What Makes a Good Mystery? (Volume 3)

 

I love a good mystery! I think I’ve mentioned that before. And I’ve been sharing my thoughts on what makes a good mystery and suspense story. Have you been following along?

So far, we’ve chatted about how the story has to have intensity:

    Lucy Reynolds agreed, "It has to get my heart pounding and maybe looking over my shoulder at least once."

     Rachel T says, "I like when an author weaves pieces of the puzzle into a larger whole. I usually can't figure it out until the reveal."

    Carolyn Hutson adds, "The unexpected makes for a good suspense, but I also want some scenes that make me jump out of my skin and make me not want to stop reading."

Then, we talked about the twists in a story. Y’all had a lot to say about those. 

    Cindi Knowles commented, "I love a good mystery, suspense, or thriller that has lots of twists and turns, that keeps me guessing and turning pages because the story is that enthralling." 

    Alicia Haney puts it this way, "I love the twists and turns, also when the unexpected suddenly shows up!"

    Barb D. adds, "I enjoy the twists & turns, and just enough things about the various characters in a story, and then suspect everyone! I like endings that I didn't see coming!"

This week, I want to talk about something that actually is necessary for ANY fiction story.

Character Depth Some of you think it's important too! 

    Gail H. has an opinion about the antagonist. "The best to me is a culprit that seems unlikely and is not revealed until the very end. Those I would have never guessed."

    Winnie says, "I love engaging characters and a little romance."

    Carolyn suggests, "The way the characters respond to stress is important as well. I have to like the characters and really feel what they are feeling."

    And Amy adds, "It's best when I'm completely invested in the characters and story. 

Interest in characters is no surprise. If you think of your favorite books, likely the characters are what stick in your mind. I bet you can name these books!

• Darcy and Elizabeth 
• Scout  
• Jo and her sisters 
• Lucy and her siblings.

To me, the main characters need to be as real as my next-door neighbor with history, burdens, mistakes, dreams, and values. A really good character is a broken one because we are all broken, right? I know “Mary Poppins” is likely a favorite story, but characters that are practically perfect in every way can get tedious and annoying when it comes to mystery.

I prefer characters that have something in the past that affects their decisions and actions. In fact, if done well, the character will have a difficult time in their history that they have to relive at some point near the end of the story.

That’s not to say that the “brokenness” has to be tragic and heavy, though. Give me the girl that dresses to the nines and then walks into the post office with donut icing under her nose or the guy who dunks his chip into habanero sauce thinking he’s Texan enough to take it. I love laugh-out-loud characters who are willing to laugh at themselves, too. It makes them real and memorable.

So what about you? Tell me about your favorite characters or the character you’re reading about right now. What makes the character stand out? Share your thoughts about characters in the comments and you might be the winner of a $10 Amazon gift card and a super-sleuth magnifying glass. And you might just find yourself in an upcoming volume of What Makes a Good Mystery!

What Makes a Good Mystery? (Volume 2)

 

Last month, I asked the question, what makes a good mystery? I love a good mystery, and I’ve found a number of things in some of my favorites that end up giving me that ahhhhhhh at the end of a story.

Several of you shared your favorite elements in mysteries, and the one I have for today was mentioned over and over again in last month's comments. It is a must for a good mystery or suspense!

Plot Twists

I love it when I see a story headed one direction, and it suddenly doubles back or goes down some alley I didn’t even notice. Like a magician, an author of excellence will give us a slight of hand trick, capturing our attention in one way while working a little mischief in another.

Twists make mysteries great, but they have to be reasonable. 

Decades ago, there was a movie where a number of fictional detectives were gathered together for a special dinner party. They (and their authors) were accused of “criminal acts” such as introducing the antagonist for the first time at the very end of the story, allowing the hero to have information that isn’t given to the reader, and so on. It was a spoofy movie, but it makes a good point. Have you ever read a book that had something like these “literary misdeeds?” What other twisted "misdeeds" have you seen besides the two that were mentioned?

Twists are a necessity for a mystery or suspense, but they should have a few rules.

•          Be logical
•          Connect
•          Have roots

Being logical is self-explanatory – “Elementary, my dear Watson.” The twist might come from right field, but once it has been revealed, heads should nod. “Of course” or “Why didn’t I see that?” might come to mind.

A twist should also connect to something. This leads to a pet peeve of mine, something like one of those misdeeds. A crucial clue just appears out of thin air. Total coincidence. It happens, but the twist should at least be connected to something that the characters know or do within the logical progression of the story.

Finally, I think a well-conceived twist will have its roots at the beginning of the story. Then when it does surface, a reader gets an extra aha! because it’s been there all along.

Have you enjoyed a good twisted mystery? One where you really didn’t see something coming and then wham? Tell me about it! Share your experience in the comments. One lucky commenter will win a $10 Amazon gift card and a super-sleuth, lighted magnifying glass.

What Makes a Good Mystery? (Volume 1)

I love a good mystery, but what is it that makes a mystery good? Is it the plot – the whodunnit with twists and turns? Is it the characters that fill in the gaps and the detective – amateur or not – whose shrewd observations reveal the truth? Maybe it’s the conflict between good and evil?

I have a growing list of the elements that I like to see in a mystery/suspense story—way too many to put down in just one article. I’ll share them with you a little at a time, though. Here’s the first one.

Intensity

While the story doesn’t have to be a full-fledged suspense for me to enjoy it, there has to be at least one scene full of foreboding where the creepy music enters my mind. A moment when the hero realizes what’s going on and puts a target on his or her back.

This is the moment that, in novelist vernacular, is called MEP – at least in my notations. The explanation of which is full of abstracts and higher-level cognition . . . okay, okay. It stands for Most Exciting Part. Really cultured and professional, huh! LOL! But if this piece of the story isn’t intense, then it’s a meh MEP for me. Entirely forgetful.

On the other hand, if the hero is suddenly and unexpectedly (well, at least the hero doesn’t expect it) thrust into danger, painted into a corner where I can see no escape, I’m up all night making sure that there is indeed escape, and justice is done!

As I read exceptional mysteries and suspense, I have some things that are a must for me to feel that ahhhhhhh at the end of the story. I bet you have some of those as well. 

Share your idea of the most important element of a great mystery/suspense in the comments, and you might just be the winner of a $10 Amazon gift card and a super-sleuth lighted magnifying glass.   

Review and Giveaway with Suspense Sister DANA MENTINK

Marji here. I've admired my fellow Suspense Sister, Dana Mentink for some time and am so delighted to get to interview her today! 

Welcome, Dana, even though this is as much home for you as for me! 

The first book of yours that I read was Jungle Fire. That incredible romantic suspense became one of my all-time favorites! Then you charmed the tar out of me with the contemporary romance, Sit, Stay, Love. That became another all-time favorite. Last week, I listened to Trouble Up Finny's Nose. What a hysterical cozy mystery! In which genre did you begin, and how did you find yourself moving into the other genres?

Well, the truth is stranger than fiction, I always say! I started out in the cozy mystery genre because I loved the problem solving, small town, quirky feel to it.  Cozies are a place where you can include gentle humor and really explore setting, so I loved that. My agent suggested we pitch to Love Inspired Suspense and after a few tries, they accepted me. I dove into suspense novels which kept me busy with LIS and then Jungle Fire for Moody. I love suspense, but I am a nut at heart and I missed the sweet, humorous style I was able to explore in the cozies, so when my agent said Harvest House was looking for a lighthearted, dog themed series I jumped up and down and said, "Me! Me! Let me write it!" By gosh, they actually did hire me! Such joy I've had writing that series! 

And those books are outstanding! Funny and heart-warming. I used to think mystery, romance, and romantic suspense were all very similar, but they really aren't. What are the main differences between them? How do those differences create special challenges as you move between them?

No, they are quite different and that's why I love to write all of them. Suspense is very danger driven, with tight pacing and no room for much humor. Mystery is more about the puzzle solving than the running for your life, so the pace can be a bit slower. In a straight romance, the conflict has to be teased out from the characters and circumstances, but the pacing is not as ruthless. For me, it's great to write lighthearted romance and suspense because they are so different. I don't get mixed up between the two!

Ha! That could be dangerous! Your 2016 repertoire is impressive! You released Sit, Stay, Love (Romance) in April, Seaside Secrets through Love Inspired Suspense in May, Seek and Find through Love Inspired Suspense in June, and now Fetching Sweetness (Romance) this month. Were you ever writing the different genres at the same time?

When I see my publishing schedule written out, I can't imagine how I did that either. It was an unusually busy year. I am also a part time third grade teacher so that adds to the chaos. I don't typically write two suspense or lighthearted books at the same time, so that helps me avoid confusion. That said, I'm sure my editor would tell you I'm plenty prone to messing things up! I also find it confusing when people say, "How's the book coming?" I just sort of stare blankly and try to figure out which one they're talking about.

Have you ever confused your plots, added a scene to the wrong story, or an element that shouldn't be in that genre? 

Not really, but I make plenty of bonehead mistakes like changing a character's name halfway through a novel, or skipping from a Monday to a Wednesday. That's why my editors are super important to me! They save me on a regular basis.

Oh, yes! Having other sets of eyes on the story is priceless! But your writing year has indeed been a busy one! Yet you have teenagers at home and life outside of writing. How did you publish five books in a 12-month period? What does your normal workday look like?

Normal for me during the school year is getting up real early and writing four days a week. I don't write on Sundays (that's a promise I made to God early on in the process) and I don't write on Thursdays and Fridays because I teach those days and third grade is exhausting! I try to be available as much as I can in the afternoons and weekends when the bear cubs are home. Papa Bear works from home, so we lunch together and chat throughout the day. That keeps things in balance for me (mostly.) In the summer I'm writing pretty much every day except for Sundays. I find that teenage cubs are not very early risers, so I get a lot of uninterrupted time to write!

Wow, that's great! My teenagers never quite stopped this summer. I'm not sure what uninterrupted time even looks like anymore! LOL! What does 2017 hold for you in writing and in your personal life? 

Well, still teaching, of course. I've got more Love Inspired Suspense novels coming out and Fetching Sweetness just released this month. The last in that dog series comes out in February. Looking forward to being a "band groupie" for my daughter's marching band performances and spending as much time as possible with friends and family!

I'm excited to read Fetching Sweetness! Thanks so much for sharing. 

Sure thing! I'm happy to give away a digital copy of Seek and Find and also Seaside Secrets to one of the readers! And if you want to have a sneak peek behind the scenes of my books, there's a YouTube video in which my dog Junie makes an appearance!
Lol! Love your video! 

Readers, if you want a chance to win an e-copy of Seek and Find along with Seaside Secrets, please leave your email address in the comments below. And tell us about your favorite of Dana's books or maybe the one you most would like to read.