Today’s bookish talk is about mysteries. I don’t really like graphic blood or guts, so I tend to lean more on the side of cozies or historical mysteries. But, I do like an occasional thriller, if it focuses on the psychological aspect. No matter what subgenre, here are the things I look for in a good mystery.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Twists<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It goes without saying that you should not be able to solve a good mystery within the first few chapters. I want unexpected twists along the way. Just when the reader thinks they have something figured out, new information should let them know that they must be wrong. I want to gasp at least once during a mystery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Entertaining, Intelligent Detectives<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Whether it’s a real detective or an amateur sleuth, the crime solber should add to the story. I want someone who has interesting quirks. It can be something that helps them or hinders them. I just don’t want them to be a crime solving machine. I want a smart but flawed detective that’s going to add layers to the story beyond solving the mystery. If it’s an amateur sleuth, I want them to show some intelligence, and not just make a bunch of dumb decisions that results in them solving a crime while all of the trained detectives miss the clues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Realistic Motive<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If someone’s going to be murdered, the stakes have to be high, or the killer is insane enough that they think they are. I want to believe that the motive would really drive somebody to commit murder. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Show Me the Clues<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Once the culprit is revealed, I should be able to look back and see that all the clues were there. I hate it when there’s an important piece of information that was never hinted at until the reveal at the end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some of my favorite mysteries<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I only listed first in series or stand alones. Click on the books for their description.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Today’s bookish talk is about mysteries. I don’t really like graphic blood or guts, so I tend to lean more on the side of cozies or historical mysteries. But, I do like an occasional thriller, if it focuses on the psychological aspect. No matter what subgenre, here are the things I look for in a… Continue Reading →<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2020,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"WB4WB4WP_MODE":"","WB4WP_PAGE_SCRIPTS":"","WB4WP_PAGE_STYLES":"","WB4WP_PAGE_FONTS":"","WB4WP_PAGE_HEADER":"","WB4WP_PAGE_FOOTER":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[236,166],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-2236","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"hentry","7":"category-bookish-talk","8":"category-mystery","9":"clear","11":"fallback-thumbnail"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\n