Hi all,
I started this post awhile back and didn't post it.
I was thinking about our Mystery Book Club meeting where we read novels by Brad Thor in the Scot Harvath series. One person said several times, she didn't consider these books mysteries. I am a person that can usually find a mystery in most books I read and to me, that makes it a mystery. But I decided I wanted to see what "they" say makes a mystery novel.
I came across this article with a nice list of what makes a mystery published by Master Class. They offer classes in writing. If you want to read the full article it is here:
https://www.masterclass.com/articles/essential-elements-of-a-mystery-story#10-elements-of-a-mystery-story
Here is their list of what makes a mystery compared to some of Lions of Lucerne.
1. A strong hook: Uh, the president of the U.S.A. gets kidnapped by gunmen - pretty good hook
2. An atmospheric setting: Set in Switzerland, starts of with a big cloak and dagger scene - check
3. A crime: kidnapping the President of the United States - check
4. A sleuth: Scott Harvath - check
5. A vilain: several involved in the plot to kidnap the President, his daughter and people are shooting at Scot Harvath
6. Narrative Momentum: Yep. Scot constantly being shot at, hit over the head etc.
7. A trail of clues: check
8. Red herrings: plenty of those
9. Foreshadowing: that don't do that feeling
10. A satisfying ending: Yes! Leaves enough questions to make you want to read the next.
I started listening to The Last House on the Street today. It was recommended by a friend and presented as "a really good book." Once I started it, I said to myself, "This sure seems like a suspense, thriller, historical mystery." I looked at a couple of websites to see what categories it is in and one site said historical drama only, then historical and finally also saw "mystery".
Just proving to myself what I thought all along - a mystery novel can come in several shapes and sizes.
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