including but not limited to your ex.