The 52 Book Club: 2025 / 2026 Challenge discussion

25 -- Includes Red Herrings

A red herring is a literary device in which clues or false leads are used to distract from the true solution. This is most often found within the mystery or thriller genres and is used to keep the audience in suspense and prevent them from predicting the outcome.

Red herrings may be a physical clue for characters to discover (for example, a pair of gloves planted at the scene of a crime to throw off investigators), but they may also be pieces of information the author has planted to throw off readers.

According to MasterClass.com, “The journalist William Cobbett is credited with originating the term ‘red herring’ in an 1807 story. Cobbett criticized the press for prematurely reporting Napoleon’s defeat, and compared that act to using strong-smelling, smoked red herrings to distract dogs from another scent. Cobbett was accusing the press of intentionally using a fallacy to distract the public.”

In a very literal sense, a red herring is also “a herring cured by salting and slow smoking to a dark brown colour.” (Merriam-Webster) As a creative interpretation, you may choose a book in which a physical red herring makes an appearance within the story.



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