Taking us to Japan or New Mexico, mystery writers such as James Melville (the Inspector Otani series) and Tony Hillerman have pioneered the wheredunit.
1995 — Edward Gorman, The Fine Art of Murder: The Mystery Reader's Indispensable Companion, Galahad Books (1995), →ISBN, page 113:
As to content, the traditional mystery is the whodunit; it's also the whydunit and wheredunit and, very often whowuzit and whosawat.
1999 December 5, Blair P. Houghton, “Re: Pacing and suspense”, in misc.writing.screenplays[1] (Usenet):
Makes me wonder if NBC considered a series of "wheredunits" and "whatdidtheydos".
2008 — Justin Chang, "The Chaser", Variety, 17 May 2008:
"The Chaser" is less whodunit than wheredunit, perversely withholding the location of Young-min's home from everyone but the viewer, who gets to know Seoul's Mangwon district quite intimately as Jung-ho, his bumbling sidekick Meathead (Koo Bon-woong) and other cops run around it in infuriating circles.
2008 — Michael J. Bandler, "Books", Go, July 2008:
There are "whodunits," and then there are "wheredunits"-mysteries in which the setting itself is a character.
