Mystery Plot Generator • The Ultimate Bank of 500,000+ Plots (2025)

1 million plot combinations to inspire you

Generate a random plot through this mystery plot generator. Simply click the button below to get started. Like a particular story combo? “Lock” and save it to nail it down.

{"id":26,"protagonists":["A journalist","An undercover agent","A soldier","A detective","A P.I.","A constable","A cop","A sheriff","A reporter","A warden","A federal investigator","A prosecutor","A defense attorney","A forensic scientist","A hacker","A marshal"],"who_one":["can be sharp-tongued.","is retired.","is weary.","is always in the wrong place at the right time.","is impatient.","can be found at the pub.","always has bad luck.","can be quick-tempered.","can be destructive.","can be narrow-minded.","is very introverted.","has a photographic memory.","can be passive-aggressive.","is rather intuitive.","is a rookie.","is hyper-rational.","has become jaded.","is cynical.","has a strong moral compass.","has old-school methods.","is devoid of purpose.","has an obsessive nature.","is a perfectionist.","has not laughed in a long time.","is past prime.","is terribly incompetent.","can be insensitive.","has a strong sense of duty.","is absurdly bad at math."],"secondary_character":["A housewife","A plumber","A housekeeper","A college student","A mechanic","A high school student","A choirboy","A divorcée","A pilot","A heiress","A painter","A bacholorette","A bachelor","A groomsman","A bridesmaid","A baker","A judge","A bodyguard","A tutor","A CEO","A hostess","A spinster","A jeweler","An informant","A publicist","A dentist","An exorcist","A satanist","A convict","A mayor","A babysitter","A mob boss","A janitor","An actor","A hypnotist","An actress","A spinster","A columnist","A night guard"],"who_two":["is poor.","is opinionated.","has an eye for opportunity.","can be eccentric.","is suspiciously agreeable.","is pretentious.","is a chatterbox.","is a gossip.","is greedy.","is disgustingly rich.","is a lover of taxidermy.","is a hoarder.","argues with people online.","believes that Santa Claus exists.","speaks Wookie.","likes palm reading.","loves owls.","is overly curious.","harbors controversial opinions.","stammers.","is very introverted.","is a neat freak.","is a compulsive liar.","is manipulative.","is easily provoked.","can be passive-aggressive.","is polite.","can keep a secret.","tends to eavesdrop.","grows carnivorous plants.","likes to read obituaries.","is optimistic.","is deaf.","is blind.","is mute.","has a horrible sense of direction.","wishes that the end will come soon."],"genre":["a hardboiled PI","a noir","a procedural","a spy","a thriller","a whodunit","a historical mystery","a suspense"],"about":["corruption and power.","the nature of obsession.","second chances.","good versus evil.","the evils of avarice.","the permanence of loss.","regret.","a mission of revenge.","a chance for redemption.","overcoming crippling guilt.","a decades-old cold case.","a serial killer on the loose again.","crooked cops.","the mafia.","blackmail.","finding justice. ","the depths of remorse.","the limits of vengeance.","atonement.","restitution. ","finding courage again.","broken dreams.","confronting reality.","double identities.","white-collar crime.","blue-collar crime.","the underbelly of society.","drug trafficking."],"begins":["in a quiet residential district","at a McDonald's drive-through","on a yacht","in a cathedral","at a bank","at a museum","in a deserted cabin","at a hotel","on a cruise liner","at a beach house","in Arizona","at a football match","in Gibraltar","in a casino","at a fun house","inside a baseball stadium","at a farmhouse","at a brothel","in Buenos Aires","in Amsterdam","in Munich","by a waterfall","at a ski resort","in the suburbs","at a gas station","in a summer house","in a mosque","in London","at a stakeout","at the Louvre","in the catacombs","in a penitentiary"],"plot":["the murder of the family patriarch.","a mysterious suicide.","the exposé of a shameful secret.","a bachelor party gone wrong.","someone falling suddenly ill. ","the disappearance of a recent bride.","the disappearance of a recent groom.","news that America's most wanted criminal has just been caught.","news that all of the Rembrandts in a museum have vanished.","news that a research institute's confidential database has been hacked.","the theft of a billion dollars worth of cryptocurrency.","the capture of a seemingly small-time burglar.","news of a prison escape.","the disappearance of a backpacker.","the entrance of a mysterious hitchhiker.","the disappearance of an up-and-coming congressman.","a failed high-speed chase.","a ransom note.","the sale of a haunted house.","evidence that may reopen a decade-long cold case.","news that an international flight has vanished without a trace.","the entrance of a mute child.","the discovery of a strange cult.","a missing child.","the discovery of an ancient cult.","the discovery of a mass grave.","the disappearance of a prize hog.","the leak of a trade secret.","a case of attempted arson.","a hostage situation.","an unexpected explosion.","a live alligator being thrown through the window.","a naked man falling through the ceiling.","a game-changing confession.","the theft of an Olive Garden salad.","the disappearance of the crown jewels.","someone stumbling upon an abandoned piece of luggage.","someone overhearing a conversation that should have been private.","with an anonymous tip.","someone who's late to a funeral for someone important.","a false accusation."],"note":["someone in the story still has an ongoing feud.","someone in the story has struggled for a long time to connect with people.","someone in the story has a reputation to salvage.","someone in the story still has to atone for a past misdeed.","someone in the story has had to overcome decades of bigotry.","someone in the story is struggling to live up to societal expectations.","someone in the story is harboring a secret can't be revealed.","someone in the story has recently lost someone dear.","someone in the story owes a debt to someone powerful.","someone in the story has a grudge to settle.","someone in the story will be conflicted about duty.","someone in the story is pursuing someone else.","someone in the story will have a hidden agenda the entire time.","someone in the story will make a mistake that will change everything.","someone in the story is in denial about something. ","someone in the story has a lot of hard lessons to learn.","this story will play out entirely in a single room.","someone in the story is laboring under a severe misunderstanding.","one of the authority figures in the story cannot be trusted.","someone in the story was once a serial killer — who was never caught.","someone in the story has amnesia.","tax law will play a major role in the story.","the case in this story will span four decades.","the case in this story will involve four generations of a certain family.","the house is haunted in the story.","the butler in the story did not do it.","the key witnesses are not to be trusted in this story.","someone in the story will choose to tell the whole truth at a pivotal moment.","someone in the story will choose to tell a lie at a pivotal moment.","the entire police force is incompetent in this story.","this is the third book in an ongoing series. ","not all is as it first appears in this story. ","the first sentence of this story is: \"I was twenty-one when I first met my killer.\"","the entire police force is competent in this story.","everything will change when a glamorous aunt enters the picture.","the story takes place in a location where phone calls cannot be made."],"twist":["Someone also faked a death.","Someone's faulty memory ends up being the game-changer.","A twin will also play a big role in the plot.","An unexpected gift will change the direction of the plot.","Two enemies will grudgingly work together.","A minor character will turn out to be the villain.","Everyone in the story dies.","Everyone in the story lives.","You should write the narrator as the villain. ","Two characters are secretly related.","Someone will end up in an insane asylum.","The story is set in the 1950s.","The story is set in the 1810s.","The protagonist can hear ghosts.","The protagonist will fail at the mission.","Someone will be buried alive.","A missing persons report will turn out to be false.","The protagonist is already dead.","The story is a retelling of a Shakespearean tragedy.","Two characters who never appear in a scene together are actually the same person.","The protagonist's parent is the villain.","The story is told by an unreliable narrator.","You should write the story in epistolary form.","You should write the story in reverse chronology.","A key suspect will turn out to be a hallucination.","The story is told non-linearly.","The protagonist was the villain all along.","Someone is hiding in plain sight.","The snitch does not die.","The story takes place in two different timelines. ","The protagonist is a sociopath. ","An apparent murder was actually a suicide. ","You should write the story in the form of Tweets. ","The story is told from the perspective of a child who doesn't fully comprehend what's happening."],"category_id":113,"created_at":"2019-11-10T11:55:06.000Z","updated_at":"2019-11-10T11:55:06.000Z"}