The book that I’ve been querying is many things, but at its base, it’s a whodunnit-style mystery. Sure, I also throw in a YA coming-of-age narrative, LGBTQ+ Romance, and some paranormal intrigue… but I spent a lot of time researching and studying the mechanics of the mystery genre while crafting my novel.
Like many areas of fiction writing, the mystery genre has an expected structure. This often works like a rule book telling the author what the reader expects from a mystery novel. How strictly you follow the rule book is up to you.
Let me break out one of my favorite Pirates of the Caribbean quotes, “the rules are more like guidelines.” These guidelines can be bent or broken to fit your writerly desires. You can remix the rules in a way that subverts your reader’s expectations. But I implore you to only break these guidelines with intention. (I even slapped on a bold font to show how important I find intention in writing).
At the end of the day, an excellent mystery is one that captures the reader’s attention, keeps them guessing, and provides them with an ending that can be surprising but is ultimately satisfying.
Know what type of mystery you’re writing
The mystery genre is broad and has several sub-genres. Know what style you’re intending to write before going through all the hard work of completing a novel. This is a sanity tip as much as a marketing one. This will help give you better clarity and direction for the story, and help you curb those reader’s expectations.
- Cozy Mystery: Often light-hearted and feature an amateur sleuth solving crimes in a small, close-knit community. They typically contain minimal violence and focus on the puzzle-solving aspect of the mystery.
- Police Procedural: Revolves around law enforcement professionals (detectives, police officers, etc.) investigating crimes. These often delve into police methods, forensic techniques, and the inner workings of the criminal justice system.
- Hard-Boiled Mystery: (AKA gritty detective novels) Features cynical and often morally ambiguous protagonists, such as private investigators or tough detectives. They often take place in urban settings and explore darker themes.
- Historical Mystery: Exactly what you’d expect, mysteries that are set in the past and incorporate historical events, figures, or settings.
- Psychological Thriller: Combines elements of suspense, mystery, and psychological exploration. They focus on the mental states of characters, blurring the lines between reality and perception, and often involve mind games and psychological manipulation.
- Legal Thriller: Revolves around legal professionals, who become embroiled in a high-stakes mystery or courtroom drama.
- Amateur Sleuth: Features protagonists that are not professional investigators but are drawn into solving crimes because of their curiosity, personal connections, or unique skills. This is the case in my novel–the MC gets swept up in the mystery because of personal connections. His sister is the prime suspect. And he has a special skill. He’s smart, observant, and believes he can do what the police cannot.
- Noir Mystery: AKA the darker side of mystery. Characterized by dark and pessimistic tones. They often explore themes of corruption, moral ambiguity, and the seedy underbelly of society. These feature flawed protagonists and glum, atmospheric settings.
- Medical Mystery: Because detectives, lawyers, or random guys on the street can’t have all the fun! Medical mysteries involve a medical professional solving crimes that are intricately tied to the medical field.
- Paranormal Mystery: Where realism has no place. These stories combine elements of the supernatural with traditional mystery. They may involve paranormal investigators, witches, psychics, or otherworldly phenomena (cough cough, vampires). This is the other bucket my novel fits into!
Of course, genre-bending and subverting expectations often play a role in fiction, but remember to write with intention (see, now I mentioned it twice so you know it’s important). Know the rules before you plan to break them!
Know the formula
Mystery novels will obviously follow whatever story structure you want, whether it’s seven beats, saving cats, or something else. Expectations for the mystery genre however dictate certain attributes, such as a well-paced, suspense-building plot progression, elegant layers of foreshadowing, and a satisfying conclusion. Plus, if your mystery is a whodunnit like mine, be ready to give your prime suspects the following:
Means – Were they capable of committing the crime?
Motive – How would they have benefited from the crime?
Opportunity – Were they near the crime scene? Is their alibi solid?
As facts come together and more pieces are revealed, the answers to means, motive, and opportunity are likely to change. That means you will want to have several well-developed characters that could be at fault.
Have multiple suspects
This might sound like a no-brainer, but when starting to craft your mystery think about all the possible suspects (and not just the usual ones). Having a good number of suspects can really drive the mystery and keep the reader guessing.
However, be careful of running into suspect chaos. This could occur when there is an overwhelming number of suspects. Yes, it’s okay if everyone in the story is a suspect, but this might get a little tough if your story includes all of Manhattan.
Explore your victim’s relationship with all the suspects, not just the culprit. A morally grey victim, with a messy past and complex relationships, will allow for more intrigue in your murder mystery.
Select your culprit with intention
I’m not saying you need to know the exact culprit when you embark on writing your mystery. Agatha Christie usually didn’t know who the killer was until the reveal. But as I mentioned in the last tip, you might get to the point where every suspect possesses a compelling means, motive, and opportunity. Any of your suspects could have done it. However, the real culprit should be the one that, when revealed, feels the most satisfying.
This isn’t an exact science, but balance who has the most at stake, who has hidden motives that become revealed in intriguing ways, and who isn’t the most obvious choice. (Unless the obvious choice gets subverted and becomes the least obvious because it’s so obvious!)
Deciding whether you selected a satisfying culprit could be a great place for beta readers or critique partners to swoop in with some feedback!
Use Chekov’s Gun
Chekov’s gun is a reference to the story-writing rule by Anton Chekov. If there’s a gun on the mantel in act one, it should be fired in act two.
This means that you can/should call attention to objects that might seem inconsequential earlier on, but will be pulled back into the story in a significant way. This could be something like a golf club one character is bragging about offhand, and later the club is discovered as the murder weapon.
Use the setting to move the mystery forward
Setting can impact a novel like a character can. A novel set on a yacht at sea will have different tension than a novel set in sprawling London, but no less impact. Setting can influence how the events play out, the resources available, and the dynamics of how your characters might interact.
Mysteries don’t require a gloomy, atmospheric setting (unless you’re writing a noir). My novel takes place in the Sunshine State of Florida. I use the setting to further establish a sense of comedic irony by playing up the contrast between a bright setting and the story’s darker themes.
Balance red herrings and clues
Clues include planting subtle hints throughout the narrative. Plant breadcrumbs for readers to follow and will lead them closer to the reveal. Clues can be a balance of tangible items like a piece of evidence. Clues can also be circumstantial––like an assumed relationship or a timeline of events. These inclusions can be specifically identified by the protagonist or elaborately layered as foreshadowing (with meaning only derived at the conclusion).
Red herrings are misdirections. They give readers false leads and plant deceptive clues to keep them guessing and maintain suspense. Red herrings are often most effective when they are inserted subtly into the story.
Add suspense with a deadline
A ticking clock can help add tension no matter what genre you’re writing in. Add pressure on your detective (or problem-solving character). The higher the stakes and the more desperate they are to find these answers will make your readers ache for the answer too. With a good mystery, you want your readers ripping through those pages.
Answer the mystery
Don’t forget to do this! And don’t leave it dangling off of some cliff either. When readers tuck into a mystery they are putting themselves in the investigator’s shoes and want to unveil the truth.
Tie up loose ends! Provide a resolution that answers all major questions and resolves the central mystery, leaving readers feeling satisfied. Avoid cliché and strive for an ending that surprises and delights readers, while staying true to the established groundwork.
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Newbie to Novelist 