If you love mystery novels, you are in good company because millions of people across the globe are fans of this genre. This is not surprising because mystery books are interesting and feature exciting plots. There are many active authors in the mystery book business so you have many options. In case you are looking for the best new mystery books, you should look at some of the characteristics below.
The Hook
A mystery book must contain “a hook”. Remember that we are talking about mystery here so the author should make the book arresting and engrossing from the very get go. The hook is that quality in a novel that arouses your interest and makes you want to continue reading the book. Smart authors use this quality to great effect and this ensures that they have millions of loyal readers.
Suspense
Without suspense, there can be no mystery books. If you are reading a mystery book and it is very predictable, you may as well drop the book. A truly successful mystery novel must contain some elements of suspense. This page-turning suspense will keep you wondering what will happen next in the book. This is a wonderful quality because it makes the book exciting.
Plot
A great mystery book must have a well developed plot. Most writers of mystery books know this and this is why they go the extra mile to give you an excellent plot. The elements of a successful plot include an orderly arrangement of the incidents in the book. Other elements include rising action, climax, falling action and catharsis.
Characterization
A mystery writer cannot succeed in this genre if he or she cannot create credible and exciting characters. Effective characterization is the key to success in mystery novels. In this context, this means that your book must have a colorful and exciting protagonist. The book should also have a mean antagonist who opposes the protagonist. Other major and minor characters must play their part well to make the book credible. Still on characterization, a great mystery must contain both flat characters and round characters. In addition, it pays to have a character serve a foil to another character in the book.
The Whodunit
This is probably the most important feature of the mystery book. Every mystery book should have the classic “Whodunit” because it keeps the reader in suspense till the very end of the book. This feature is used to great effect in murder mysteries because it makes the book exciting.
Final Word
If you are looking for the best new mystery books out there, you have many options. make sure the books you want to buy have the qualities above and you will get excellent books.
