What Type of Mystery Do You Want to Write?
“It doesn’t have to be a big fire. A small blaze, candlelight perhaps…” Ray Bradbury Death by Candlelight, Small Town Secrets. Begin with a blaze, one a candle, the other a house fire. Both amateur detective mysteries…or cozy? What type of mystery do you write? Here are some choices.
TYPES OF MYSTERIES TO CHOOSE FROM
Classic Mystery: (Whodunit) A crime is solved. The detective is the viewpoint character; the reader never knows any more or less about the crime than the detective, and all the clues to solving the crime are available to the reader. (Arthur Conan Doyle, Oakly M Hall, Dorothy L Sayers)
Amateur Detective:The detective is not a professional, but is almost always a professional something. This professional association routinely involves the protagonist in criminal cases, giving him or her special advantages in a specific case, or provides the skills necessary to solve a particular crime. (Patricia Cornwell, Walt Bagley)
Cozy: A special class of amateur detective category that generally has a female protagonist and there is less violence on stage, the plot is often wrapped up in a final scene where the detective identifies the murderer and explains how the crime was solved. (Agatha Christie, Scott Saunders)
Private Detective:Hard-boiled, this category takes a tough stance, violence is more prominent, characters are darker, and the detective operates on the fringes of the law. Contemporary females have bought new trends in this category. (Sue Grafton, Alexander McCall Smith))
Police Procedurals: The most realistic category, requires the most meticulous research. A police procedural may have more than one protagonist since cops rarely work alone. (Ridley Pearson, PD James, Barbara Nadel)
Juvenile/Young Adult: The crime in these stories may or may not be murder, but it is serious. The protagonist-kid or group of kids is of the same age range as the targeted reader. There is no graphic violence depicted; stories are scary and villains realistic. (Mary Downing Hahn, Ron Roy and John Steven)
Suspense/Thriller:A suspense novel may deal more with the intricacies of the crime, what motivated it and how the villain is caught and brought to justice. Typically these novels have multiple viewpoints and are broader in scope than the more traditional mystery. (James Patterson, John Connolly, Catherine Coulter)
Historical:An emphasis on setting, the details of which must be diligently researched, but beyond the historical details the plot develops along the lines of traditional mysteries. (Candace Robb, Robert W Walker, Steven Saylor)
Espionage: International spy novel, stories revolve around political intrigue in unstable regions. (Ken Follett, Alison Hart, Joan Hiatt Harlow)
Technothriller: These are replacing traditional espionage novels and feature technology as an integral part of plot and setting. (Tom Clancy, J.A. Konrath, Michael Crichton)
Medical Thriller:Medical threat, illegal or immoral use of medical technology is the focus of these novels. (Robin Cook, Sandra Glahn, Kathryn Fox)
Courtroom Drama: The action takes place primarily in the courtroom; the protagonist is a defense attorney out to prove the innocence of his or her client by finding the real culprit. (John Grisham, Lisa Scottoline )
Woman in Jeopardy: The focus is on the woman and or her children at risk, her struggle is to understand the nature of the danger and her eventual victory over her tormentor. (Mary Higgins Clark, Linda Feinstein, Gene Grossman)
Heists and Capers: The crime itself is the focus. Its planning and execution are detailed and participants may be portrayed sympathetically. They are portrayed as criminals though and the reader expects they will be caught and punished. Usually is more light hearted or comedic. (Leslie Hollander, Donald Westlake, Elizabeth Peters, Clive Cussler)
*Suggested authors are only a tiny representation of those that publish in the categories above I tried to give you both women and men authors. There are many more-favorites of the readers and likely to become favorites of yours. To check out more of the genre’s you are interested in writing do a search at Amazon for that particular genre-that will produce more authors and books for you to explore.
Billie A Williams is a best-selling, award-winning, multi-published author her
Accidental Amateur sleuths solve crimes with wit, wisdom and chutzpah
http://www.billiewilliams.com
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