Mystery is the only genre that puts puzzle-solving – making sense of what the hell’s going on – at the centre of everything. Call them thrillers, crime or detective fiction; all of these and the slang term, whodunits, have been used to describe the mystery stories. Readers, it seems, love a good mystery. Murder mysteries are a genre which will never fade. In all its forms , mysteries will definitely continue to capture readers’ imagination, now and long into the future. The popularity of mystery shows no sign of retiring. The books remain as popular as ever especially since today’s mystery writers are more diverse than ever before. Enjoy sinking your teeth into a classic “whodunit” with Mystread.

Starting a new mystery novel is more than cracking open a new book .Starting a new mystery novel is the beginning of a new puzzle. Mystery readers of all ages—from the young to the full-grown adults—get to step into the detective’s shoes and navigate the text. Great plotlines allow them to vicariously find clues, solve riddles, and if all goes well, deliver justice. Some crave the intellectual pursuit of solving the puzzle, which a mystery provides. Others like being caught up in the cat-and-mouse game between the hero and the villains in a thriller. While still others want a fast-paced crime story where the dread of following the protagonist through dangerous situations is what keeps them glued to the page -- the hallmark of suspense. Mystery offer a guaranteed a gripping plot. Yes, many literary novels have fantastic plots. The basic plot elements of the mystery form are:

- The baffling crime
- The singularly motivated investigator
- The hidden killer
- The cover-up (often more important than the crime itself, as the cover-up is what conceals the killer)
- Discovery and elimination of suspects (in which creating false suspects is often part of the killer’s plan)
- Evaluation of clues (sifting the true from the untrue)
- Identification and apprehension of the killer.

As a genre, crime always promises suspense and action in a way that general and literary fiction does not. When times are stressful and it looks like the bad is winning over the good, along comes the genre of crime novels to put the balance back in life. People inherently don’t like folks who do bad and get away with it. In real life they do, all the time, because of a variety of factors. But in novels, evil is punished, and the good guys mostly win, after solving the puzzle. And all is right with the world. At least fictionally. Crime fiction is driven by the quest for conclusive answers and happy endings. In this genre, the realism of the driving force (puzzle) combined with the not-quite-so-realistic comfort value of the genre-prescribed ending (safety restored) is what appeals. Solve the appeal of satisfying mysteries, thrillers and crime stories with the many titles available at Mystread.