Murder mysteries are a very popular genre, in fact they're one of the main fiction genres and probably one of the biggest. They generally consist of one or more murders, people who try to find the identity of the mysterious murderer, their motive, method, and weapon, and a few red herrings to hopefully keep you guessing till the denouement (the big reveal), at the end! There are a lot of different ways of structuring them but however it's done they usually have a lot in common with each other.

Why murders? Murders are a horrible thing and hopefully not something that many of us have much if any direct experience with in our lives. They're a high stakes event though that we can all relate to because none of us want to have that experience so it's something to be feared and also morbidly curious about. In action and horror genres the death of anyone but the main characters tends to be pretty meaningless and often common, but murder mysteries rightfully treat any single death as extremely serious things so that makes them much closer to real life in that way, along with the emotional resonance such things can have.

We chat about what defines the genre and some of our fave examples, from the Chinese "Coroner's Diary", anything by Agatha Christy, the "knives Out" series, to the excellent "Nero Wolfe Mysteries" adapted by Timothy Hutton in 2001 and more. What are your fave examples of the genre? Have you ever tried writing one?

This week we have another best off from Gunwallace and this time it's Mindfold, which is newly finished! It completed its 10 year run on December the 26th.
Mindfold - A tune that fits very well with its title! You can feel your mind folding with this gorgeous, echoing, evocative multicultural influenced sound, featuring all manner of crystalline ringing synths, soaring violins, drums and so much more. This would fit well with a high concept cyberpunk anime.
Originally from 336 August the 21st 2017

Topics and shownotes

Links

Featured comic:
Crazy Guy in Monster Suit - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/news/2026/jan/06/featured-comic-crazy-guy-in-monster-suit/

Featured music:
Mindfold - http://www.theduckwebcomics.com/Mindfold/ - by FallopianCrusader, Rated M.

Special thanks to:
Gunwallace - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Gunwallace/
Tantz Aerine - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Tantz_Aerine/
Kawaiidaigakusei - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/kawaiidaigakusei
Ozoneocean - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/ozoneocean
Banes - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Banes/

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We commonly think of conflicts as being good guys versus the bad guys, especially when we look back at history. When we learn more about them we see that things are in shades of grey rather than black and white, and clever war fiction will include quite a bit of that greyness. But the funny thing is that when it comes to real world conflicts, people involved in them often do not have the luxury of seeing things in grey, they often HAVE to pick a side, even if it's not one they personally support because it means their survival, the survival of their family, or their community. I find that aspect very interesting.

The side we are on is often dictated by our family, our community, or our country, even if we don't support everything they do, sometimes they have our loyalty regardless. How do you handle war and divided loyalties in fiction, or even reality?

This week Gunwallace is another best-off Gunwallace and I chose: Busty Solar - A heavenly pink cloudy future world of strawberry scented mists, dancing, sparkling lights, and golden rays of pure morning sunshine angling through.
Originally from Quackcast 235, 7th of September 2015.

Topics and shownotes

Featured comic:
Captain Tempest - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/news/2025/dec/29/featured-comic-captain-tempest/

Featured music:
Busty Solar - http://www.theduckwebcomics.com/Busty_Solar/ by Prototype, rated A.

Special thanks to:
Gunwallace - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Gunwallace/
Tantz Aerine - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Tantz_Aerine/
Ozoneocean - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/ozoneocean
Banes - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Banes/

VIDEO exclusive!
Become a subscriber on the $5 level and up to see our weekly Patreon video and get our advertising perks!
- https://www.patreon.com/DrunkDuck
Even at $1 you get your name with a link on the front page and a mention in the weekend newsposts!

Join us on Discord - https://discordapp.com/invite/7NpJ8GS

This is our final Quackcast for 2025. It's been a year all right… but we've done ok here at DD despite our ups and downs and the ups and downs of the rest of the planet. In other news Alexey our programmer is getting closer to sorting out the new version of DD. As part of that process I chatted to Emma Claire who is doing the visual designs for it and ended up meeting her and her hubby for lunch and coffee the other day, so that was very cool. Always a pleasure to meet more DDers!

This year was a tricky one for me for sure because on Christmas eve last year my cat broke his leg and all five bones in that part of the leg were cleanly snapped through as if they had been cut with a ghostly knife that sliced the bones but didn't touch skin, muscle or tendon… after recovering from an expensive operation to repair them all with stainless steel rods, his stomach was ruptured open because of the painkillers, which necessitated emergency surgery and two weeks stay in a vet hospital which cost as much as a new car. When he finally came home he had to stay for 3 months in a small room so he couldn't jump on anything and damage his healing leg. Which meant I had to stay with him in there night and day as much as I could to keep him calm. Thankfully he's all good now!

Tantz, Banes and I chat about silly place names around the world and other fun things on the cast and stuff we've done and watched over the year of 2025. Have you done anything cool in 2025, has anything big and important happened for you? Are there silly place names where you are? BTW our Patreon video this week is free for all to watch on Patreon:
- https://www.patreon.com/DrunkDuck

This week we have another best off from Gunwallace and this time it's Necroblivion - The raw, buzzing fuzz of distorted electric guitar over calm, almost celebratory rhythm driven music brings to mind the sounds of North African Tuareg band Tinariwen. This is quite a positive vibe and a very African sound.
- Originally from Quackcast 535, 15th June 2021

Topics and shownotes

Links

Featured comic:
Dragon Garage - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/news/2025/dec/19/featured-comic-dragon-garage/

Featured music:
Necroblivion - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/Necroblivion/ - by Paneltastic, rated M.

Special thanks to:
Gunwallace - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Gunwallace/
Tantz Aerine - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Tantz_Aerine/
Kawaiidaigakusei - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/kawaiidaigakusei
Ozoneocean - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/ozoneocean
Banes - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Banes/

VIDEO exclusive!
Become a subscriber on the $5 level and up to see our weekly Patreon video and get our advertising perks!
- https://www.patreon.com/DrunkDuck
Even at $1 you get your name with a link on the front page and a mention in the weekend newsposts!

Join us on Discord - https://discordapp.com/invite/7NpJ8GS