770:. Archer, like Hammett's fictional heroes, was a camera eye, with hardly any known past. "Turn Archer sideways, and he disappears," one reviewer wrote. Two of Macdonald's strengths were his use of psychology and his beautiful prose, which was full of imagery. Like other 'hardboiled' writers, Macdonald aimed to give an impression of realism in his work through violence, sex and confrontation. The 1966 movie Harper starring Paul Newman was based on the first Lew Archer story The Moving Target (1949). Newman reprised the role in The Drowning Pool in 1976.
239:
736:. His style of crime fiction came to be known as "hardboiled", which is described as a genre that "usually deals with criminal activity in a modern urban environment, a world of disconnected signs and anonymous strangers." "Told in stark and sometimes elegant language through the unemotional eyes of new hero-detectives, these stories were an American phenomenon." According to the best-selling author Michael Connelly,"Chandler credited Hammett with taking the mystery out of the drawing-room and putting it out on the street where it belongs."
777:, is generally considered the author who led the form into the Modern Age. His private investigator, Dan Fortune, was consistently involved in the same sort of David-and-Goliath stories that Hammett, Chandler, and Macdonald wrote, but Collins took a sociological bent, exploring the meaning of his characters' places in society and the impact society had on people. Full of commentary and clipped prose, his books were more intimate than those of his predecessors, dramatizing that crime can happen in one's own living room.
747:, who brought a more intimate voice to the detective than the more distanced "operative's report" style of Hammett's Continental Op stories. Despite struggling through the task of plotting a story, his cadenced dialogue and cryptic narrations were musical, evoking the dark alleys and tough thugs, rich women and powerful men about whom he wrote. Several feature and television movies have been made about the Philip Marlowe character. James Hadley Chase wrote a few novels with private eyes as the main heroes, including
504:, but differs on several points. Most of the Sherlock Holmes stories feature no suspects at all, while mystery fiction, in contrast, features a large number of them. As noted, detective stories feature professional and retired detectives, while mystery fiction almost exclusively features amateur detectives. Finally, detective stories focus on the detective and how the crime was solved, while mystery fiction concentrates on the identity of the culprit and how the crime was committed, a distinction that separated
605:
modern police work does for the police procedural. The legal thriller usually starts its business with the court proceedings following the closure of an investigation, often resulting in a new angle on the investigation, so as to bring about a final outcome different from the one originally devised by the investigators. In the legal thriller, court proceedings play a very active, if not to say decisive part in a case reaching its ultimate solution.
36:
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This genre features minimal violence, sex and social relevance, a solution achieved by intellect or intuition rather than police procedure, with order restored in the end, honorable characters, and a setting in a closed community. The murders are often committed by less violent tools such as poison and the wounds inflicted are rarely if ever used as clues. The writers who innovated and popularized the genre include
235:, many towns would have constables and a night watchman at best. Naturally, the constable would be aware of every individual in the town, and crimes were either solved quickly or left unsolved entirely. As people began to crowd into cities, police forces became institutionalized, and the need for detectives was realized – thus the mystery novel arose.
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criminals, not the circumstances behind the crime. Very often, no actual mystery even existed: the books simply revolved around justice being served to those who deserved harsh treatment, which was described in explicit detail." The overall theme these writers portrayed reflected "the changing face of
America itself."
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was recognized by a panel of 17 mystery authors and reviewers as the best locked-room mystery of all time in 1981. The crime in question typically involves a crime scene with no indication as to how the intruder could have entered or left, i.e., a locked room. Following other conventions of classic
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as the main characters. These stories may take a variety of forms, but many authors try to realistically depict the routine activities of a group of police officers who are frequently working on more than one case simultaneously, providing a stark contrast to the detective-as-superhero archetype of
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Cozy mysteries began in the late 20th century as a reinvention of the Golden Age whodunit; these novels generally shy away from violence and suspense and frequently feature female amateur detectives. Modern cozy mysteries are frequently, though not necessarily in either case, humorous and thematic.
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and the Mob were inspiring not only fear, but piquing mainstream curiosity about the
American crime underworld. Popular pulp fiction magazines like Black Mask capitalized on this, as authors such as Carrol John Daly published violent stories that focused on the mayhem and injustice surrounding the
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The legal thriller or courtroom novel is also related to detective fiction. The system of justice itself is always a major part of these works, at times almost functioning as one of the characters. In this way, the legal system provides the framework for the legal thriller as much as the system of
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of the 1920s-1940s, when it was the primary style of detective fiction. This subgenre is classified as a detective story where the reader is given clues throughout as to who the culprit is, giving the reader the opportunity to solve the crime before it is revealed. During the Golden Age, whodunits
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mystery. There may also be subsidiary puzzles, such as why the crime was committed, and they are explained or resolved during the story. This format is the inversion of the more typical "whodunit", where all of the details of the perpetrator of the crime are not revealed until the story's climax.
694:
An inverted detective story, also known as a "howcatchem", is a plot structure of murder mystery fiction in which the commission of the crime is shown or described at the beginning, usually including the identity of the perpetrator. The story then describes the detective's attempt to solve the
425:
Interest in mystery fiction continues to this day partly because of various television shows which have used mystery themes and the many juvenile and adult novels which continue to be published. There is some overlap with "thriller" or "suspense" novels and authors in those genres may consider
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The locked-room mystery is a subgenre of detective fiction. The crime—almost always murder—is committed in circumstances under which it was seemingly impossible for the perpetrator to commit the crime and/or evade detection in the course of getting in and out of the crime scene. The genre was
807:
These works are set in a time period considered historical from the author's perspective, and the central plot involves the solving of a mystery or crime (usually murder). Though works combining these genres have existed since at least the early 20th century, many credit
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In the 1940s the police procedural evolved as a new style of detective fiction. Unlike the heroes of
Christie, Chandler, and Spillane, the police detective was subject to error and was constrained by rules and regulations. As Gary Huasladen says in his book
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than the mystery genre. Unlike fiction of the kind, it does not focus much on the identity of the culprit and has no red herrings or clues, but often emphasizes how the culprit was caught and their motivations behind their actions.
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were finally published in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Each author's detective, also female, was brainy and physical and could hold her own. Their acceptance, and success, caused publishers to seek out other female authors.
227:
and, as people began to read over time, they became more individualistic in their thinking. As people became more individualistic in their thinking, they developed a respect for human reason and the ability to solve problems.
668:, "not all the clients were insatiable bombshells, and invariably there was life outside the job." The detective in the police procedural does the things police officers do to catch a criminal. Writers of the genre include
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in 1894, is one of the first examples of the modern style of fictional private detective. This character is described as an "'Everyman' detective meant to challenge the detective-as-superman that Holmes represented."
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until the end of the story. Often within a closed circle of suspects, each suspect is usually provided with a credible motive and a reasonable opportunity for committing the crime. The central character is often a
322:. Books were especially helpful to the genre, with many authors writing in the genre in the 1920s. An important contribution to mystery fiction in the 1920s was the development of the juvenile mystery by
993:
Davies, Helen; Marjorie
Dorfman; Mary Fons; Deborah Hawkins; Martin Hintz; Linnea Lundgren; David Priess; Julia Clark Robinson; Paul Seaburn; Heidi Stevens; Steve Theunissen (14 September 2007).
842:
detective fiction, the reader is normally presented with the puzzle and all of the clues, and is encouraged to solve the mystery before the solution is revealed in a dramatic climax.
709:
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established in the 19th century. Poe's The
Murders in the Rue Morgue (1841) is considered the first locked-room mystery; since then, other authors have used the scheme.
660:
Sherlock Holmes. Some of these stories are whodunits; in others, the criminal is known, and the police must gather enough evidence to charge them with the crime.
207:. That contrasted with parallel titles of the same names which contained conventional hardboiled crime fiction. The first use of "mystery" in that sense was by
223:
The genre of mystery novels is a young form of literature that has developed since the early 19th century. The rise of literacy began in the years of the
311:, whose creative imagination rivaled the "deduction" of Sherlock Holmes, who was disparagingly included in some Lupin stories under obvious pseudonyms.
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Perhaps a reason that mystery fiction was unheard of before the 19th century was due in part to the lack of true police forces. Before the
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170:. Mystery fiction can be detective stories in which the emphasis is on the puzzle or suspense element and its logical solution such as a
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In the 1930s, the private eye genre was adopted wholeheartedly by
American writers. One of the primary contributors to this style was
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mystery in which the solution does not have to be logical and even in which there is no crime involved. This usage was common in the
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in the 1930s and 1940s increased interest in mystery fiction. Pulp magazines decreased in popularity in the 1950s with the rise of
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554:. Criticized by many as being insensitive to those personally acquainted with the incidents, it is often categorized as
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759:(1950). The heroes of these novels are typical private eyes, very similar to or plagiarizing Raymond Chandler's work.
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166:), who eventually solves the mystery by logical deduction from facts presented to the reader. Some mystery books are
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offered what were then described as complicated to solve and weird stories: supernatural horror in the vein of
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presents crime and mystery short stories by some of the world's best established and emerging mystery writers.
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The detective story shares some similarities with mystery fiction in that it also has a mystery to be solved,
303:, whose mysteries are said to have been singularly responsible for the huge popularity in this genre. In 1901
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or the even-more-recent web-based detective series, have helped to re-popularize the genre in recent times.
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True crime is a literary genre that recounts real crimes committed by real people, almost half focusing on
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1098:-winning website that compiles resources for lovers of mystery, crime, thriller, spy, and suspense books.
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346:, and other authors). The 1920s also gave rise to one of the most popular mystery authors of all time,
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816:(1977–1994) for popularizing what would become known as the historical mystery.
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where the nature of an event, usually a murder or other crime, remains
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Fiction genre involving characters investigating and solving a mystery
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Though the origins of the genre date back to ancient literature and
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972:. Bowling Green, OH: Bowling Green State University Popular Press.
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469:", which featured arguably the world's first fictional detective,
461:, the modern detective story as it is known today was invented by
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pseudonyms respectively (and were later written by his daughter,
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417:) is also credited with continuing interest in mystery fiction.
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is often recognized as one of the first examples of the genre.
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popularized the courtroom novel in the 20th century with his
521:. Whodunits experienced an increase in popularity during the
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detective stories, which focus on action and gritty realism.
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558:. Having basis on reality, it shares more similarities with
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series. Contemporary authors of legal thrillers include
295:(1868) is often thought to be his masterpiece. In 1887
1054:"'Maltese Falcon' gave flight to the detective story"
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891:
60:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
893:. Scholastic Professional Books. pp. 142–145.
465:in the mid-19th century through his short story, "
326:. Stratemeyer originally developed and wrote the
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835:was recognized as a master of the genre and his
732:with his famous private investigator character,
517:A common subgenre of detective fiction is the
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362:(1937), and the world's best-selling mystery
189:of the 1930s and 1940s, whose titles such as
997:. Editors of Publications International, Ltd
766:, updated the form again with his detective
743:updated the form with his private detective
395:, a division of Crosstown Publications. The
1072:"Why are locked room mysteries so popular?"
138:Cover of the pulp mystery-fiction magazine
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2429:
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909:The Classic Era of American Pulp Magazines
526:were written primarily by women, however
249:An early work of modern mystery fiction,
174:. Mystery fiction can be contrasted with
120:Learn how and when to remove this message
237:
133:
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14:
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1807:Types of fiction with multiple endings
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1060:. Chicago Tribnune. 16 February 2005.
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446:
58:adding citations to reliable sources
29:
995:"21 Best-Selling Books of All Time"
434:have carried on the tradition, and
382:Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine
24:
481:stories, considered milestones in
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25:
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2210:Third-person omniscient narrative
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593:
215:" during the later part of 1933.
937:"A Short History of the Mystery"
34:
1064:
1046:
1017:"How graphic can a mystery be?"
566:
523:Golden Age of Detective Fiction
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388:Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine
45:needs additional citations for
1598:Conflict between good and evil
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876:
851:
773:Michael Collins, pseudonym of
426:themselves mystery novelists.
181:Mystery fiction can involve a
13:
1:
1143:
884:"Genre Characteristics Sheet"
845:
762:Ross Macdonald, pseudonym of
683:
539:
467:The Murders in the Rue Morgue
289:was published in 1860, while
262:The Murders in the Rue Morgue
218:
970:The World of Mystery Fiction
712:, created by British author
655:Many detective stories have
353:Murder on the Orient Express
334:mysteries written under the
259:(1819), was an influence on
7:
2722:science fiction and fantasy
459:One Thousand and One Nights
307:created gentleman burglar,
10:
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823:
800:
757:Figure It Out for Yourself
702:
687:
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597:
570:
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450:
371:The massive popularity of
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2237:Stream of unconsciousness
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1924:
1815:
1768:Falling action/Catastasis
1713:
1618:
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1027:25 September 2007 at the
2549:Inverted detective story
2474:History of crime fiction
1605:Self-fulfilling prophecy
1092:Stop, You're Killing Me!
753:Lay Her Among the Lilies
507:And Then There Were None
365:And Then There Were None
269:(1841) as may have been
252:Das Fräulein von Scuderi
2232:Stream of consciousness
1695:Suspension of disbelief
1102:Mystery Weekly Magazine
968:Gilber, Elliot (1983).
391:—both now published by
1773:Denouement/Catastrophe
1754:Rising action/Epitasis
1021:World Literature Today
814:The Cadfael Chronicles
666:Places for Dead Bodies
475:Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
350:, whose works include
246:
143:
2119:Utopian and dystopian
1039:Konay, O. O. (2009).
241:
233:Industrial Revolution
137:
2687:Fictional detectives
1673:Narrative techniques
1453:Story within a story
1265:Supporting character
607:Erle Stanley Gardner
510:from other works of
502:detective denouement
500:along the way and a
54:improve this article
2634:Film and television
2378:Political narrative
2220:Unreliable narrator
2077:Speculative fiction
1785:Nonlinear narrative
1733:Three-act structure
1593:Deal with the Devil
1108:German Mystery Blog
1078:. BBC. 21 May 2012.
1023:, July–August 2007
955:"Mystery Time Line"
826:Locked-room mystery
820:Locked-room mystery
739:In the late 1930s,
720:By the late 1920s,
225:English Renaissance
2623:historical mystery
2356:Narrative paradigm
2351:Narrative identity
2281:Dominant narrative
2227:Multiple narrators
1511:Fictional location
1354:Dramatic structure
1015:J. Madison Davis:
803:Historical mystery
797:Historical mystery
705:Hardboiled fiction
699:Hardboiled fiction
324:Edward Stratemeyer
297:Arthur Conan Doyle
286:The Woman in White
247:
144:
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2735:
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2641:Police procedural
2418:
2417:
2361:Narrative therapy
1795:television series
1740:Freytag's Pyramid
1583:Moral development
1486:Alternate history
1196:False protagonist
833:John Dickson Carr
651:Police procedural
645:Police procedural
584:Dorothy L. Sayers
453:Detective fiction
447:Detective fiction
397:detective fiction
359:Death on the Nile
336:Franklin W. Dixon
257:E. T. A. Hoffmann
195:Thrilling Mystery
130:
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122:
104:
69:"Mystery fiction"
16:(Redirected from
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2646:Procedural drama
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2422:
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2341:Literary science
1884:Narrative poetry
1780:Linear narrative
1690:Stylistic device
1685:Show, don't tell
1648:Figure of speech
1438:Shaggy dog story
1181:Characterization
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943:on 19 July 2009.
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730:Dashiell Hammett
678:Bartholomew Gill
615:Michael Connelly
471:C. Auguste Dupin
436:film adaptations
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479:Sherlock Holmes
463:Edgar Allan Poe
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348:Agatha Christie
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838:The Hollow Man
824:Main article:
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745:Philip Marlowe
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627:John Lescroart
600:Legal thriller
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588:Elizabeth Daly
571:Main article:
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552:serial killers
544:Main article:
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415:Manfred B. Lee
393:Dell Magazines
373:pulp magazines
320:pulp magazines
281:Wilkie Collins
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1385:In medias res
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556:trash culture
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533:The Moonstone
529:
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483:crime fiction
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344:Harriet Adams
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340:Carolyn Keene
337:
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292:The Moonstone
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204:Grand Guignol
200:
199:Spicy Mystery
196:
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151:fiction genre
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71: –
70:
66:
65:Find sources:
59:
55:
49:
48:
43:This article
41:
37:
32:
31:
19:
2565:
2527:Weird menace
2467:General info
2455:
2400:Storytelling
2215:Subjectivity
2205:Third-person
2195:First-person
1999:
1829:
1638:Comic relief
1390:
1383:
1374:Flashforward
1341:
1315:Origin story
1297:
1260:Straight man
1215:
1075:
1066:
1057:
1048:
1040:
1035:
1020:
1011:
999:. Retrieved
988:
969:
963:
949:
941:the original
931:
908:
899:
890:
878:
866:. Retrieved
862:
853:
837:
829:
810:Ellis Peters
806:
779:
775:Dennis Lynds
772:
761:
756:
755:(1950), and
752:
748:
738:
727:
719:
708:
693:
665:
662:
654:
623:John Grisham
603:
576:
573:Cozy mystery
567:Cozy mystery
549:
531:
516:
505:
494:red herrings
487:
456:
424:
421:21st century
403:Ellery Queen
386:
380:
370:
363:
357:
351:
313:
309:Arsène Lupin
290:
284:
274:
260:
250:
248:
230:
222:
213:weird menace
209:Dime Mystery
208:
202:
198:
194:
191:Dime Mystery
190:
183:supernatural
180:
146:
145:
139:
131:
116:
107:
97:
90:
83:
76:
64:
52:Please help
47:verification
44:
2603:Tartan Noir
2576:locked room
2554:Legal drama
2405:Tellability
2371:Metafiction
2366:Narratology
2138:Theological
2030:Pop culture
1911:Short story
1889:Epic poetry
1610:Time travel
1423:Red herring
1408:Plot device
1379:Frame story
1332:Cliffhanger
1275:Tritagonist
1250:Protagonist
913:Prion Books
790:Sue Grafton
674:P. D. James
639:Scott Turow
631:Paul Levine
611:Perry Mason
560:docufiction
498:plot twists
428:Comic books
316:dime novels
299:introduced
168:non-fiction
2743:Categories
2712:historical
2544:Hardboiled
2291:Continuity
2160:Nonfiction
2124:Underwater
2020:Picaresque
1995:Historical
1980:Epistolary
1852:Fairy tale
1763:Peripeteia
1745:Exposition
1501:Dreamworld
1443:Stereotype
1413:Plot twist
1161:Antagonist
846:References
768:Lew Archer
690:Howcatchem
684:Howcatchem
546:True crime
540:True crime
377:television
332:Nancy Drew
328:Hardy Boys
242:Novels by
219:Beginnings
176:hardboiled
155:mysterious
80:newspapers
2680:Character
2608:Tart Noir
2507:Detective
2488:Subgenres
2452:Detective
2182:Narration
2131:Superhero
2055:Chivalric
2040:Religious
2025:Political
1960:Adventure
1945:Biography
1867:Tall tale
1715:Structure
1700:Symbolism
1668:Narration
1568:Leitmotif
1496:Crossover
1491:Backstory
1448:Story arc
1398:MacGuffin
1369:Flashback
1310:Backstory
1186:Confidant
1166:Archenemy
1153:Character
1145:Narrative
859:"mystery"
734:Sam Spade
722:Al Capone
670:Ed McBain
407:pseudonym
162:(such as
160:detective
110:July 2011
2666:Neo-noir
2618:Whodunit
2613:Thriller
2559:thriller
2388:Glossary
2383:Rhetoric
2190:Diegesis
2170:Creative
2143:Thriller
2092:Southern
2010:Paranoid
2005:Nautical
1916:Vignette
1874:Gamebook
1842:Folklore
1749:Protasis
1628:Allegory
1573:Metaphor
1531:parallel
1526:universe
1506:Dystopia
1463:Suspense
1349:Dialogue
1337:Conflict
1245:Narrator
1217:Hamartia
1076:BBC News
1025:Archived
1001:25 March
907:(2000).
868:10 April
751:(1945),
519:Whodunit
368:(1939).
356:(1934),
283:' novel
279:(1747).
271:Voltaire
172:whodunit
2707:private
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2539:Gong'an
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2318:Prequel
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2050:Romance
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1985:Ergodic
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2702:police
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400:author
197:, and
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2717:teams
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887:(PDF)
490:clues
276:Zadig
149:is a
101:JSTOR
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2692:male
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2583:Noir
2571:cozy
2517:girl
2334:List
2255:Past
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2067:Saga
1975:Docu
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1817:Form
1705:Tone
1678:Hook
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1658:Mode
1516:city
1403:Pace
1290:Plot
1228:Anti
1223:Hero
1206:Foil
1003:2009
974:ISBN
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870:2021
788:and
676:and
637:and
586:and
430:and
413:and
385:and
338:and
330:and
318:and
73:news
2593:Spy
1723:Act
812:'s
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265:by
255:by
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