A red herring is a common device used in mystery and thriller stories to distract the reader from identifying the real culprit. The red herring in a story can take the form of characters that the reader suspect, but who turn out be innocent when the real murderer is identified. It aims at keeping the readers guessing at the possibilities until the end and therefore keeps them interested in the story. The readers enjoy solving the mysteries created by red herrings in the story. Undoubtedly, it would be difficult to keep the reader's interest, if thrillers exposed the killer from the start.