Murder Mysteries

Lore & Background

The story's narrator, a young Englishman visiting Los Angeles, has an upsetting encounter with an ex-girlfriend, Tink, and her child. Rattled, he sits on a park bench next to a man claiming to be the angel Raguel, once the first detective. Raguel recounts being called to solve a murder in the Silver City: an angel has been killed, and the killer is revealed to be the Creator himself, acting through another angel. The murdered angel designed love; his co-worker fell in love with him but was scorned when they moved on to designing death. This sequence angers Raguel's superior, Lucifer, prompting Lucifer's doubt and subsequent fall. Raguel has since fallen and become a grizzled noir detective. The narrator learns he likely murdered Tink and her child, and Raguel uses remnants of his angelic powers to wipe the atrocity from his mind, setting him on a path toward a stable happy life. On his flight home, the narrator reflects on Raguel's story.

Reader's Guide

"Murder Mysteries" is significant as a standalone fantasy work that expands on the cosmology of Neil Gaiman's Sandman series, depicting angels and their city. The story provides a rationale for Lucifer's eventual revolt against the Presence, as S. T. Joshi suggests. Its adaptations demonstrate its cross-media appeal: an audio drama produced by Seeing Ear Theater in 2000, starring Brian Dennehy and narrated by Michael Emerson; a comic book adaptation by P. Craig Russell published by Dark Horse Books in 2002; and a film script by David S. Goyer that was never made but which Gaiman himself still refers to as one of the best adaptations of his work. Reception has been positive, with Publishers Weekly praising the graphic novel's drawings for capturing a haunting sense of loss and isolation, while Valentinelli of FlamesRising.com praised the audio drama's casting but considered the plot too vague. The story's legacy lies in its integration of noir detective tropes with angelic mythology, and its exploration of love, jealousy, and divine justice.

Did You Know?

• The story was first published in the 1992 anthology Midnight Graffiti.
• The angel Raguel claims to have been the very first detective.
• The audio drama adaptation starred Brian Dennehy and was narrated by Michael Emerson.
• The comic book adaptation was illustrated by P. Craig Russell and published by Dark Horse Books.