Mystery and suspense novels both present puzzles to be solved, but they approach them in different ways. In mystery stories, the crime — murder, theft, kidnapping — happens early in the story, and the protagonist spends the rest of the story figuring out what happened; the villain is never revealed until the climax. In suspense stories, the plot is built around what's going to happen; we know who the villain is early on, and the emphasis is on foiling the villain's scheme rather than unmasking him.

Mystery and Its Subgenres

Mysteries are always popular with readers, and readers who find a mystery author they like will try to read all that author's novels. There are several ways to craft the mystery, and each has its own appeal. For example, many readers like amateur detective stories, especially if the lead character is a series detective, like Agatha Christie's Jane Marple. The private detective is another popular character and one that it is easy to build a series around. Sue Grafton has made a living with her Kinsey Millhone Alphabet Murder Series, featuring a gritty female private detective whom readers have followed from A Is for Alibi right through the mid-2004 installment, R Is for Ricochet. Publishers also tend to like series detectives — of any variety — because of this reader loyalty.

From the author's perspective, there are advantages and disadvantages to creating a series detective. On the plus side, a series character gives you much more leeway to develop that character's life and personality. On the minus side, you can get bored writing about the same character over and over again; it can become harder to keep the character fresh and invigorating, and later books can suffer from this lack of enthusiasm.

Other subcategories in mystery fiction include the police procedural, where the focus is on the technology and process of sifting clues and snaring the criminal. The “caper” mystery tells of a major jewel heist, bank robbery, kidnapping, or other crime (usually not murder) from the criminal's point of view, with an emphasis on the planning, equipment, and gang involved in the caper.

Finally, there is the “cozy” mystery, which wraps violence in a cocoon of wealth, elegance, and refinement; characters in “cozies” are well bred and well heeled, and the hard-core violence takes place offstage. Agatha Christie is the grand dame of the “cozy,” but this subcategory remains popular today, with such authors as Sarah Graves (A Home Repair Is Homicide books) creating their own series of comfortable whodunits.

Suspense Novels

As noted, the suspense novel differs from the mystery in that the major violent scene comes at the end, rather than the beginning, of the story. The protagonist and antagonist are clearly defined at the outset, and the plot builds around the main characters' efforts to outdo or escape each other. Generally, the stakes keep building for the protagonist until he or she has to change his or her own behavior or come to some sort of self-discovery in order to survive. The interesting twist in suspense is that your protagonist can be the bad guy, as long as you make him or her sympathetic and someone the reader wants to root for.

Characters, settings, and plots in suspense novels are almost limitless. Think of such movies as Enemy of the State or The Fugitive, where ordinary people are put in extraordinary situations, where they must use all their wit and strength to win out against equally smart and strong adversaries. No matter what the background, the essential element of suspense remains the same: The reader's anticipation builds steadily, and he can't put the book down until he finds out what's going to happen.