Think of a piece of crime fiction. What broad plot points spring to mind? There’s a not-so-terrible chance your selection includes a beautiful dead woman and a sad male protagonist for whom the crime prompts a journey of discovery and personal development. In this brief animation, the US writer Laura Lippman argues that it’s time for writers to strike a fatal blow to this tired trope, and make sure that victims – especially female victims that belong to marginalised groups – are treated as human beings instead of mere plot devices.