The Art of Crime Fiction
by Cari Dubiel
We’re going to explore a new topic this week! Today’s post is for the mystery writers. I was the Library Liaison for Sisters in Crime for five years, plus I’m always working on some mystery or another.
Crime fiction is historically one of the biggest sellers in the book industry. This is partially because there are so many subgenres within it–but also, people love to solve mysteries. Our brains have evolved to make sense of stories, and we’re always speculating on what’s going to happen in the end. (See Lisa Kron’s Wired for Story for more information–it’s one of my favorite craft books ever).
If you’ve got an idea for this genre, great! But having an idea is half the battle. Before you start, you need to understand your subgenre. Each has different tropes that must be followed. There is not always crossover between fans; someone who likes cozy mystery, for example, may not be interested in a hard-boiled detective story. Confused? Let’s run down the list.
Cozy mystery: A cozy is a standard whodunit with no sex or violence on page. Murders cannot be gory and are only described briefly. The protagonist is usually a thirtysomething woman living in a small town and/or working at some kind of shop (ice cream, tea shop, restaurant). Clues must be peppered in throughout, and the reader must be able to solve the mystery before the end as long as they catch the clues. A dash of romance is okay but cannot be essential to the story.
Traditional mystery: Similar to the cozy mystery except that the structure can vary somewhat. There is generally no gore or sex, although these items may be described with more detail (i.e. innuendo). The protagonist can be anyone or a group of people. There should still be clues that lead to a satisfying ending. Romance can be more prominent. I consider Agatha Christie the grande dame of traditional mystery, although I have heard others consider her more of a cozy writer.
Hard-boiled: This kind of book is gritty and tough. It usually surrounds a private detective, but there are other professions (Michael Connelly’s The Lincoln Lawyer stars… you guessed it… a lawyer).
Police procedural: Surrounds a police department trying to solve a murder. Tana French’s In the Woods and Frankie Y. Bailey’s The Red Queen Dies are exemplary examples of this subgenre.
Thriller: A general fast-paced story, often involving crime. Straight-up thrillers often involve politics, spies, or “man-on-the-run” complications. See: Harlan Coben, Linwood Barclay, David Baldacci, etc.
Legal thriller: In which a lawyer or someone adjacent to the law or a court case seeks justice. The Holdout by Graham Moore or Th1rteen by Steve Kavanagh are good examples. Side note: I am obsessed with legal thrillers. I could write a whole post on them.
Psychological thriller: While there is often a murder in a psych thriller, the focus is on the character’s thoughts and mind as they try to get through suspenseful situations. These situations are often domestic–for example, a husband is cheating on a wife, who then seeks revenge.
Mystery without a murder: This one is tricky and not always easy to pull off. This subgenre tends to be more popular in children’s books, where the characters are solving mysteries like theft and disappearances. Lori Rader-Day’s The Black Hour is a great example of an adult book that works–the protagonist is shot during a lecture (she’s a professor) and no one knows who shot her. My novel, How to Remember, is part mystery in that my main character is trying to find out how she lost her memory, but it’s not a mystery in the traditional sense.
What do you think? Do any of your ideas fit into one of these categories? Want more about crime fiction? Please reach out!!
SACRIFICE ANTHOLOGY COVER REVEAL
The Sacrifice Anthology is moving along, with a tentative release date of October 22nd.
Participating authors include Elizabeth Davis, Evan Graham, Aly Welch, Jason Pomerance, Steffen Konsen, Peter L. Harmon, Susan K. Hamilton, Kaytalin Platt, G.A. Finocchiaro, Nicola Caroli, Ed Dubiel, and TCC Edwards.
Sacrifice—everybody’s made one. Explore the many facets of giving and loss this Fall.