In the movie Shakespeare in Love, the Geoffrey Rush character is confronted by his investors about the playhouses closing. He tells them: ”Somehow it all works out,” and they ask him, “How does it?” He answers: “…It’s a mystery.”
It’s a mystery. And we, the readers/viewers, are intrigued by this. We want to learn more about this. “How does it?”–we desire to know exactly that. It’s about conflict and suspense. Our curiousity is piqued.
Basically a mystery is a puzzle. It’s ”Who Done It,” and the murder(s) and the solution are the important factors in the novel.
The mystery differs from the thriller usually because of this “Who Done it” factor, with the dead body at the beginning of the mystery, and with the focus on finding out who the murderer was. A thriller is usually focused on something more generally cataclysmic, with more at risk–the free world, the health of a nation, the presidency–and with a setting that may include several states and/or several countries.
Suspense is part of mystery. It’s the secret. And the readers want to know the secret, to solve the mystery and to see good win out over evil–the suspense (and conflict) keeps them reading to those ends. Over the course of the mystery (or other) novel, the suspense can be increased by a number of things, including danger, the ticking clock, and the unknown. For the mystery reader in pursuit of “Who Done It,” the writer must use red herrings to deflect suspicion–to make it harder for the reader to guess who the real murderer might be. But at the same time, the writer must present all the clues, or readers will feel cheated. The Game is afoot.
At the beginning of a mystery, the writer must establish who is killed, who is affected by the murder, and who is going to solve it and why. The important characters should be introduced at this point, certainly the victim, the murderer and the sleuth. The best characters, as in any novel, are those that offer the unexpected.
The best mysteries are those that keep the readers guessing until the end, that allow the reader to piece the clues together, while not making the chase too easy.
What are some of your favorite mystery writers/ novels? Why do you think mysteries appeal to readers/ to you?
I love the mysteries of Agatha Christie especially SLEEPING MURDER, SAD CYPRUS, and THE MURDER OF ROGER ACKROYD. They are superbly crafted and suspenseful. I also admire the mysteries of Doreen Roberts AKA Kate Kingsbury/Rebecca Kent. The Agatha Raisisn mysteries by MC Beaton AKA Marion Chesney are an absolute hoot. Then there’s the ghost of Aunt Dimity’s mysteries by Nancy Atherton. For me, the one thing in common all of these types of mysteries have is that they are cozy reads with violence and graphics off stage. Interestingly, they are all set in England where cozy mysteries seem to predominate.
One reason why mysteries appeal to readers is that they provide a problem to solve, a who dun it. Beyond that, I also think it’s the sleuth and setting that draws the reader back especially if it’s a mystery series. It’s like meeting an old friend again when I read a sequel– someone familiar and engaging and who stumbles onto a murder which I get to help solve. It’s fun, fun, fun!
Elizabeth George writes great mysteries. She goes much further than just setting up clues by delving deep into the minds and lives of her characters and making them live for the reader.