This topic from Long and Short Reviews was an interesting one.
I've been reading murder mysteries more often recently, although I tend to be quite selective as to which authors I read - I love Agatha Christie and Richard Osman, but some other authors just don't work for me. That said, I only really have one criterion for mysteries, and it's one that I first noticed while watching an episode of Jonathan Creek, a show which is a bit dated now but was famous for its convoluted methods of killing.
It's quite simple. I never make any effort to try and guess who the killer is - I know this is part of the fun for many people, but I'm happy to just watch and enjoy the journey. So if I manage to figure it out before the big reveal, then the writer clearly isn't trying hard enough. I want to be surprised, and if I'm not surprised, it's a failure for me.
I'm not sure why I have this criterion specifically for mysteries, since for other genres I'm perfectly fine with knowing the ending beforehand. But when it's a murder mystery, I don't want to know and I won't try to guess, so there's no excuse for not surprising me.
So what are your thoughts on the mystery genre?
Like you I mostly enjoy being along for the ride, though there are some mysteries (specifically Asimov's Black Widowers and Union Club mysteries) where the reader is MEANT to be trying to puzzle it out along with the characters.
ReplyDeleteI'll have to check those out.
DeleteI loved Jonathan Creek, Tanith. I watched the series again not long ago, and enjoyed it as much as the first time.
ReplyDeleteI still love it, but it definitely has a few attitudes which have dated a bit.
DeleteOh, that’s a cool way to do it. I like to play around with the clues, but I’m never disappointed if I can’t figure out who the killer was unless the clues were misleading or something. :)
ReplyDeleteThat's a good attitude to have :)
DeleteI never have complete faith that the way a fictional mystery is solved would have worked in real life.
ReplyDeletePK
There were definitely a few in Jonathan Creek that wouldn't have.
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