January 2017 Mystery/Thriller Genre Discussion

[kio]

Mystery (also crime or detective) is Defined as: a novel in which the protagonist's primary objective is to solve a puzzle or crime by ascertaining the truth through a combination of logic, observation, deduction, inference, or frankly, by sheer luck (humorous mystery ) It's usually a murder, but can be any kind of crime.

Thriller is defined as: a genre which is characterized and defined by the moods they elicit, giving viewers heightened feelings of suspense, excitement, surprise, anticipation and anxiety when an unpredictable, mysterious, and/or rousing source of entertainment is triggered. Frequently preceded by an appropriate adjective (legal suspense/thriller, political suspense/thriller, etc.), the emphasis is often on action and suspense. The plot typically involves a hero and villain, with plenty of close calls before the hero prevails.

What was the name of the book you read? Did you like it? Why or why not? What genres (ex. Mystery, Adventure, Fantasy) would you say it fits? Based off what you read, how would you define Mystery or Thriller? What are some characteristics that you see in the book that seem unique to the genre?

[carrtracy7168]

I just finished the last available book in the Will Trent series by Karen Slaughter. I loved every book so far. Everything she writes really. I wait on pins and needles for each new book to come out. Great mystery can't put down series

[Insightsintobooks]

I enjoy the Intermillenial Slueth series by L.M.J. Owens as they combine archeology and mystery together.

[Craftbunnie]

While I am loyal to my favorite genre, Romance, I do enjoy a good mystery from time to time. I don't enjoy the blood and gore of most mysteries, but I do usually enjoy the Cozy Mystery type of mystery.
I have been working my way through the Sweet Cove Cozy Mystery series and have been enjoying reading about the mysteries and the inner workings of the Sweet Cove family. In the first book a body is stumbled upon and the killer found. I love that an amateur can "help" the police in finding the killer, but I was a little wary when heading to the next couple of books. Usually with cozy mysteries the amateur detective keeps "stumbling" upon bodies. Each book usually heralds another body. This series however, understands that living in a small town and not being a detective usually means not finding a body each time someone in town dies (or another book is written).
I fell in love with the main characters in the first book, Angie Roseland and her family make wonderful guides through each story. The elements of the story, town, and its people make you want to move to Sweet Cove and meet these characters and their pets. I would love to live in a small town where the people treat each other the way they do in these books, murder included. If only this town and its people were real.
I recommend the series with the first book The Sweet Dreams Bake Shop, second book Murder So Sweet, and Sweet Secrets book 3. These are the books that I have read so far, and I look forward to reading the rest, and checking out her books in her other series.

[Julie Ditton]

This is my go-to genre. Although I read more Patterson than anyone else, that's just because he is so prolific. A large percentage of his books would be classified as crime thrillers because they have changing POV showing the villain as well as the hero. I just finished the Thomas Berryman Number, Patterson's Edgar Award winning premier book in 1976. I actually found it confusing because he not only changed POV , but also constantly went back and forth in timeline.

I also just finished Manhattan Mayhem: New Stories by Mystery Writers of America, edited by Mary Higgins Clark. I loved this anthology of actual mysteries.

I am currently reading Kathy Reich 's The Bones Collection. This book includes 4 novellas previously published as e-books. Even though I am re-reading these mysteries, they are still enjoyable.

For a good pure mystery, I love Reichs, Sue Grafton, and Sarah Paretsky. My favorite " cozy mystery " writers are Rita Mae Brown, Lilian Jackson Braun and Laurian Berenson. For Romantic Mysteries I love Mary Higgins Clark and Nora Roberts writing as J.D.Robb!

[Heidi M Simone]

I recently finished a middle school-aged book called The Little Yarnmouth Abduction by Tim Van Minton. I would consider this a mystery for a couple of reasons.

1) The inhabitants of Little Yarnmouth island have all disappeared without a trace. It is up to Evan, Nira, and Junius (an unlikely trio) to figure out what happened to them and how to get them back.

2) On top of this, there has been a mysterious murder and Evan gets accused. It's obviously not this twelve-year-old, but who is it then? And why did he/she kill this person?

It was a fun and quick read that I fully enjoyed. I think the fact that the whole book took place in an island, a sewer, and on water made this middle school aged read unique.

[Brea_21]

Mysteries and Thrillers are very entertaining but what I love are Psychological Thrillers. They have a goal to meds with the reader's mind while providing entertainment. They explore unknown places like inside the character's mind which can be a scary place. They include mental disorders that are usually not talked about. If I am going to read a Thriller it will always be a Psychological Thriller. Author Lisa Jackson is a very good author under this genre! I have read many of her books! If interested please try her books they will grasp you from the beginning and make you crave more!

[Miguelio]

I absolutely love thrillers. The usual ones, Gone Girl, The Girl on the Train are fantastic. One of my favorite thrillers is called The Prettiest One by James Hankins. From the start to the end, I was hooked. The Short Drop, a legal thriller, also never lost my interest.

Good thrillers are hard to come by in my opinion, they are so hit or miss.

I am also a big fan of mysteries. I love Sue Grafton's series, The Rizzoli and Isles Series (Tess Gereitsen, also Tess's other works), The Simon Ziele series (Stefanie Pintoff), and Blake Crouch's works.

[nightnurse]

Just finish second book in the Erin Bond series By Bella Forrest.(Write, Edit, Kill) Book reviewer may or may not like a book were the writer hunts and kills book reviewers. Just like her first book Erin gets drawn into a very public serial murderer story.L
Lights. Camera. Gone, Is the first book in this series were we get to know Erin Bond and how her kiddnapping as a child lead to her working as a private detective. Which lead to her trying to rescue a pop star who was kiddnapped by an unkown serial killer.

[gaporter]

Mystery novels are not my go-to genre, but I read them when I share books with my grandmother. I've read a lot of Nora Roberts and J.D. Robb, and the books are a cute quick read though it's obvious who the culprit is half way through. My favorite mystery novel in Dead Before Dark by Charlaine Harris. The rest of the Sookie Stackhouse series quickly falls into the romance/supernatural genre, but I think that Harris can write some great mysteries.

[Celticlady]

I just read a book that is called Behind Her Eyes by Sarah Pinborough. Goooood book! I love a book that has a really gotcha ending and this one does for sure. I started reading a book titled Phantom Limb by Lucinda Berry that is turning out to be pretty good and another book called Nest by Terry Goodkind, another goodie!

[Reigning]

I just finished reading the book called Watching by Calle J. Brookes. It was an intense book at times. I'd say mystery genre. It was about a serial killer but with a little twist thrown in as well which I was kind of expecting it to be this character that it was. It was really good. Had me on the edge of my seat wanting to jump in there and solve it with them, shake them up a bit to realize what was right before their eyes. My only issue with the book was word spacing issues. Throughout the whole book words were pushed together making me have to stop and look at it to see what it said some I had idea what it was supposed to be.

[nightnurse]

My favorite author is Johnathon Kellerman who writes psychological thrillers crime novels. Own all in the written form, maybe I 'll get the e-books if they are available have to check. Getting off the subject I enjoy most writers of this genre. James Patterson novels always surprise me don't see were he is going until he gets there. I Like books that keeps me on my toes and guessing.

[elivia05]

This is my go-to genre. Although I read more Patterson than anyone else, that's just because he is so prolific. A large percentage of his books would be classified as crime thrillers because they have changing POV showing the villain as well as the hero. I just finished the Thomas Berryman Number, Patterson's Edgar Award winning premier book in 1976. I actually found it confusing because he not only changed POV , but also constantly went back and forth in timeline.

I also just finished Manhattan Mayhem: New Stories by Mystery Writers of America, edited by Mary Higgins Clark. I loved this anthology of actual mysteries.

I am currently reading Kathy Reich 's The Bones Collection. This book includes 4 novellas previously published as e-books. Even though I am re-reading these mysteries, they are still enjoyable.

For a good pure mystery, I love Reichs, Sue Grafton, and Sarah Paretsky. My favorite " cozy mystery " writers are Rita Mae Brown, Lilian Jackson Braun and Laurian Berenson. For Romantic Mysteries I love Mary Higgins Clark and Nora Roberts writing as J.D.Robb!

My grandmother read The Bones Collection, and she has been trying to get me to read this for months. I definitely want to give it a chance!