Ending a murder mystery

So the narrator/heroine has figured out who killed the victim and how and why. The mystery is solved.

But there still needs to be some kind of climax to the narrative.

Often the murderer is a bad guy who continues to be a danger to others, and there's some kind of confrontation.

But that's not what I want in this case. Turns out the victim's death was more or less an accident and the murderer, who should remain a relatively sympathetic character, has been feeling quite guilty as well as stressed and desperate afterward.

Said murderer may attempt suicide.

Should the attempt look like an attempt at another murder until the heroine figures out the initial mystery?

Should the suicide attempt be successful or not? Would it be more satisfying to hear the murderer's own explanation of how the original death occurred and of the backstory that led to it? Or to have all that be part of what the narrator needs to figure out and let her explain it to everyone else including readers?

There would be another climactic plot event unrelated to the murder that could serve as the main climax of book. Would it likely work better to put that after or before the solution to the mystery?

Thanks for the suggestions, all.

ishtar'sgate said:

First off, you can't have it both ways. Either the heroine has solved the mystery or she hasn't.

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She does solve it. What I'm trying to figure out is when -- whether it will make a better climax if the (self-)attempt on the murderer's life is part of the mystery or takes place after we know the solution.

I wouldn't let the heroine solve it until the murderer is actually on the brink of committing suicide - maybe rushing to find the murderer because she's just figured it out. In order to make the most of a sympathetic murderer I'd let the murderer have a brief opportunity to explain themselves to the heroine and whoever else you want as witness to the suicide. Very brief, though. And then I'd let them commit suicide while the heroine tries desperately to stop them - but fails. That way the remorse seems genuine, sympathy remains with the murderer but they've also paid for their crime.

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That's one possible way to handle it.

Sarpedon said:

I think the idea of having the 'murderer' commit suicide, and have it look like another murder might be a nice twist, but if its done poorly the reader might feel cheated.

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And that's another.

It helps to have the possibilities spelled out like that.

I'm still working through which will work better.

Of course a combination is also possible. E.g., murderer attempts suicide unsuccessfully in a way that looks like another murder attempt, goes to hospital as a supposed victim, then as the heroine gathers more information she realizes who was really behind it, goes to the hospital to confront the murderer, gets some answers, and also witnesses and possibly provokes a second, more successful, suicide attempt.

Hmm, interesting...

The original murder occurred as a side effect of the murderer seeking protection against a really nasty guy scheduled to show up there because of the victim -- no one else besides those two had even heard of this nasty guy before, but the heroine will in the course of her investigating, so maybe that guy could provide some danger -- to the heroine and/or the murderer -- once he does show up.

While investigating, the heroine has reason to suspect several of her friends/colleagues, including her current lover. For a while she can't trust anyone. In addition to the murderer, another friend could be revealed to be involved in some tax fraud, but that friend is not the type to get violent. Maybe I can set it up to provide more mystery as to motives for non-murder-related decisions, though.