What Kind of Mystery Should You Read? I’m here to explore the three main types of mysteries, from mild to wild. Maybe you’ll want to try them all, or maybe you’ll decide that only one type is for you. Let’s find out!
What Kind of Mystery Should You Read?
Maybe you ended up on this page after taking my What’s the Best Mystery Thriller Book for You Quiz.
Or maybe you ended up here because you’re curious about the different types of mysteries and which I think you would like most.
You might want to take the quiz and see if you’re a tried-and-true mystery reader or might actually prefer a different kind of thrilling or suspenseful book.
Let’s do a quick recap: What is a Mystery? Jen’s five MUSTS
Mysteries are all about RULES. Break them, and you get caught!
- In a mystery novel, some kind of crime must have been committed
- There must be an investigation, either by a government authority, a private investigator, or an amateur sleuth
- The narrative must consist of the presentation of various puzzle pieces to the reader, some clues and others red herrings.
- At the end of the book, the mystery must be solved. Not negotiable!
- The narrative stays mainly in the present, though events in the past can be investigated or discussed.
I see mystery books as ranging in tone from very dark to very light. Let’s start with the lightest and most comic:
What is a Cozy Mystery Book?
- Cozy mysteries are light (even comic) in tone
- Cozy mysteries typically feature amateur detectives.
- Cozy mysteries are typically set in small towns or close-knit communities.
- Violence and explicit content are minimal.
- The focus is on solving the mystery rather than on graphic or disturbing elements.
Some other qualities of Cozy Mysteries:
The main character meddles in police investigations to an extent that can be a bit unrealistic.
The main character may have a potential love interest, but it’s often a flirty will-they-won’t they kind of relationship that doesn’t interfere with the mystery-solving.
Cozy mysteries are often series books with the character solving multiple mysteries
What Are My Favorite Cozy Mysteries? Let’s Go!
What is a Procedural Mystery book?
- Police procedurals revolve around the workings of law enforcement agencies and agents
- The focus is on the process of solving a crime, and includes investigation, forensics, and (sometimes) legal procedures.
- These mysteries often involve police officers, detectives, or FBI agents as the central characters.
Readers love procedurals for their behind-the-scenes looks at the workings of law enforcement. Unlike in a cozy where the police are minor (and often inept) characters, in a procedural the narrator is usually the person assigned to solve a case.
Procedurals are often series as well that let the reader follow the career of a law enforcement professional as they solve multiple cases, even cases that span multiple books.
What Are My Favorite Procedural Mysteries? I Have a List!
What is a Noir Mystery book?
Noir mysteries have the darkest tone of all mystery books. They typically feature:
- A bleak and melancholy setting, either a gritty urban location or a hardscrabble rural one
- A tough and cynical protagonist
- Complex, morally ambiguous characters
- An exploration of social ills and issues, like racism, drug addiction, or intergenerational trauma (yes, these issues can be explored in other types of books, but in Noir Mysteries the outlook often seems bleak and hopeless).
- Get excited, rule breakers! Noir mysteries can be (sort of) unresolved. Because of their dark and cynical nature, sometimes vigilante or rough justice is served in these books.
Interesting fact: there are regional versions of Noir:
- Nordic or Scandinavian Noir: popularized by Steig Larsson, Nordic Noir fiction has a long and distinguished history
- Japanese Noir: mainly Yakuza fiction.
- Irish Noir: explores themes of Irish history and politics, and urban Irish settings.
- Tartan (Scottish) Noir: dark mysteries typically set in Glasgow and Edinburgh
- Outback Noir: set in the vast and forbidding Australian Outback