Speaking for myself (you may chime in as well, dear reader), the elements of a great mystery read is defined by these here parts:
A smart, complex villain who isn’t necessarily all bad. I hate cookie cutter, cardboard villains who are only motivated to kill, kill, kill without no reason other than to, well, kill. Hate the terrorists plots. Loathe the serial killers. I’ll read a Connie Mason book over a plot revolving around international espionage any day of the week. Yeah. I said it.
In Jo Nesbo’s The Redeemer (Random House UK 1999, 456 pages), the villain was a Croatian refugee/assassin dead set on a mission to kill a Salvation Army officer. The author fleshed the villain out, gave him some background which made the story ten times more satisfying because the author did the unthinkable: made the villain a sympathetic character to me. Of course he needed to be stopped and Harry Hole was just the man to do it. The villains in Nesbo’s book are smart, determined, passionate and lethal. I wouldn’t have it any other way.
The setting: I have to feel like I’m there from the comfort of my own bedroom. I’ve enjoyed the harsh Baltic weather in Johan Theorin’s The Darkest Room. Have run the streets in Oslo with Harry Hole (The Redbreast, et al by Jo Nesbo) and enjoyed Paris with Fred Vargas in The Three Evangelists. Been to East Africa thanks to Suzanne Arruda’s Jade del Cameron’s series that starts with Mark of the Lion. If your mystery has a good setting, that’s half the battle right there. The more exotic the better.
Less interrogation, more investigation and other stuff. I know JD Robb’s Eve Dallas is revered by everyone but me. I think. One of the major reasons why I quit reading those books was that I was bored silly with Eve’s interrogations. Eyes would just glaze over. Never mind how Roarke always managed to either be a suspect in each and every frikkin case she had but he was helping her with his state of the art computer equipment that can break everybody else’s. Yawn.
I don’t mind interrogation(s) if it’s not all that long and it’s actually entertaining. Otherwise, why bore me to death with the same boring questions? Pepper it up it we must be subjected to the interrogation room. But in my ideal mystery, there would no interrogations that went on for more than a couple of paragraphs or if your talented like Jo Nesbo where I am hanging off your every word then you’re good.
Characterizations: your mystery must be character driven. I’ve read almost all of your standard tropes. The loner detective who can’t hold his liquor or drinks indiscriminately but still manages to be a top rated cop (Jo Nesbo, Ken Bruen). I can’t recall what Harry Bosch’s vices were. Did he even have any? Besides always giving his superiors the finger, can’t think of one, no.
There are other elements that make a good mystery like how easy or hard they are to solve. Does the author cheat by having the villain show up out of nowhere? Are confessions made by the villain to the detectives before being shot to death? How is the pacing? Does the book move fast like a bullet out of a gun or does it move slow like a snail? How graphic is the violence? Is it nightmare inducing? See, for me, I am immune to the violence in books thanks to you guessed it Chelsea Cain and Karin Slaughter. But anyway, if you agree with those elements that make an outstanding mystery then we’ll get along fine. Okay, let’s read some good books.
I’ve had a couple of days to think about what you said in this column and I’ve discovered I don’t have too many requirements in reading suspense. It has to be written well—that’s the first and most important point. I won’t even bother with something that looks like an elementary student wrote it (whatever that means).
I too don’t enjoy terrorist plots, but I love serial killers. I’ve come also to enjoy courtroom dramas when presented well. Jilliane Hoffman has three books out that lay the basis for the crime, then proceeds to spent a lot of time in court. She does this so well. Also, Angela Hunt in her latest book, Let Darkness Come, does an excellent job defending her client.
Characters need to be well drawn, but that’s something I require in any book I read to thoroughly enjoy it. My basic weakness in this genre is that I haven’t read as many male authors as I have female. That’s my next step—to get into their world a bit more.
Hey Tee, did you ever read any of Dennis Lehane’s other books outside of Shutter Island? Re characterization is universal. I read books for the characters and the setting and that transcends genres so we are agreed. I hate long interrogations and I hate it when the author makes it near impossible to guess the killer.
Loved Shutter Island, Keishon (haven’t seen the film yet, though). I attempted a couple of Lehane’s other books with the two private detectives. Could not really get into them. Part of the problem could be that I realized the great backlog on them and it appeared overwhelming. Plus the female detective, who was married in the particular story I was reading, appeared to be taking a lot of unnecessary stuff from her husband. It wasn’t making sense to me. But since I didn’t delve too deeply into that relationship, I can’t comment authentically.
I’m looking for male authors who write like Tami Hoag, Chelsea Cain, Tess Gerritsen (in her earlier books), Lisa Gardner. I think you get my drift. Sometimes the men can take too much of a cut-and-dried outlook in their books and leave me cold. That’s not all of them, but it’s most likely the Venus/Mars thing. But there are a few out there I’ve really enjoyed. If that’s the case, my theory is that there are certainly more whom I’ve not yet tried and would like.
Tee, I think you’d like PJ Tracy’s books. The writers are a mother-daughter team, and the characters are fantastic (the plots are just as good!)
I hear you. Maybe you will like Val McDermid? British writer I heard is good. I haven’t read anything by her yet. Also re Dennis Lehane, Angie’s husband is a batterer who gets his in the end. The author did a miracle though in making him a sympathetic character. Sounds completely crazy and I can’t explain it.
Ian Rankin made the remark that some of the best women writers who write like men are gay. What do you think of that? His theory doesn’t pan out for me. Chelsea Cain as far I know isn’t gay. Val McDermid is gay so is Patricia Cornwell and it’s been rumored that Karin Slaughter is too. What their sexuality has to do with writing well, I don’t know but I found it quite fascinating.
Oh, I forgot to mention Karin Slaughter as a favored writer; but you knew that, didn’t you? LOL Interesting theory about the gay issue. Whether it’s true or not, it doesn’t matter to me, of course. But that could explain why these particular writers have the edge without the flowers, but also have that something else this side of cold (for me). On the other hand, such a blanket statement as that could be too assuming and not necessarily true. But then, who knows? It takes a mixture of all kinds to make any of us unique.
I usually prefer no-nonsense writing, especially in suspense. But I find I like the cut-to-the-chase style also in general fiction, as well as romance. I always have. Think Theresa Weir, for instance—one of my all-time favorites.
I miss Theresa Weir. Sigh. Well, I am reading a Dennis Lehane right now. Prayers For Rain and after that, I’m up for recs.
Have you read any Donna Leon? Set in Venice. Her stories are police procedurals but in a very whimsical Italian way with lots of commentary on the state of the world and domestic philosophical discussions over wonderful food. Great characterisations.
Hi Keziah, I have two or three ebooks by Donna Leon in my stash so I am looking forward to reading her and have pushed them up for priority. Thanks for the feedback!
Keishon, agree completely about the characterisation. The other stuff, not necessarily. I like a good serial killer plot, don’t mind a mystery with terrorists, and though I don’t really like international espionage, I don’t think I’d go as far as Connie Mason to avoid them.
Where I do disagree is about interrogation -I’m one of those weirdos who absolutely adore the ones in the In Death books. JD Robb manages to keep them more than interesting enough for my taste!
There was one earlier book where Eve interrogated someone that seemed a bit heavy handed and she was so focused on this person being the killer that it drove me nuts. But I’ve since stopped reading the series so I’ll have to take your word for it that she’s gotten better. I didn’t mean to just pick on her
there’s been worst interrogation scenes in other mystery books. Also this post is really, really old. I added tags to posts that were put MISC yesterday and I see that my feed has them show up as if they are new. Weird. Appreciate your thoughts on this though!
Hahah, it did sound all a bit familiar!