Director's Notes: Episodes 277 - Locked Library Mystery

Mysteries are the highest form of writing.

Ok, maybe that’s not true, but I’m not convinced it’s wrong either.

A good mystery balances many different elements. The puzzle of the mystery, obviously, although the importance of that varies. Some mysteries are entirely about the puzzle, while others seem to forget there was supposed to be a puzzle until frantically having the culprit confess for no reason at the end because oops I forgot to put a mystery in my mystery (Tana French often falls into this trap. Generally, in a Tana French book, whoever seems the most suspicious probably did it.)

Then there is the detective. There are so many ways to go with this. Are they a wry outside observer? Are they in over their head? Are their lives inextricably intertwined with this mystery, and solving it will destroy them? Or is the detective barely there, a conduit for the reader to observe the world?

Finally there is that world itself. A mystery is secretly an excuse to explore a world and its people. Under the pretense of talking to leads and witnesses, we get to see interesting little corners of the setting, and meet characters who we will only be with for a chapter, or maybe even only a few paragraphs. The writer can take us anywhere and have us meet anyone as long as there is some sense that it might take us closer to the heart of the mystery.

When all those things are really cooking: the puzzle, the detective, the setting, and the people in that setting. Oh, it is truly a beautiful thing. One of the most satisfying feats of writing, for both the writer and the reader.

I fell in love with writing mysteries with Unlicensed, of course. The three seasons of Unlicensed remain some of my favorite writing we’ve ever done. I truly believe we, three separate times, managed to hit every aspect of a good mystery. I didn’t want us to write a mystery that was “good for first timers”. I wanted us to write a mystery that could stand with the greats of the genre, and maybe this is deluded of me, but I think we did that. (And when I say “we”, I truly mean that: Unlicensed is the work of five writers, three main performers, many other actors, our director, our composer, our editor and mixer, and our producer. We were only able to deliver at that level because of all of us working together.)

Ever since Unlicensed, I have only wanted to write mysteries. How could this be a mystery? I am always asking myself. And since we’re not getting another season due to the vagueries of Audible and Bezos, I figured: why not do a mystery in Night Vale. And so we have our murder. We have our detective, a returning Jasika Nicole, who I am always thrilled to work with. And, of course, we have the world of Night Vale, that we can use this mystery to explore.

I’m excited to do so, and I hope you are too.

-Joseph Fink

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