When writing a mystery, I typically face the same triumvirate: means, opportunity, and motive. How was the murder committed? When and where was the murder committed? And why was the murder committed?
The “why” is always the most interesting to me. I’ve never experienced the feeling of wanting to kill someone (not literally, anyway), so I’m fascinated by motives. What would make someone want to take another’s life?
Now, if the killer is totally nuts, any motive will do. They might not like the way a cook prepares their pizza, or the fact that the victim prefers to Rhianna to Beyonce. But the semi-rational killer needs a more convincing and justifiable motive. Five of the more common are:
Greed: The killer might be driven to murder to see financial gain, typically through an inheritance. This could also take the form of robbery (stealing the victim’s wallet, for example, or securing a bigger share of a pie by killing a business partner. The biggest problem with a greed as a motive is that it’s common and (often) easy to detect.
Revenge (or payback): A jilted lover. A betrayed business partner. A victim of a financial swindle. Revenge is another common motive, and slightly easier to disguise than greed. The primary difference between revenge and greed as a motive is time—a killer might need financial or material gain immediately, while revenge can simmer for years.
Jealousy: Killers may also often target rivals for someone’s affections, for a juicy promotion at work, for stealing the limelight, and many other reasons. As with greed, murders prompted by jealousy are usually connected more closely in time with what instigates them.
Self-protection: Someone might be driven to murder to keep a secret from being revealed, or to prevent something terrible from happening to them. Obviously, some forms of self-protection are justifiable, such as defending one’s self from a physical assault.
Heat of the moment: The murders described above are usually premeditated; that is, the killer has to engage in planning to commit them. Some murders, though, occur in the heat of the moment (these are also called “crimes of passion”). The killer isn’t intending to commit murder, but they are pushed over the edge by an argument or circumstance, combined with the availability of opportunity and means.
There are other motives as well (I feature an unusual one in an upcoming book of mine), and sometimes more than one motive is at play. James Bond villains, for example, often kill to ensure wealth and power (greed) as well as revenge (they’ve felt slighted by the world).
As a reader, I find myself subconsciously going through these motives the minute I begin a new mystery book. Which character ticks any (or all) of the boxes? Try it next time!
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