Are you a mystery, thriller, or suspense reader? And, why should you care?
It matters when you go to online book sellers to purchase your paperback book. If you are looking for a paperback mystery and mistakenly purchase a book that’s been categorized as a thriller or suspense novel, you might be a disappointed reader. And, unfortunately you might blame the writer for not meeting your expectations.
Whether you are a reader or an author, you need to know your genre. Mystery novels fall into several categories like: cozy, master detective, historical, paranormal, police procedural, and hard boiled. In a mystery novel, the inciting event (a murder) has occurred. And you, the reader, take on the challenge, along with the book’s main character, to solve the mystery. The pacing of the novel is slower than a thriller or suspense novel. The slower pacing allows the reader to examine the clues, determine the red herrings, and solve the “whodunit”.
In a thriller, the event hasn’t occurred yet or it has and more horrible events are about to unfurl. You and the novel’s character are in a race to stop the perpetrator. The pacing in a thriller is much faster than in a mystery novel. There is a race against time. The clock is ticking.
In a suspense novel, the reader knows the main character is in danger before the main character does. The reader’s heart is beating fast; you are in a sprint to get to the finish line where the main character is triumphant and the horrible events are stopped.
I write mystery novels that typically fall into the cozy mystery genre when categorized on Amazon. There are certain expectations that I commit to meeting for my readers. Each of my novels contains a stand alone mystery which must be solved by the amateur sleuth, Star O’Brien and the readers. Readers also get to work along with Star as she resolves to find out what happened to her mother. Star O’Brien is a likeable character. My books are professionally edited and formatted.
My professionally designed book covers focus on the setting, County Mayo, Ireland.
So, what kind of reader are you? I’d love to read your comments.