What Makes a Good Mystery Novel?

The greatest mystery novelists have all remembered that they can’t leave out what is the core of any good novel period. They must get you hooked in the first chapter by getting you to care what happens to the main character. Then they can begin to spill suspense, doubt and deception clues along the way to keep you guessing.

A great mystery novel must create characters that have traits you can relate to. Not necessarily ones the reader has but ones that are familiar. This applies to the hero or heroine and secondary characters. No one wants to relate to the villain so he or she can be as vicious or strange as the writer can imagine. In a good mystery a caring bond must be developed between the main character and the reader. There needs to be vulnerability about them again...that you can relate to.

A mystery reader knows going in that everything is not going to be as it seems. There are always underlying facts that show up as the tale unfolds. A really good mystery will engulf you totally in the emotions and intensity of the situation right away. If the writer can dispense the clues in a way and time that the reader does not expect, that makes for a great mystery read.

When a mystery reader gets close to the end it is bitter sweet. They are anxious to find out the answers but they really don’t want the adventure to end. A top notch mystery novel will not try to fool the reader by dropping in an implausible ending. How the book ends is as important as how it begins. When you are surprised but not fooled at the end and there have been seeds planted for the next in the series...then you know you have read a really great mystery novel.