MYSTERY/SUSPENSE/THRILLERS

DEFINITIONS

MYSTERY

Neither reader nor protagonist (detective, amateur sleuth, etc.) know who the killer is. Goal is to find the bad guy.

Basically a puzzle waiting to be solved.

Crime has already been committed but heroine/hero, and reader, must figure out by whom.

Protagonist drives the story & is usually not in danger.

Slower-paced story telling and heroine/hero must confront a series of red herrings.

Readers take pleasure in the intellectual exercise of puzzling out a crime.

Mysteries are usually part of a series.

THRILLER

Hero has a mission to foil evil/wrong-doing.

Reader often knows who villain is & object is to outwit and stop the killer before he kills others.

Thrillers are action-packed with chases, eruptions of violence and any type of event that gets the reader’s “fight or flight” response going.

Protagonist is often in danger.

Villain drives the story.

Plotting is fast-and-furious.

PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLERS

A sub-genre of thriller with an important focus on the unstable emotional state of the characters.

Characters are exposed to danger on a mental level rather than merely a physical one.

Motives and intentions are more important than the technical aspects of how a crime is accomplished.

Readers expect the story to focus around both the hero and the villain, via changes in point of view and scenes involving each separately.

Protagonist must beat the antagonist using their wits, not physical skills.

They exploit the uncertainty over characters motives, honesty and how they see the world.

Suspense

A real page-turner. Readers have a hard time putting book down to go to bed, prepare dinner, etc.

Intensity increases as protagonist faces deception and danger while devising ways to overcome threats from the villain.

Readers expect surprises in storyline that is a threat to a person, group or the world.

Key elements include conflict, suspense, drama, surprise and resolution.

Emotion and feeling are paramount as opposed to thinking.

Recommended Authors Louise Penny (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache) G.M. Maillet (Vicar Max Tudor) Elly Griffiths (Archaeologist Ruth Galloway) Jacqueline Winspear (P.I. Maisie Dobbs) Peter May (Detective Fin Macleod) Charles Todd (Inspector Ian Rutledge) & (Nurse Bess Crawford) David Mark (Detective Sergeant McAvoy) Kate Atkinson (Private Detective Jackson Brody) Alan Bradley (11-year-old Flavia de Luce) Michael Robotham (Psychologist Joe O'Loughlin) Denise Mina (Reporter Patricia (Paddy) Meehan) Michael Koryta (Various Protagonists) Tana French (Dublin Murder Squad) Linwood Barclay (Various Protagonists) Val McDermid (Dr. Tony Hill) Stephanie Pintoff (Detective Simon Ziele)

SAVE THE DATE

Annual RASD Author Breakfast

October 6th @ Carlyle on the Green ~ Bethpage State Park

Mystery Author of Orient, Christopher Bollen

Register this summer