Red Herring

The red Camaro is a metaphor for the well-known device of a “red herring.” A red herring is something that a character—or reader—is misled into thinking is important to the plot, but turns out to be not so important. In this particular novel, the bright-red Camaro is not wrongly scrutinized, but instead wrongly ignored, turning the trope on its head. It thus serves as a reminder that, in a case and in a mystery, every lead must be pursued. You can check out more examples below:

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