What Makes a Mystery GOOD (guest post by Jennifer Rummel)
What Makes a Mystery GOOD? I’m a sucker for mysteries. I like the murder mysteries best and I’m always on the lookout for more teen mysteries. The bulk of mysteries I read are adult cozies, often from a series. Here’s what I like about mysteries.
A Great Cover
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Multiple Perspectives
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Danger!
Unexpected Ending
Filed under: Collection Development, Mysteries

About Karen Jensen, MLS
Karen Jensen has been a Teen Services Librarian for almost 30 years. She created TLT in 2011 and is the co-editor of The Whole Library Handbook: Teen Services with Heather Booth (ALA Editions, 2014).
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Great post! I think your point about multiple perspectives is interesting. I worked in a library where that was one of the elements that would distinguish a mystery from a suspense book (mysteries were in M, suspense in F) on the premise that if you know what the culprit is doing, the reader is then waiting for the conclusion to a series of events rather than the solution to a puzzle. I do think it gives the reader a very different experience, but is it different enough to make it not a mystery any more? Hmmm…. I'll be thinking about this!
Thanks for the Mystery! I loved your points on what makes a good read.