: Re: What could the Antagonistic Force be in a Crime Mystery? What could the Antagonistic Force be in a Crime Mystery/Police Procedural, where the culprit/murderer doesn't get revealed until nearer

@Sent2472441

Does there have to be one? And, if there is, does it have to be linked to the murderer, rather than the victim?

You initially suggest "lack of evidence", but dismiss this as "too weak". Instead, try building it up to be a stronger 'source of conflict': The protagonist is convinced that the murder is linked to his wife's disappearance, his friends and colleagues are not. The victim was in possession of an item that formerly belonged to his wife. His friends and colleagues provide other rational explanations (it's a different copy of the same item, or she had been known to loan it out, et cetera). They think that the protagonist is sliding back into grief, and want to help him move on — well-intentioned, but inconvenient. This also lets you have a point in the story where the protagonist starts to doubt the link, before having a revelation or uncovering more evidence to reïnforce his convictions. Or, it could be a time-constraint: some condition around his wife's estate, will or family which will soon expire, pushing him to solve the mystery of her disappearance soon. In short, what other opposition can result from the lack of evidence.

Alternatively, the victim may have other secrets hidden in their past, red herrings that side-track your hero and blur the clues & truth. Perhaps they were having an affair, and their illicit lover is frantically trying to cover things up, inadvertently making the protagonist's life more difficult under the mistaken assumption that the leads he is tracking (and the purpose of his investigation) will lead back to their "indiscretions". Or perhaps they had links (legitimate or otherwise) to members of a criminal gang, who are now paranoid that their operations may be under scrutiny or attack.

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