What is a mystery?

Many readers and writers as well, confuse genres. I’ve seen a reference to a mystery/thriller. I’m not sure how to untangle that one.

A suspense novel starts with a situation and moves to the climax where the “main event” happens or doesn’t happen. A thriller is the same format as a suspense with more in the way of fast-paced action. The struggle is between the good-gal doing her best to stop the bad-guy from accomplishing the main event, explosion, war, etc.

A mystery flips the sequence. The “main event,” most times a murder, occurs up front. The rest of the time is spent as the good-guy works to uncover the identity of the bad-gal. Here, the climax is the unmasking of the culprit. Hercule Poirot (Agatha Christie) loved the “drawing-room” scene. He eliminates the suspects one-by-one until the bad-guy confesses and bolts for freedom. Avoid these kinds of info dumps.

There are a ton of sub-genres within the mystery category: cozy, hard boiled, medium boiled, amateur sleuth, police procedural, to name a few.

If you plan to write mysteries or any genre, do some research so you sound like you know what you’re doing. One of the best descriptions of fiction genres I’ve run across is at — www.pcbios.com — a web site by Linda Rohrbough. Look for “The Genre Hurdle – Table 1” link on her “Business of Writing” page.

Bee Jay