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Detective fiction, which includes detective novels, novellas, and short stories, and their adaptations in other media, is a genre of entertaining literature. The name comes from the Latin word detegere = to uncover, reveal. The plot of detective stories is based on a crime (most often a murder), the perpetrator of which, the details of the method of execution, or the motive of which the detective is searching for. A related type of crime literature are the essays and memoirs of famous detectives, which, however, describe real crimes. Detective fiction is also close to thrillers or spy novels, and they are often combined. Historical detective fiction, whose plot takes place in the more distant past, is also considered a subgenre of the historical novel.