An inverted detective story, also known as a "Howcatchem", is a murder mystery fiction structure in which the commission of the crime is shown or described at the beginning, usually including the identity of the perpetrator. The interest of the story then lies in following the detective's attempt to unravel the mystery. There may also be subsidiary puzzles, such as why the crime was committed, that are cleared up along the way. This format is the polar opposite of the more typical "whodunit," where all of the details of the crime and the perpetrator are not revealed until the story's climax. Mystery fiction is a distinct subgenre of detective fiction that entails the occurrence of an unknown event which requires the protagonist to make known (or solve). ... A whodunit or whodunnit (for Who done it? and sometimes referred to as a Golden Age Mystery novel) is a complex, plot-driven variety of the detective story in which the puzzle is paramount. ...

R. Austin Freeman claimed to have invented the inverted detective story in his 1912 novel The Singing Bone. The term "Howcatchem" was later coined by TV Guide in the 1970s after the television series Columbo popularized the format. R(ichard) Austin Freeman (April 11, 1862 London - September 28, 1943 Gravesend) was a British writer of detective stories, mostly featuring the medico-legal forensic investigator Dr Thorndyke. ... TV Guide is the name of two North American weekly magazines about television programming, one in the United States and one in Canada. ... Columbo is an American crime fiction TV series created by Richard Levinson and William Link. ...

In the 1990s, some episodes of Diagnosis Murder were presented in the howcatchem format, usually when featuring a "big name" (or at least recognizable) guest star. Presently, the TV shows Monk and Law & Order: Criminal Intent are frequently structured as howcatchems, with the viewer typically witnessing the killer commit the crime, and then watching as the detectives attempt to solve it (and, in some cases, prove that it has even been committed). However, both series also use the whodunnit format at times. For the band, see 1990s (band). ... Diagnosis: Murder is a one-hour mystery series, starring Dick Van Dyke as Dr. Mark Sloan, a physician who occasionally works for the police department as a consultant. ... Monk is an Emmy Award winning television show about the private detective Adrian Monk (Tony Shalhoub), afflicted by Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and multiple phobias. ... Law & Order: Criminal Intent is a United States crime drama television series that began in 2001. ... A whodunit or whodunnit (for Who done it? and sometimes referred to as a Golden Age Mystery novel) is a complex, plot-driven variety of the detective story in which the puzzle is paramount. ...

The popular Japanese anime and manga series, Death Note, is essentially a howcatchem.

See Also

• Furuhata Ninzaburo, a Howcatchem detective series from Japan.