Mystery Sub-genres - Which Comes First

Writers have to know the genre or sub-genre of their story. Whether traditionally published and bookstore bound, or self-published e-book, sooner or later, someone is going to ask, “What kind of book is it?” And that’s genre.

Most genres today have a lengthy set of sub-genres. Today I’m going to focus on mysteries. I looked at lists of mystery sub-genres from a half-dozen sources and came up with over thirty. The ones that appeared on most or all of the lists included:

• Cozy and its cousin, the Amateur Detective
• Classic Whodunit
• Heists and Capers
• Historical
• Medical and Legal (Courtroom)
• Police Procedural
• Private Eye, including the darker side Noir
• Romantic
• Suspense and Thrillers, including Techno-thrillers
• Spies and Espionage

And most included mention of mixed genres, such as Mystery mixed with Sci Fi, Paranormal, Urban Fantasy, etc.

Suspense and Thriller are also considered genres in their own right with many of the same sub-genres as given for mysteries. The same is true for Crime Fiction.

Lists and definitions for oodles of sub-genres are easy to find. Take any mystery/suspense story and it will probably fall under one or more of those listed above. It’s the “more” that can cause a problem. What I did not find in my search of sub-genres was a hierarchy. Which sub-genre takes precedence of another?

Is a story about a private eye and a CIA agent who solve a murder while falling in love a Private Eye/Spy/Whodunit/Romantic Mystery? What about a spine-tingling thriller with a cop as the main character – Thriller or Police Procedural?

Obviously, some stories are easy to define. Others not so much. What do you think?

For writers - Is there a written or unwritten hierarchy for defining genres/sub-genres? Should there be?
For readers, how defined do you want the genre of a book to be before you buy?

Groaner of the Day:  (Just a short one today.)  The butcher backed into the meat grinder and got a little behind in his work.

Need a LEO? How about a Sheriff?

Okay, so you're writing a crime story of some sort.  Might be a mystery.  Might be a suspense.  Perhaps a cozy. With lots of romance.  Or not.  But you need a local law enforcement officer. 

Well, that would be someone from the local police department, right?  Maybe.  Or you might want to go with a Sheriff or a deputy. 

What's the difference?

A sheriff is generally (but not always) the highest, usually elected, law-enforcement officer of a county. He may or may not be trained in law enforcement.  Once elected, the sheriff appoints/hires deputies to carry out the duties of the office.

Chiefs of police usually are municipal employees who owe their allegiance to a city. Chiefs are usually appointed by the Mayor of a city; or, they may be appointed by or subject to the confirmation of a Police Commission.  Members of the police department of that city report to the chief or someone under his command.

A sheriff and his deputies have jurisdiction anywhere in the county where he is elected to serve, including all towns and cities located within the county, even if the town or city has a police department and a chief of police. The jurisdiction of the police department is limited to their town or city.  The sheriff also assumes the law-enforcement duties in unincorporated areas, towns or cities that don't have a police force.

Deputies may serve as police officers or they may work in the county jails, courtrooms, and in the civil process department (which handles delivery of civil papers such as jury summons, subpoenas, divorce decrees, etc.).  Only members of the sheriff's office can serve civil papers.

Most larger sheriff officers (or departments) have both uniformed and plain-clothes officers (detectives).  Some sheriffs also serve as coroner.

So next time you're looking for a local LEO for your story, think about the local PD but don't overlook the Sheriff's Office.

Have you ever used a sheriff or a deputy in one of your stories?

Groaner of the Day: Snow White received a camera as a gift. She happily took pictures of the Dwarfs and their surroundings. When she finished her first batch she took the film to be developed. After a week or so she went to get the finished photos. The clerk said the photos were not back from the processor.

She went back again the next week, but again her pictures were not ready. 

By the third week, she was feeling quite distraught and when told the photos still weren't ready, she began to cry.

The clerk, trying to console her, said, "Don't worry, Princess. Some day your prints will come".

Boo! I Scared You. (Surprise verses Suspense)

Monday: Mystery, Murder, and Manuscripts

My grandkids, and my sons before them, always delight in sneaking up behind me or popping out in front of me and shouting BOO. (Someday I’m going to explain to them the concept of little old ladies and heart attacks.) This action is usually followed but that age old question: Did I scare you?

When they were little, I always said yes. That was the point of the game, after all. But lately, I’ve taken to saying no. “You startled me,” I explain. “There’s a difference.”

Simply stated, startled is a reaction to an event, scared (fear) is an emotion born of anticipation.  In writing, we look at this as the difference between surprise and suspense.

There is an oft quoted explanation given by the master of suspense, Sir Alfred Hitchcock, that says if two people are sitting at a table having a conversation and a bomb goes off, that’s surprise; but if they’re sitting there having that conversation and the audience/reader knows there’s a bomb under the table set to detonate in a few minutes, that’s suspense.

One makes us jump; the other makes us squirm.

But they are not mutually exclusive. Mysteries tend to be more about surprise. An intellectual puzzle with the reader learning the clues along with the characters. But add in an element of danger, something we know will happened if our hero can’t solve the crime – now our emotions are engaged as well. The same is true in reverse. After our hero has taken that long walk through a dark alley (where we know the villain lies in wait)—drawing our nerves taut with anticipation—there has to be that unexpected event or action that breaks the tension and allows our hero to prevail. The surprise.

So while your story may be a mystery or it may be a suspense/thriller, the telling of the story still needs at least a little of each.

And if I hear a strange noise in the basement, and nervously tiptoe down the stairs, wondering what it could be, and just as I reach the bottom someone jumps out and yells BOO!… Okay, kids, you got me. Now let’s talk about cardiac arrest.

How about you? Do you like/write a little suspense in your mysteries? A little surprise in your suspense?

Groaner of the Day:  A software engineer tests new programs by seeing if it's simple enough for his computer-challenged brother to use.

This is known as the "Brother-can-use paradigm".

(Betcha had to say it out loud.)

Lighten Up on Flawed Logic?

My monthly book club met tonight.  The book we were discussing was a thriller with an element of time travel.  It was a good book; we all enjoyed it.  But I happened to mention a couple logic flaws in the story and I was told that, because it was sci fi or paranormal or whatever, rules of logic didn't apply.

I have a problem with that.  I've always believed that when an author creates any kind of alternate reality, he/she sets the rules for that reality and then has to write the story to fit inside those rules.  This author didn't.  He violated his own rules several times for plot convenience, with no explanation.

I explained that to the group and was told basically to lighten up.  So there were a few holes in his logic.  What difference did it make? It was still an exciting story.

What difference did it make?  Well, it made a difference to me because a couple hours before the meeting I'd been pounding my head against my desk (ouch!) over a logic issue I'd found in my WIP.  I'd inadvertenlty given my protag an easy source for some information in chapter one that she's not suppose to find until chapter three.   It took me quite a while to come up with a feasible solution and it's going to take re-writing several scenes to fix it.  But why go to the trouble when all these regular mystery readers don't care.  When they all shrugged and asked what difference did it make?

What difference does it make?  As a reader or as a writer, do you think having a few mistakes in logic is okay as long as the story is exciting and fun to read?  How many is too many?  Please weigh in on this one.  I'm really interested.

Favor for a Friend:
Many of you know my buddy, Maria Zannini, is in the running for a  Book Cover Award for The Devil to Pay.  Maria designed the cover herself and it's great.  If you haven't already done so, please take a minute to hop over to this site and give her your vote.  (The voting is on the upper right side of the page.)  I'd really appreciate it.

Personal Note:
I just need to say a couple words here.  Later today I'm going to the memorial service for my daughter in law's mom, Linda Cover.  Linda was a woman of extraordinary courage who faced adversity with style and grace. She was the kind of person the world needs more of and she will be sorely missed.

It seems almost inappropreate to follow that with my usual groaner, but so many of you said you enjoyed Wednesday's and Linda was also a person of laughter so I don't think she'll mind.

Groaner of the Day:
Once upon a time there were two canaries in a cage, one male and one female.

After a few days together, the male decided to meet the female. He scooted over to her side of the cage and said, "Since we're in this together, why don't I move over to your side of the cage!"

The female canary replied, "No, thank you."

The male went back to his side of the cage but after a while decided to try again.  He hopped over to her side of the cage and said, "I am sorry I was so forward before. Why don't we get to know each other first."

To which she replied again, "No, thank you."

Feeling very shot down, he languished about for a bit then made one final effort. "Well, could we at least talk?"

This time she replied, "I'm sorry if I seem mean. But I just learned I have a canarial disease called, "Chirpies" and I'm afraid it's untweetable."

(forgive me)

Sub-genres - Now There's a Mystery

Like a lot of writers, I belong to several writing groups that maintain e-mail lists for exchanging information, questions, support, etc.  I have one that falls under the parent organization Sisters in Crime (mystery writers) and one whose mama-ship is Romance Writers of America - because sometimes it's a thin line between a "mystery with a strong romantic element" and a "romantic suspense".

The other day, a member of the mystery group posed a question about mystery sub-genres, asking for a list and some definitions.  Oddly enough, there wasn't the usual stream of responses.  In fact, there weren't any.  That struck my as odd.  In Romance, things seem clearer.  Pretty much every other chapter of RWA holds an annual writing contest and they all use the same sub categories:

Contemporary

Historical

Romantic Suspense

Paranormal/TimeTravel/Fantasy

Young Adult

Single Title

 

So what about mysteries?  I did a little online digging and came up with these (all were on at least three of the many lists I found):

 

Amateur Detective

Classic Whodunit
Comic (Bumbling Detective)

Cozy  

Courtroom Drama

Dark Thriller

Espionage

Forensic

Hard-boiled (noir)

Heists and Capers

Historical

Inverted (howdunit)

Locked Room

Medical

Paranormal/Supernatural

Police Procedural

Private Detective

Psychological Suspense

Romantic

Serials

Technothriller

Thriller

Woman/Child in Jeopardy

Wow.  That's quite a list.  And I imagine a lot of mysteries have elements of more than one category, right?  So what difference does it make?  Well, the problem comes when the author is trying to describe a book to an agent or an agent to a publisher or a publisher to a bookseller or a bookseller to a buyer.  They all have to answer one question, "What is it?" 

And the answer is supposed to fit someplace on that lovely list.

Oh.  Well, it's a Paranormal Private Detective Thriller with a Romantic Woman in Jeopardy.  Sort of.  I guess.

Think about some of your favorite mysteries.  Where would they fit on the list?  Would they fit somewhere on that list?  I'll bet you have some that do and others that need a description like the one in the paragraph above.  Can you share an example of a multi-sub-genre mystery you've enjoyed?

As a writer, do you try to write to a sub-genre/category?  As a reader, do you choose books based on that sort of label?

Note:  Follow up to my Monday post - as I write this, we're in the middle of another torrential downpour.  Still on target to break the record for the wettest April ever.

I'm currently enjoying: Murder on the Mind by L.L. Bartlett  (I could have finished this last night but my grandson started playing with my Nook, got caught up in the story, and wouldn't give it back to me.)

Groaner of the Day: A linguistics professor was lecturing to his class one day. "In English," he said, "a double negative forms a positive. In some languages though, such as Russian, a double negative is still a negative. However," he pointed out, "there is no language wherein a double positive can form a negative."

A voice from the back of the room piped up "Yeah, right."