Obstacles to Crime Solving Can be Everyday Events

 When trying to keep an amateur sleuth from solving a crime, criminals will deliberately lie. Really bad ones could try to blow up the sleuth's car or poison their food. I've had Jolie Gentil chased into a bathroom in a vacant house (no phone) and Digger Browning forced into an open grave while trying to solve her uncle's murder.

As I tried to think of some obstacles for an investigator, it hit me that they don't have to be "big" things. A flat tire on the way to interview someone, a broken pipe, money problems -- all of these things are the kind of irritants that could thwart or stall crime solving.

Some of the issues I have attached to various characters (not bad guys or sleuths) could be a big hindrance. Think of Robert Parker's Jesse Stone novels. Police Chief Jesse often has a severe drinking problem. He thinks he has it "under control," but it's impeded his work many times.

Everyday events. Traffic jams, a bank card that won't work, a babysitter who doesn't show up. If you're writing a thriller, blowing up a car is probably a necessary impediment. But it doesn't always have to be something big.

For once, thinking small can work.

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