- Mob families, such as in the Godfather, can either turn a character toward or away from crime.
- A threat to a family member - A character may perform extreme measures when the safety of any or all family members is in question.
- The death of a family member - All sorts of possibilities with this one, from determining why the dear one died, to learning something from that person's past which solves a puzzle.
- Following in the footsteps of a family member and becoming a law enforcement officer or some sort of solver of crimes is a positive way to include family.
- Childhood abuse by a family member leading to a villain's psychosis - this one I've used in one of my novels not yet published.
I'm sure there are many other ways to use family when writing mysteries. Can you think of any? Does one of your mysteries include family in a way it moves the plot? Please share.
Morgan Mandel - For a Morgan two-for-one, hop on over to Double M, my daily blog at http://morganmandel.blogspot.com/
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