What makes a great crime and/or cozy mystery novel?

[Heidi M Simone]

What elements and/or plot devices make a crime and/or cozy mystery book enticing? What keeps your interest?

For me, I look for a book that can build enough suspense to make me want to read more.

[Chikari]

For me it's the suspense factor as well. When a book has me on the edge of my seat it pushes me to keep reading. I also enjoy when the mystery or crime isn't easy to figure out.

[Heidi M Simone]

For me it's the suspense factor as well. When a book has me on the edge of my seat it pushes me to keep reading. I also enjoy when the mystery or crime isn't easy to figure out.

That's a good point about not having the mystery or crime easy to figure out. I find that if I can guess the culprit and/or the sequence of events (especially early on), then I'm not as invested in the story.

[Salma M]

I would love a book that has a lot of characters to make the mystery more exciting. A lot of characters mean a lot of what ifs.

[Nisha Ward]

Suspense is important to me for crime fiction, as well as an understanding of how the mystery evolves. I'm also partial to something that's more community based as in cozy mysteries, but it's not necessary.

[gali]

Interesting and unpredictable plot, good writing, and suspense.

[Heidi M Simone]

I agree with all those points! When there are a lot of "what if" characters, it definitely makes it more interesting as long as they are easy to keep track of. Sometimes, I can get confused when there are too many characters involved and I forget who is who, lol. Suspense is definitely key!

[Nikolas Farmakis]

I think it mostly has to do with literary devices and narrative techniques that create suspense, tension and drama.

[Nikolas Farmakis]

It also has to do with how well-thought the plot is and how close it is to real events.

[Bourner]

I enjoy cozy mysteries where I get to know the people in the community, for example, the town usually has family and friends who gather at a local hangout such as a bakery, yarn shop, book store, or coffee house. You become familiar with the people in the community. It's comforting to return to the characters and have a foundation before getting into a new mystery to solve that doesn't usually involve too much blood and guts.