What transforms a book from a plain general fiction to a full-fledged mystery? Does there need to be a murder most foul? Should there be a heart hidden under the floorboards? Is it always elementary, our dear Watsons? Our old pal the Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines a mystery as “a piece of fiction dealing usually with the solution of a mysterious crime.” Honestly, we kind of like the ambiguity of this definition. Mysteries usually deal with the solution of a crime and those crimes are mysterious.
Because of the enigmatic definition of a mystery, and the wide range of subgenres within the genre, it’s difficult to pinpoint when the first one was written. Many consider the first example of modern mystery to be Das Fräulein von Scuderi: Erzählung aus dem Zeitalter Ludwig des Vierzehnten (Mademoiselle de Scudéri: A Tale from the Times of Louis XIV), a novelle written by Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffmann (E. T. A. Hoffmann) in 1819. There are stolen jewels, circumstantial evidence, confessions, a dozen handwritten letters, a murder and, assumedly, a murderer. Richard Alewyn, a long-dead German scholar and literary critic, argued that the novella had all the elements of a crime fiction. So what if there’s no legitimate detective work happening? Those handwritten letters accomplished more than a solid alibi would have, anyway.
Where does that leave us, though? Unfortunately, there are no straightforward answers. The mystery genre has dozens of subgenres within it and operates less like a timeline and more like a fluid, undulating spectrum. You could argue that adding a mystery element can enhance almost any type of genre, ranging from horror to romance, and there are doubtless countless examples if you take a close look. It’s like a sprinkle of salt or a dollop of some delicious condiment.
Mysteries can be thrillers, but thrillers don’t have to be mysteries. We’ve been forced to conclude that that mystery genre is inaccurately named and should have been dubbed the Chaos Genre instead.
This is the beauty, and curse, of figuring out something that was unknown to you at the start of the story. The harder you look, the more layers peel away from your original starting viewpoint. It’s enough to easily become overwhelmed. However, we are going to focus on the subgenres that are most clearly aligned with the trappings and characteristics of the stereotypical mystery. Think of our following categorization as just one framework for thinking about the multi-faceted, amorphous, definition-defying concept that is mystery fiction.
- Detective
One of the most well-known and easily recognizable subgenres is the detective novel. This genre usually involves one or more detectives, which differ from a private investigator or anyone involved in espionage. Dun dun dun! When you hear the word ‘detective’ in this context, you might think of authors such as Agatha Christie and Arthur Conan Doyle and their famous characters Hercule Poirot, Mrs. Marple, and Sherlock Holmes. Other classic examples of detective fiction include the works of Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett. - Cozies
A cozy mystery is another popular subgenre, characterized by a cheerful depiction of events (even when discovering dead bodies) and often including domestic pursuits such as knitting, cooking or baking. You can see examples of the latter in Joanne Fluke’s Hannah Swenson mysteries which feature recipes in addition to the challenge of figuring out whodunnit. The characters are usually on the quirky side and the protagonist is often a skilled female amateur. The Mrs. Marple books can be categorized as cozy mysteries as well as Alexander McCall Smith’s The №1 Ladies Detective Agency series featuring Mma Precious Ramotswe as a lady detective in Botswana. - Police Procedurals
As the name implies, these mysteries are oriented about people working in and with law enforcement settings. They are normally separate from mysteries revolving around detectives and private investigators, although they may include books that focus on the criminal system. Some examples include P.D. James’s Adam Dalgliesh series, the Nora Roberts In Death books, and also Ed McBain’s 87th Precinct series. - Capers
Mysteries that fall into the capers category often feature lovable, quirky misfits that differ from the protagonists of cozy mysteries. They might even be criminals instead of those on the side of the law, engaging in things like large scale heists. When you think of capers, you can think of things like Leverage or Ocean’s Eleven. There may be an almost comical angle in capers. Donald E Westlake’s John Dortmunder mysteries, Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series, and the Faulks books by Chris Ewan.
Knowing these four overarching ideas of the genre will get you started, but they’re far from the complete picture. The Handley Regional Library system says that there are seven subgenres that every mystery lover should know. Goodreads published an article that covered what they claimed were the basic nine. Wikipedia starts with nine subgenres, but then goes off the rails with sub-subgenres. At the end of the day, or bookshelf, there’s no set number of subgenres that definitively make up the mystery genre. Because of this, there’s no set events, characters, or elements that make a book a cut-and-dry mystery. We encourage you to explore some of the linked resources and DIY your own conclusions.
This blog is created by Hannah and Ella in conjunction with the These Books Made Me podcast, a Prince George’s County Memorial Library System production. Check out the corresponding episode, The Westing Game, on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you normally listen to podcasts. Or you can simply click on the link to the episode to listen.
