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MYSTERY VERSUS SUSPENSE

by Deb Klein

Related as cousins, but regarded as two separate genres, mysteries and suspense both require a crisis to move the story along. The differences lie in WHEN the crisis occurs and HOW it is handled.

	MYSTERY		SUSPENSE
	A dream		A nightmare
	A House of Mirrors		A Roller Coaster ride
	Intellectual: Therefore use clues		Emotional: Therefore use surprises
	Is a myth		Is a fairy tale
	Protagonist already has skills: Therefore limited growth		Protagonists develops skills: Therefore unlimited growth
	Action offstage: Therefore crisis occurs, then thrills begin		Action onstage: Thrills begin, then the crisis occurs
	Small world of suspects		Encompasses the large world
	Point of view from the hero		Many points of view
	Information withheld		Information given
	Reader is 2 steps behind		Reader is 2 steps ahead
	Question is: Who killed X ?		Question is: Will our hero survive?
	We have suspects		We have betrayals
	Red Herrings		Cycles of distrust
	Best as a part of a series		Can stand alone

Mystery Categories:

The Classic Whodunit:
Also known as the “cozy”, not because the story is cozy, but because the story is one you’ll want to read while getting “cozy” on a winter day.

Cerebral in nature; violence is glossed over. The purpose is to restore order to a world that has lost its serenity through a violent death. The sleuth is smarter than the cops around him because he sees things that others miss.

Represented by Edgar Allan Poe, Sir Arthur Conan Coyle and Agatha Christe.

Subgenres:

The Regional Mystery: Location becomes important. Tony Hillerman’s Navajo lands.

The Historical Mystery: Exotic location in a previous time. Anne Perry’s Victorian England.

Comic Relief: Killing people is easy; comedy is murder! Joan Hess’s Maggody series.

You Gotta Have a Gimmick: Cats, cooks, ghosts, psychics as detectives.

The “Dark Cozy”: Delving into social and personal problems like mental illness.

The American Hard-Boiled Detective Story:

Also known as the P.I. Story.

Tough-guy violence occurs because the detective or private investigator must take on the villain. Murder is NOT an aberration in their world, it is expected. Multiple murders are common. The detective can only get “some” justice since the cops are corrupt and no one can be trusted.

Represented by Sue Grafton, Michael Connelly and Elmore Leonard.

The Procedural:

Started with police procedurals and now includes forensic procedurals.

Science comes to the front with a mix of cerebral and violent elements (Think CSI). Police are celebrated as being honest, hard-working good guys. The protagonist is not alone this time, but works with a team.

Represented by Patricia Cornwell, Joseph Wambaugh and Ed McBain.

Suspense Categories:

Suspense originated from the marriage of the Gothic novel to the spy story. The Gothic pitted a woman alone against evil forces in a single house. The spy story pitted a person against evil forces in a larger world where the fate of the free world is at stake.

Today’s suspense follows the Gothic line whereas today’s thrillers follow the spy story. Thrillers rack up the characters, location and action of an ordinary suspense to the edge of credibility to give the reader more than what he bargained for.

Suspense and thrillers both throw an ordinary person into a world that he doesn’t know or understand.

The Traditional Gothic:

A woman alone in a remote mansion that must fight dark secrets. She protects young children and brings light into the dark world of the man who is haunted by these secrets.

Represented by Victoria Holt, Barbara Michaels and Ruth Rendell.

Romantic Suspense:

A woman must decide between at least two men vying for her attentions. One is rude and one is considerate. The rude guy turns out to be the good guy, but we don’t know that until our heroine unravels dark secrets and survives ongoing danger.

Represented by the Harlequin Romantic Intrigue line.

Relationship Suspense:

A married woman is in a hostile environment where the only person she can trust is her husband. But what happens when you suspect that your husband is trying to murder you?

Represented by Daphne du Maurier, Marilyn Wallace and Joy Fielding.

Personal Jeopardy:

A David and Goliath struggle that occurs when a child is kidnapped, a woman is stalked or a spouse is targeted by the Mob for reasons that can’t be explained.

Represented by John Grisham’s The Firm, and Jan Burke’s Hocus.

Thriller Subgenre Categories:

The Techno-Thriller:

Usually based on what-if horror stories about technology gone wrong. The details of this technology play a huge part in the story. Caution must be used to make sure the thrill is included along side the technological details.

Represented by Tom Clancy and Michael Crichton.

The Medical Thriller:

Plots that focus on the power doctors have over life and death. Includes unscrupulous doctors, rampant disease, and abuse of reproductive technology.

Represented by Robin Cook and Tess Gerritsen.

The Political Thriller:

Involves public issues and the lives of political figures.

Represented by Richard North Patterson.

The Crime Thriller:

Serial killers.

Represented by Thomas Harris.

The Legal Thriller:

Not as tense as the techno and medical subgenres. The protagonist can be either a defense attorney or a prosecutor. The plot includes both the protagonist’s personal danger and courtroom drama.

Represented by John Grisham, Steve Martini and John Lescroart.

Another Suspense Subgenre:

Crimes & Capers:

Written from the criminal’s point of view. Our sympathy is with the one who is not innocent. It can be a serious psychological study like James Ellroy’s Killer on the Road, or a glimpse into the colorful lives of low level criminals as written by Elmore Leonard or Carl Hiaasen.

Sources

"How To Write Killer Fiction" by Carolyn Wheat. John Daniel & Co., Santa Barbara. 2003.

Writer’s Digest. February 2006 Issue. "Thrill Me" by Simon Wood. Pages 31-33.

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