: Re: How to time "big reveal" and twist moments? My question is similar to this one and in the same general vein as this one, but I think it's sufficiently different to warrant its own question.

@Correia211

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The question is, how much of the story turns on the fact that the protagonist is an android. Perhaps, a human detective would not have thrived or even survived. Also, how important is his(?) identity in the legal, economic, social, and religious contexts.

From what you wrote, I could envision several different stories.

In one, the underlying story is that of "coming out" and the mystery is merely the way of showing (rather than telling) the story. An android would see the world differently from a human. The questions asked and the actions taken would be a "bit off" and would cause tension in the reader who would ask, why is he being so strange. In most mysteries, the reader will assume that the detective knows something that the reader does not. Ideally, the reveal would happen at the same time that the outer mystery is solved, and that solution would be tied to some specific capability possessed only by androids.

In a second, the mystery is the primary story and the fact that the detective is an android is one of several decorations on the wall that color the story. Perhaps, the android is less proficient in something that a human would handle without thinking. And perhaps, that prolongs the solution of the mystery. This would seem to call for an earlier reveal, most likely in the first few progressive complications of the story. In failure, the detective would lament his/her lack of true understanding of gender, eating, or social graces.

Which story (among these and many other possibilities) is the right one? Not a clue.

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