Recently I’ve read a couple of thrillers by Michael Connelly that I really enjoyed. I admit, I hadn’t even heard of Michael Connelly before I won a galley of The Reversal, his new book, from his publisher via Twitter (thanks, Little Brown!). I now know, of course, that Connelly is super-famous and millions of people love his work (including my parents, who knew?). But the fact is, I don’t read a lot of mystery / thriller novels.
Not sure why…I was an Agatha Christie addict as a teenager, I’ve blogged here about how much I like Hank Phillippi Ryan ‘s books…the fact is, I probably enjoy a well-written mystery as much I enjoy a well-written romance. But for some reason the genre isn’t on my radar.
Until recently, that is. I’m in the process of adding a mystery to a novel that I’m working on, and it’s a whole new challenge. Coming up with a mystery that’s not guessable from page one, that has all the requisite clues and red herrings, and that holds my own interest isn’t that easy. Hats off to all you mystery writers out there!
I’ve read a couple of how-to books, and I’m reading within the genre. And I’m reworking my mystery subplot over and over to make it more…mysterious. But I’m open to suggestions on this – if you have any suggestions (as a reader or a writer) about what makes for a great mystery, I’d love to hear them. And, of course, any suggestions for great mysteries to read (but please bear in mind that I’m squeamish – nothing too graphic!).
Thanks!
Abby
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