1. The detective story must be memorable
-The story is expected to be both clever and creative
-It should have something ordinary, such as a unique habit, manner, eccentric characteristic, interest, talent, and anything that sets them apart from the other characters
2. The crime must be significant
-Traditionally, the detective novel revolves around a murder or a theft; therefore, the crime must be worth the detective's and the reader's time and efforts to solve
-This also adds to the element of suspense
3. All the suspects, including the criminal, must be presented early in the story
-The reader must be able to assume that the perpetrator of the crime is one of the main characters in the story, not someone whom the author is going to slip in on the unsuspecting reader in one of the ending chapters
4. All clues discovered by the detective must be made available to the reader
-The reader must be given the same opportunity to solve the crime as the detective, meaning that they should receive the same evidence the same time it is made available to the detective
-The author can deliberately mislead the reader, as long as his fictional detective is similarly deceived
5. The solution must appear logical and obvious when the detective explains how the crime was solved
-The reader must be convinced that he could have come to exactly the same conclusion as the detective
-At the end, the reader should be able to see how the information is fit together, which adds to the appeal to detective stories
6. The criminal must be a worthy opponent
-In real life, crimes are committed by ordinary, everyday people. However, if fictional detectives are able to show off their skills, they must match wits with the adversaries of equal cleverness
-The mind of the criminal is often the intellectual equal of the detective's
-The conflict becomes a battle of intellects between the detective, his/her opponent, and the reader
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