I would like to know what readers want from a good mystery

[BordelonCooley]

Hello, I am an author. I am not trying to self promote any of my work, therefore I will not give my name. I truly just want readers to reply with want they look for in a good mystery book. I know everyone is different and have their own ideals. Which is what makes writing for a large audience difficult. So, what is it in that book you love that grabs you and won't let you go until you're done with the book? What keeps the pages turning for you as a reader? Thanks

[Sam_Culmer]

Can anyone suggest a good mystery?

[bubblyupdates4]

I love spontaneousness and unpredictability. A lot of mystery books you read you already see what is coming next. I like books that lead you in one direction, thinking you know something that the main character doesn't, then completely flips it around.

[BordelonCooley]

Very nice(bubbly), I can agree with you on that and thanks for your reply. Your reply made me feel good, for the fact that when I write half the time I don't even know what the characters are going to do next lol. That's what make sit fun for me as the writer thought. That it's more like I'm wacthing a movie in my head and just writing down what I see.

[iuliica]

I like to read each protagonists thoughts and actions. I like them revealing their past during their casual thinking, this way giving me clues as to why they might be acting the way they do. Hope that helps.

[Totoro]

I really like it when the author does give the reader all the clues they need to figure things out. They do not have to be obvious, but I don't like getting to the end of the story and the author's finish is to pull a rabbit out of a hat and hit you over the head with it.

[Jenn+books]

I like to be surprised by the solution to a mystery. That being said, it can't come out of the blue. The Deus ex machina endings are always a let down. Once it's been revealed, the reader has to be able to see the solution as possible or logical--within the set of rules the story has established. In other words, there has to have been a trail of breadcrumbs throughout the novel, however hidden or non-obvious, that has led to the conclusion.

[BordelonCooley]

Thanks for all the great feedback! I enjoyed reading the comments. Try "Cop Games" or Hunt or Be Hunted:Burning Desires.

[booklover101]

in a good mystery I want it to be surprising and to have a good protagonist one I could relate to and to be exiting.

[sybil1reader]

I like action from the beginning. I don't want to read two or three chapters before the mystery begins. Grab my attention from the start and then I will keep reading. I also like a lot of twists and turns and unexpected endings.

[lyla_ibrahim]

With mysteries, I like fast-paced plot and unexpected plot twists. I like the element of surprise in a book where I have a guess of something and then it turns out to be totally different.

[sugarbearmama]

I really like it when the author does give the reader all the clues they need to figure things out. They do not have to be obvious, but I don't like getting to the end of the story and the author's finish is to pull a rabbit out of a hat and hit you over the head with it.

on the contrary the rabbit smacking is good, as long as it makes sense. I like a book that has a ton of clues, and drama like murder and this guy got blamed and then he dies and someone else gets blamed but in the end it was the crazy wife who really set everything up but no one thought about her because she just lost her hubby or what have you so then you have to go back and read it again, this is accomplished easily when a book is easy to read and is full of suspense and a fair amount of detaill. Most people miss important parts the first time around so the rabbit makes it necessary to re read and for you to easy -oh that crazy cow- multiple times in the se ond reading.

[JenniferOoley]

I personally like mystery books where I cannot guess the ending.... something that keeps me turning pages to find out what is going to happen. The difficulty with many mystery books is that the ending is predictable and therefore a let down to myself. A mystery without a predictable ending, outcome, etc., and characters that are human and identifiable but a little off or crazy in some way always adds great depth.

[Kalamazoo]

One of my favorite elements in any story, mystery included, is surprise. I love the feeling of something happening "out of the blue," or suddenly becoming aware of an unreliable narrator (as in "Gone Girl").

[gali]

I like an intelligent mystery, twists, a good plot and complex characters. Of course the book has to be well written as well and grab my attention from the start.

Good luck!