Three Things Mystery Readers Say

 by Dana Mentink

I love hanging out with people who read mysteries. They are the best kind of people. Having been to scads of conventions, online events, and bookstore celebrations, I can honestly say mystery readers are my favorite kind of book peeps. Here are three things mystery readers say that make me love them even more.

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Image Source Poisoned Pen Press

“I saw that coming.” As a writer, this is a terrible blow to me if a reader tells me they knew the solution from the get go. Even so, I totally admire their powers of deduction. These are the people who watch true crime shows and catch a clue before the cops do. They are the stalwart observers who remember the color of the Uber driver’s hat in scene one when no one else notices. And they are the solution architects that pick up the tiniest hint of perfume in the air that will later lead to the unmasking of the murderer. Jessica Fletchers, Miss Marples, Agatha Raisins. I love them. They are my people.

“I didn’t see that coming.” This just thrills me to my core. It’s SO hard to trick mystery readers so if you manage to bury those clues deep enough, or create a plot twisty enough to fool, it’s like Christmas morning. I get letters sometimes where people actually tell me on which page, they figured out the mystery. If it’s at the end of the book, I’m on cloud nine. If a reader is honestly invested in the story and delighted to be tricked, that tickles me too. Mystery readers live for the solution, the later the better. They are my people.

“This would be a good place to find a body.”  Mystery readers will go on that nice nature hike and are they admiring the ferns and fawns? No. They’re thinking about that last novel they read where there was a dead guy under the wild rhododendron. In the current mystery I’m working on there’s a scene exactly like that involving a dead podcaster on a nice overgrown walking path. Poor guy isn’t discovered for days. After reading and writing scads of twisty, turny novels with bodies buried in bogs, bayous and under boardwalks, I will never again hike to some remote place without thinking about murder and mayhem. You too? Yep, you are my people.

So, there you have it. Mystery readers are the best kind of people. Keep turning those pages, everyone. You make it all worthwhile.

Check out other mystery articles, reviews, book giveaways & mystery short stories in our mystery section in Kings River Life and in our mystery category here on KRL News & Reviews. And join our mystery Facebook group to keep up with everything mystery we post, and have a chance at some extra giveaways. And check out our new mystery podcast which features mystery short stories and first chapters read by local actors! A new episode went up last week.

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