https://www.criminalmysteries.app/blog Notes on deduction, detective fiction, and how to actually solve a case. en-us https://www.criminalmysteries.app/blog/five-real-cold-cases-that-read-like-fiction https://www.criminalmysteries.app/blog/five-real-cold-cases-that-read-like-fiction Five real unsolved cold cases with the kind of twists — locked rooms, vanished evidence, contradictory alibis — that would feel implausible in a novel, examined for what makes each one genuinely unsolvable so far. Wed, 05 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://www.criminalmysteries.app/blog/the-most-common-murder-weapons-in-fiction-vs-reality https://www.criminalmysteries.app/blog/the-most-common-murder-weapons-in-fiction-vs-reality Fiction reaches for poison, revolvers, and candlesticks; real cases are blunter and less glamorous. A look at why mystery writers pick the weapons they do — and what it does for the puzzle. Sat, 18 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://www.criminalmysteries.app/blog/why-your-brain-is-bad-at-alibis https://www.criminalmysteries.app/blog/why-your-brain-is-bad-at-alibis The cognitive biases — anchoring, confirmation bias, the halo effect — that quietly sabotage how you judge alibis in a murder mystery, and concrete ways to counteract each one. Wed, 01 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://www.criminalmysteries.app/blog/the-golden-age-of-detective-fiction https://www.criminalmysteries.app/blog/the-golden-age-of-detective-fiction A short history of the Golden Age of detective fiction — the fair-play puzzle rules of Agatha Christie and the hardboiled turn of Dashiell Hammett — and how both still shape mystery writing today. Tue, 16 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://www.criminalmysteries.app/blog/how-to-solve-a-murder-mystery-like-a-detective https://www.criminalmysteries.app/blog/how-to-solve-a-murder-mystery-like-a-detective Six investigative habits that turn wild guessing into real deduction — read the file, work the elimination grid, and name the killer with evidence instead of a hunch. Tue, 02 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT