T is for Trap, Tiptoe and ...

T Is For Trap, Tiptoe and Tracker that is what a detective does, but in the case of Tracker it's also a career. The protagonist raises and trains bloodhounds for her search and rescue operation, Shadow and Tail Kennels.

"The Tender Trap," a sixties movie, was a romantic comedy. The trap in a mystery is very often, where the sleuth finds herself, if not at the very beginning of the story, quickly afterward.

April Shauers, in the novel Tracker is trapped physically (though sometimes in mystery the trap could be mentally rendered)and she must tiptoe to the tune played by the antagonist, serial killer, Jeddah Close, if she is to save her severely injured bloodhound and herself from certain death.

Very often by trapping our sleuth, giving the antagonist his goal early on—the mystery writer can plot a course that propels the reader along wishing she could see around the twists and turns ahead for the protagonist.

Engage your reader quickly. Paint your protagonist into the corner with no way out—except his or her wits and your reader will be searching the scenes to signal a way out, dreaming avenues, and tunnels, sky hooks and ropes as your protagonist ferrets a way out from the traps that keep our hero jumping to escape their jaws, until the very end.

Smile at your reader. Give her thumbs up and a thank you for her help. Good job, well-done, mystery solved, protagonist saved, and antagonist receiving his just desserts. You reader will sigh and search the bookstore for your next book. (we hope).

P.S. 

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P.P.S Tracker is out of print. Order your copy today from the author while she still has a few print copies left.