By Melodie Campbell
Many of you know that in addition to being a writer of mob heist novels, I’m also the past Executive Director of Crime Writers of Canada. (For my sins. Of which I’ve lost count…)
I’m just coming up for air after serving as a judge for the Crime Writers of Canada Awards of Excellence (formerly known as the Arthur Ellis Awards. We the North like to shake things up.) So this post is timely. It is also cathartic…which may prevent the consumption of too much scotch. (I know, I know. There can never be too much scotch.)
MYSTERIES VS. THRILLERS
In the crime fiction world, most books fall into two categories: mysteries or thrillers. (Note that in decades gone by, we used to call thrillers ‘suspense novels’. Same thing.) I write both and find them very different to write. I’m not alone. Lots of readers who have a preference for one or the other tell me they wonder why mysteries and thrillers are even shelved together in libraries and bookstores.
So to start, let me offer one commonly held description of each, as accepted by Crime Writers of Canada, via many publishers. Like so many things in life, it has to do with goals. (And of course, we’ll add the usual disclaimer that there may be exceptions.)
Mystery fiction is a puzzle story. It starts with a murder (or crime) and the goal is the solving of the crime. The protagonist’s job is to discover who committed the crime and why.
In contrast, suspense fiction is driven by a character in jeopardy. A suspense novel or thriller is one in which the main action (crime or murder) has not yet taken place, and in most cases, the goal of the protagonist is to prevent it from happening. The emphasis is on the tension built by the anticipation of the outcome.
Of course, you always want to include suspense when writing a mystery novel too. I don’t want to discount that. But let’s focus on the puzzle that a mystery novel presents.
ANYONE FOR CHESS?
In many ways, mystery novels are like a chess game. They are to some extent a cerebral experience. I would argue that no other type of novel invites the reader to engage in such an involved way with the protagonist.
Why? Mystery readers like to pit themselves against the fictional detective to uncover who committed the crime. The reader and the detective both receive the same information at the same time (anything else is not playing fair.)
In a great mystery novel, you will hopefully come to the same conclusion as the protagonist, at the same time. It’s the challenge that intrigues us; the joy of the intellectual chase which leads to that supreme high when you as the reader compile all the puzzle pieces together in your mind in such a way as to unveil the antagonist. In fact, the ultimate letdown in a mystery novel is when the killer is easily detected before the half way point in a book.
KEEP THE READER GUESSING.
So why do I occasionally find murder stories where there is only one suspect?
Jeeze Louise, people! A mystery must be a mystery! If you go light on your suspects, what challenge is that?
Thirty years, seventeen novels, fifty short stories, three agents, and six publishers have taught me the essentials of writing a mystery novel. I’d like to pass this list on to several entrants to the awards this year, who seemed to have missed the memo. But as anonymity is our credo (always good to remain mysterious) I will present them here instead.
-
THREE GOOD SUSPECTS
Every mystery novel needs at least three good suspects that you can’t dismiss out of hand. Three suspects with good motives (more on that below.) Five is even better, particularly for a full length novel. Make it a challenge for the reader! That’s what we’re looking for.
-
A BELIEVABLE MOTIVE FOR EACH SUSPECT
A suspect must have a motive for murder. Yes, really. Serial killers aside (and even some would argue them too) people don’t murder each other for no reason. The motive for each suspect must be believable. So many times, I have read books (and particularly, watched television shows) where the motive for murder is simply too trite.
There’s an expression we use in romance writing: TSTL. This translates to Too Stupid to Live, and refers to that particularly daft female protagonist who get herself into a predicament so stupid that a chimp could have avoided it. The ditz factor is simply off the charts. This is how books get thrown against walls.
Murder is risky. If caught, you’ll go to prison for years and in some countries, lose your life. With a mystery novel, the reader must believe that the murder is worth the risk. Don’t slack on this! Make your motive so rock hard no one will question it.
-
A BELIEVABLE MOTIVE FOR THE PROTAGONIST
So often, this one gets overlooked. Most amateur detective series start with a personal reason for the protagonist to become the detective in the first book. Either she is a suspect wishing to clear herself, or a possible ‘next victim’ – but some reason why it is imperative the main character become involved in the solving of the crime. Of course, if your book is a police procedural, or PI subgenre, the detection is part of their job and requires no explanation.
But if your amateur detective has no stake in the outcome, why the heck would they chance going head to head with someone who has already murdered? Silly, if not stupid to put yourself at that risk.
This is what becomes unbelievable in many cozy mystery series. The gal who runs the bakery shop solves the first murder, and then goes on to solve many more, for no reason other than it becomes a hobby.
I demand more than that, of my mysteries! There must a valid motive for the protagonist to become involved in the investigation. Give her a good motive each and every time.
-
RISK FOR THE PROTAGONIST
Remember I mentioned putting oneself at risk in the above point? Here’s what I’m talking about.
You know that crazy device in so many television shows where the two lead characters are in a deserted warehouse, and one says to the other, “You go that way, and I’ll go this way, and we’ll save time” … and you, the viewer at home are going, “NO!!!! Don’t be so stupid – you need to stick together!”
In my “Nine Steps for Writing Suspense,” step seven talks about ‘Isolating the protagonist.’ Because even in a mystery novel, we need to put the protagonist at risk. The climax of your book should be accompanied by a black moment, where all seems to be lost, where the protagonist isn’t going to get what she wants (safety, money, love, the identity of the killer…)
Any mystery that doesn’t put the protagonist at risk in the end is a bit ho hum, in my books (sic). Go hard on your protagonist. Make it risky for them to search for the killer. Make it do or die at the end. And hopefully not die. Which leads to point 5.
-
A CLEAR RESOLUTION
Don’t kill your protagonist in a mystery novel. Please don’t. Countless readers have told me that they absolutely HATE to read for four hours, and then discover that their beloved protagonist kicks the bucket in the end. Readers want the protagonist to win, in a mystery novel. They want justice to prevail.
At the same time, we also need a clear resolution to the story. Nothing will get people storming your publisher’s website than an ending to a mystery novel that isn’t an ending. We don’t know whodunnit in the end.
That doesn’t mean you can’t have the bad guy escape to play another day. Even Arthur Conan Doyle did that regularly. My point is: we need to know Whodunnit by the end of a mystery.
WRITING A MYSTERY NOVEL? REMEMBER: WE NEED THE MYSTERY SOLVED!
It will be possible to find novels billed as mysteries that don’t play by the rules above. They may even be bestsellers. So I’ll leave by saying, here are some clear guidelines I offer to help writers tackle their first mystery book like a pro would.
And perhaps readers will also mine gold in the above, as we’ve demonstrated how much thought must go into creating a really good whodunnit. Because sister, it ain’t easy writing a mystery novel.
by Melodie Campbell (@MelodieCampbell) May 09, 2021
What about you, scriveners? Do you prefer mysteries or thrillers, or do you read and write both? Do you always have three good suspects? Any questions for Melodie about writing a mystery novel?
About Melodie Campbell
Called the “Queen of Comedy” by the Toronto Sun, and the “Canadian literary heir to Donald Westlake” by Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, Melodie Campbell has connections in low places. Don’t dig too deep. You might find cement shoes.
Melodie has shared a literary shortlist with Margaret Atwood, and was seen lurking on the Amazon Top 50 Bestseller list between Tom Clancy and Nora Roberts. She’s won the Derringer, Arthur Ellis, and eight more awards. She didn’t even steal them.
Melodie’s publications include 16 novels and over 50 short stories, but she’s best known for the Goddaughter mob caper series.
BOOK OF THE WEEK
The Goddaughter Does Vegas! by Melodie Campbell
(Shortlisted for the 2020 Crime Writers of Canada Award of Excellence)
…and recommended by Anne. It’s hilarious!
Gina Gallo is a mob Goddaughter who doesn’t want to be one. This time, she’s left her loopy family behind to elope with Pete to Vegas. Except that may be a mortal sin in an Italian family, and besides, Zia Sofia saw a crow. Vegas is full of great acts, but this impersonation is real. Gina has a crime-committing double, and it’s becoming front page news! Gina has to track down this fiendish fraud before the police catch up with her. And of course, Nico is along for the ride.
Another madcap adventure for the hilarious Gallo cousins, that proves the rule: Why should things go right when they can go wrong?
I never realized there was such a clear division between the two. I don’t write either of them but I do read both.
Hi Alex – It really makes a difference to how you write them. Mystery readers are absolutely into the solving of the crime along with the detective. So what that means is, you really need to plot the book out fully before you write it. Whereas with thriller, you perhaps don’t have to be as much of an outliner.
Melodie—Thanks for an excellent post—succinct and to the point. And especially your advice not to kill the protag!
Wanna make your readers hate you and your book? Kill the protag.
Please: Don’t Go There. You’ll be sorry. Really sorry. (And maybe *you’ll* be the next victim.)
Listen to Melodie. She knows whereof she speaks!
Ruth, I get a lot of students in my Crafting a Novel class that think it’s very clever to kill off the protag. They know better by the end of the course! Always an honour to be on here.
Great analysis, Ms. Campbell! I flatter myself constantly that epic fantasy has both mystery and suspense within its capacious covers, but I don’t honestly think I’m very good at either of them in “pure” form.
It does not help matters that my lovely wife is INCREDIBLY sharp at it- I encouraged her to read “Looking for Rachel Wallace” by Robert Parker and seriously, she doped it out by page 25. THAT is enough to put a writer off even trying.
Yes, I’d be devastated if you could figure out my plots by that page!! Yes, there is suspense in every novel, I hope. Even in my fantasy novels (yes, we share that in common, Will!)
This is such a good post, wow!
I love reading mysteries/thrillers and guessing whodunnit.
I haven’t dared writing one myself, though. At least not with a crime. But this brings me to the “puzzle”: I claim (and maybe I am WRONG, lol) that my first book has mystery elements because one person miraculously disappears from a room into which the protagonist personally locked her in a few hours before.
What would disappearances in books be without murder? Okay, it could be a crime why someone disappears but not in my case. I personally find it suspenseful, but wouldn’t class it as a real thriller.
Yes, I know, I must be an amateur. I am for sure. ????
Also, in my second book (WIP) I find there is a bit of a puzzle as I’m slowly releasing information. The reader shall wonder what has Protagonist done that she feels so guilty about. Then Reader figures that she has done A. But no, she has actually done B. She has done it to Antagonist who thinks it’s A, but then Reader knows it was B. Will Antagonist find out it was actually B?
Like what if a puzzle like that unravels? I feel it’s like a… mystery… haha, but it obviously isn’t.
Again, I am an Amateur. ????
And yes, the stupid investigator! I have come across a female who drove me nuts. Didn’t help she even admitted herself that she had read so many books in which she too thought it was crazy to behave like that and now she’s doing it herself and sneaks into the killer’s house.
Also, The Lonely Witness comes to mind. No real reason for the female to follow the killer instead of calling the police. Got relatively poor ratings on Goodreads. I guess Author didn’t get your memo either!
Sounds like your second plot would qualify as psychological suspense! And that drives me crazy – when the amateur detective risks her life for no reason. I’m afraid I’m not very forgiving on motivation errors – comes from teaching this stuff for so many years. Thanks for commenting, Katja!
Hi Melody, from the left coast of Canada (with a polite Sunday nod to Anne and Ruth). This is the best distinction between mystery and thriller I’ve ever read. Points all well taken, and from someone who writes whowhyhowdunnits, I’m a big believer in bending the rules to the breaking point as long as you’re comfortable with what the rules are. Having said that, you’ve highlighted one rule that should never be broken and that’s killing your protagonist. Uh-uh, No-no. Don’t do that. Agreed.
Now, on to some Canuck biz. I think dropping “Arthur Ellis” for the politically correct term “Awards of Excellence” is BS. For those who don’t know, Arthur Ellis was the pseudonym of Canada’s official hangman, and I think receiving an award in his name would be a true honor.
Thanks for commenting, Garry! And my hometown is West Van, although I now live near The Hammer. About the Arthur Ellis: When I was ED, it was a discussion item, because we found we couldn’t get companies to sponsor the award. (Companies told us they didn’t want to be associated with hanging, which hasn’t been legal in Canada since 1948 or thereabouts.) I expect it will be easier to get sponsorship now, and goodness knows, we all need that. I do have an Arthur statue which I treasure, by the way. Wouldn’t trade it for the world.
Garry, as another Canuck, why on earth would we want to name an award after a hangman?!
Thanks for the great tips, Melodie. As a reader and editor of both mysteries and thrillers, I’ve wondered for years why libraries and bookstores lump them together — they’re so different! In fact, one of the chapters of my first writing guide, Writing a Killer Thriller, describes the main differences between the two genres. Your tips are excellent, and so well laid out! I’ve shared this post two places already and will share it more.
Thank you, Jodie! I first started to explore the differences when my first book in The Goddaughter series came out, and it was classified as a heist under the suspense category, which surprised me, as I usually wrote mystery. I came to realize that I was writing two completely separate genres, and that I was actually writing them quite differently. The mysteries require a LOT more front end planning. Suspense/thriller gives me more freedom. Nice to meet you here!
Yes, mysteries require so much more advance planning, I think. Thriller writers have more leeway to see where the plot leads them!
Not sure where “The Hammer” is, but if it’s in BC, check out the FB group I started in 2015, with 1.4K members now, “BC Writers, Authors, & Editors.” Someone like you would be a great asset to the group! And of course you can turn off all notifications and only tune in if/when you feel like it.
Hi Jodie – The Hammer is Hamilton, in Ontario south of Toronto. Steeltown North (I’m always told my Goddaughter series sounds like it’s set in Jersey – smile)
Fine post. Thanks. I write MG/YA, sometimes fantasy, sometimes realistic, & many of these shoes fit, even in stories that wouldn’t be considered mystery or thriller at all.
Now, that a good point, CS! I can particularly see motivation being an important issue in other genres, and it is often overlooked. Why is your character doing what she’s doing? Why is she taking the risk and acting out of character? Or at least, not in her best interests? Thanks for pointing that out.
Thank you for a great post. I’ve felt I knew the difference, but you’ve clarified it very well. I have a question, though. James Patterson’s Alex Cross stories: I’ve assumed they were thrillers, but they don’t quite fit your definition, since so much bad stuff happens despite the hero’s best efforts. Do they fall into some other genre, or are they just thrillers of a different kind?
I also find his story telling novel (pun intended) from most since he goes from first person to third and back, depending on what part of the story he’s telling.
We would definitely classify them as crime novels, and probably more on the thriller side, by my thoughts. Lots of bad stuff happens in thrillers, which builds the suspense of course and puts the protagonist more at risk. His can be pretty dark for sure, and we might call them noir. But there is no question he is trying to prevent that bad stuff from happening, and that is where I see an interesting difference. In a mystery novel, most of the book is about solving the murder, which has already happened. These can overlap, of course. But generally mystery readers are very clear about what they want in a mystery, and many, like me, much prefer to read mysteries over thrillers. Thanks for commenting!
Excellent tips, Melodie! I respectfully disagree on only one point: thriller writers don’t need to plan as much in advance. Sometimes it’s more difficult to write a thriller. When the killer is revealed early on, we need to still maintain a conflict-driven narrative, fast pace, and a believable cat-and-mouse chase without the benefit of a whodunnit. Thrillers are more why-dunnit.
Hope you ladies enjoyed your weekend!
Good points, Sue. I probably should have said, when *I* write a thriller, I don’t have to plan as much ahead (I write heists, which are classified as thrillers.) With a mystery, I do a three acts and finale outline before I even write a word. With capers/heists, I sometimes just start with the idea of what is going to be stolen, and then see what happens when I get writing 🙂
Melodie, I really enjoyed the post and your tips, especially the advice to have 3 believable baddies, with believable motives. Ann Cleeves does this so well in her Shetland books that she is now my role model.
Excellent post. And timely. I’m just at the denouement part of my mystery. The article reminded me of essential questions to ask about my suspects and sleuth. Thank you.
Great post. And the building of suspense applies in many genres, even scifi. Must work on making life harder for my protags 🙂
Thank you for explaining the difference between mystery and thriller. I think of mysteries being more about whodunnit and suspense as being about why. Personally, I’m more drawn to the latter in both reading and writing.