What are some devices/Techniques?

Question

That agatha christie uses in her story "a murder is announced" to keep you from guessing the plot? I cant tell what some are and i need to finish my report plz help :)

Answer 1

Haven't read that particular piece recently enough to remember, but I think there are only a few possibilities.
Misdirection: You're made to look at something else instead of the relevant fact. Christie's most famous example is the butler who crosses the room to read the calendar. The date is irrelevant; the butler's near-sightedness matters.
Overloading: The material fact is among a large pile of irrelevancies. The risky method is, say, listing the contents of a purse and expecting you not to think of why that pair of nail scissors might matter; I'm not at all sure Christie ever used it. The subtler method is including the detail apparently as atmosphere; while, say, describing an attractive object, when you aren't thinking about the crime. This is really just a variation of misdirection.
Omission: The fact that a pair of nail scissors is NOT listed among the contents of the purse is relevant. (Sherlock Holmes pointing out that the dog didn't bark in the night.) For this to be fair, this often requires that the reader have knowledge outside of the story itself. When that is the case, a story that was entirely fair for one generation of readers may become unfair for another.
Separation: The opposite of juxtaposition; relevant facts are plainly stated, but in different contexts, and at least a few pages apart.
Actually, these all boil down to one: You don't see the relevance of a fact until the detective points it out.