Book Genre Spotlight: Mystery

Happy Saturday and welcome back to the blog! Today’s post is continuing the “book genre spotlight” series, and today’s genre is mystery. This is one of my favorite genres, tied with fantasy. 

The mystery genre is a wide spectrum, but is classified as a genre whose stories focus on solving puzzles, crimes, situations, or circumstances. There are many subgenres, but lets begin with the most popular.

Classic mystery is exactly what it sounds like. It typically follows the underdog main character, who is an amateur detective or sleuth as they solve a mystery connecting to their life or community. Some cliches include small town murders, universities or schools, and secret societies. (And I eat those up all the time). Some of my favorite books from this subgenre include A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson, Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson, and The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes.

The next subgenre of mystery is historical mystery. As it sounds, it’s very similar to the previous subgenre but set in a previous era. A common choice is 19th century England or America. This isn’t a book example, but Enola Holmes is a fantastic example of historical mystery. Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco and Kingdom of Cards by Emmaline Leigh.

The final big subgenre of the post is thriller, but it’s slightly different from the other two examples. Thrillers are more action-packed and suspenseful. It mixes the traits of a mystery and horror novel into one. Some examples include Five Survive by Holly Jackson, Two Can Keep a Secret by Karen McManus, and We Were Liars by E. Lockhart. All are slightly different but can be classified as thrillers. We Were Liars isn’t as much of a mystery as A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, but it does use plot twists and psychological horror elements. 

That’s it for today! Next week we’ll continue with this series, but it may be coming to an end soon. Thank you for reading and see you on Saturday!