When a veteran detective takes his son out for a cruise, an old acquaintance looking for revenge shows up. The little detective outsmarts the acquaintance of this dad that happens to be the killer of his mother that his father was never able to catch.

>>that happens to be the killer of his mother

How does the kid know that? ?Or come to suspect that his dad's friend is his mother's killer. ?(But he can't initially prove it and nobody will believe him.)
That should be the inciting incident.

>>that happens to be the killer of his mother

How does the kid know that? ?Or come to suspect that his dad's friend is his mother's killer. ?(But he can't initially prove it and nobody will believe him.)
That should be the inciting incident.

I agree that the inciting incident isn't very strong, but the point of the story, to my understanding, is that years ago his mother died, his father, a detective tried to find the killer, and failed. Now it is the son's time to find the killer. So in this case his mother dying being the inciting incident probably wouldn't be as effective because it doesn't make a clear connection for why he must solve the case now, after all of these years.?Maybe for this story a logline without an inciting incident could work, treat it as the boy determined since he was very young to see his mother's murderer come to justice.