I love to read a good mystery. To be honest, I even like reading a not so good mystery. I read more mysteries than any other genre, including those for the mystery book group at my local library.
There are a wide variety of mystery subgenres. Let’s look at a few:
The Cozy Mystery – a small town (bonus points if there is a vicar), an amateur detective, a clever murderer on the loose, and an even cleverer “punny” book title – The Quiche of Death, And Then There Were Crumbs, etc. If the mystery book includes recipes, odds are it’s a cozy!
The Psychological Thriller – twisty plots, unreliable narrators, and just plain crazy people – The Girl on the Train, The Silent Patient, etc.
The Police Procedural– follow the detectives as they solve the crime, can you figure it out before they do? – Tana French’s books, Michael Connelly’s books, etc.
The Historical Mystery – transports you to another time and place, after all, people have been murdering each other forever – Maisie Dobbs, The Alienist, etc.
The Caper Mystery – the more ridiculous the plot the better, may include trying to disguise a dead body or hide it in a cooler – Finlay Donovan, Dial A for Aunties, etc.
A few of my favorite mysteries are The Thursday Murder Club series, everything written by Peter Swanson (his 12th mystery comes out this year), and Anthony Horowitz’s adult Mystery series (Hawthorne & Horowitz and Susan Ryeland).
How do you feel about mysteries? What are some of your favorites? What mystery genre most interests you? Comment below to let us know.
Registered 2025 Cannonballers can join our mystery book discussion zoom on March 1st at 2 pm EST to discuss all things mystery. Not registered yet? It’s not too late, here is our registration form.
