Mystery
Introduction to the mystery genre
The mystery fiction genre usually involves a puzzling situation, crime, or mysterious death to be solved. From the Latin word "mysterium", meaning secret thing, this category of books is filled with titles that can include everything from classics to police procedurals, hard-boiled detective novels to supernatural mysteries. What they all share, and what makes them so enjoyable to read, is that they turn the reader into a detective. Who, what where, when, and why did a particular crime happen? And will you be able to solve the mystery before the book ends or will the author keep you guessing with every turn of the page?
Cozy mysteries
Detective mysteries
Procedural mysteries
Historical mysteries
New to mysteries? Try one of these to start.
Her Royal Spyness by Lady Victoria Georgiana Charlotte Eugenie is a penniless twenty-something member of the extended royal family. Thirty-fourth in line for the throne, she has been taught only a few things, but when her brother cuts off her allowance, she leaves Scotland and her fiancé Fish-Face for London. She works behind a cosmetics counter, starts to fall for an unsuitable minor royal, makes some money housekeeping, and gets summoned by the Queen to spy on her playboy son. Then an arrogant Frenchman, who wants her family's 800-year-old estate for himself, winds up dead in her bathtub. Now her most important job is to clear her very long family name.
