Eight Things Mystery Readers Say
What is the reader's perspective on mysteries? Jim Huang, owner of The Mystery Company bookstore and editor of the Drood Review of Mystery, has some observations…
- "How do you define mysteries?"
Given how many mysteries are out there, a definition of The Mystery Story remains surprisingly elusive. Here's an easy way to think about it: a mystery is about a crime (usually murder) and a process of investigation that leads to its solution. The presence of a solution is essential, as it defines the difference between Mysteries and Literature. Literature is about problems. Mysteries are about solving problems. - "I fell in love with the characters."
Sixty, seventy years ago, mysteries were all about puzzle, and the challenge to the reader to beat the detective to the solution. Today, it's the protagonists we cite first when we talk about the mysteries we love. We identify with these characters. We want to find out what happens next in their lives. We even want to live their lives - not necessarily the tough circumstances, but we wish for their strength of purpose and admire their good-humored persistence in seeking answers. - "What's the first in the series?"
In a genre that's about restoring order, it's not surprising that readers are constantly trying to put books in order, and that they want to start a series at the beginning. It's not always as easy to figure out the correct order as it could be. Readers are grateful for any help they can get. This is among the most important services you can offer to a mystery reader. - "I got tired of reading serious books, so I picked up a mystery."
Even the most devoted of mystery readers will sometimes dismiss the genre. "Fluff" "light reading" "mind candy" - you hear this a lot. Mysteries are, of course, great entertainment. But let's not forget that they're also about life and death, and about the most serious problems and trying circumstances these characters will ever face. In showing us how characters meet these challenges, mysteries show us how we live. At heart, there's nothing frivolous about The Mystery Story. - "Mysteries take me places."
Mysteries have moved far beyond their traditional English village or urban American settings. Now, mysteries are set in every corner of the world, and they are a great way to explore. You have to understand the setting in order to solve a mystery in that setting. The best authors do a wonderful job of transporting us to a place, and making us feel what it means to be there. - "The author didn't play fair!"
Not every reader cares about the puzzle, but no one likes to be cheated. Readers have high expectations of mystery writers. No matter how bizarre and inexplicable the mystery seems at first, by the end, the pieces of the puzzle have to fall into place and the solution has to make sense. Readers feel betrayed by writers who don't play fair - as well they should! - "I don't understand why this book is a mystery and that one is shelved in fiction."
For commercial reasons, some publishers shun the mystery label and call their mysteries "fiction." They fear that the mystery label ghettoizes books, limiting sales. It's complete nonsense: Agatha Christie has sold over two billion books. The label hasn't hurt her. Mystery readers need to be persistent enough to follow their favorites into the fiction section. Fortunately, most are. - "I must be addicted to mysteries."
Mystery readers are beyond devotion. Mysteries are an addiction. Readers will go through one after another, at a pace that even they sometimes say is alarming. It's easy to see why they're hooked. Mysteries are engaging, stimulating and satisfying, -- intellectually and emotionally. There's no cause for concern. Mysteries do not cause cancer. As addictions go, mysteries are as benign as you get. Read on!
Jim Huang is editor of two reference books for mystery lovers, 100 Favorite Mysteries of the Century (2000) and They Died in Vain: Overlooked, Underappreciated and Forgotten Mystery Novels (2002). Since 1982, he's also edited The Drood Review of Mystery, a newsletter focusing on new mysteries. With his wife, Jennie Jacobson, Jim owns a small bookstore, The Mystery Company, in Carmel, Indiana, where he also serves as vice president of the library's Friends organization. He will be recognized as Fan Guest of Honor at Bouchercon, the World Mystery Convention, in September 2006.