Genre Talk - Mysteries and Crime

At Leisure with Joyce Saricks: Unlocking the Mystery of Mysteries. via Booklist Online - At Leisure with Joyce Saricks on 4/29/09

Some quotes (emphasis from Libraryland Roundup:
"of all the genres, this one seems to me the hardest to keep up with—there are so many new titles published every month, international as well as from the U.S., books for every taste. And if you’re like Bill Ott here at Booklist, and you lump thrillers, suspense novels, and espionage, along with mysteries, into crime fiction, you’ve created a monster!"

"a definition: mysteries are puzzles in which the author provides clues but attempts to obscure some information so that the puzzle cannot be solved too easily. Along with the detective, we’re drawn into the mystery and attempt to decipher the puzzle. There’s a crime, usually murder, and thus a body. There’s also an investigator—or perhaps a team—whose job it is to figure out whodunit."

"readers may not have thought very much about what they like about mysteries. When asked about favorites, most describe the detective first. The type—private investigator, police detective, or amateur sleuth—doesn’t seem to matter much."

"From this kernel of information about the detective, we have a sense of the type of mystery that might appeal."

Remember, dear Reader's Advisor, look for the kernel in any RA inquiry.

Top 10 Crime Fiction Audiobooks: 2009. via Booklist Online - Top 10 Lists on 4/29/09

And, finally, Will Manley's article about the mysterious and scary (and, in the opinion of some, criminal) Anglo-American Cataloging Rules:

The Manley Arts: Mysteries. via Booklist Online - The Manley Arts on 4/29/09

Mystery, Suspense, and Thrillers

Food for thought and discussion as well as a little between-patrons investigation:
from
(title unknown)from The Reader's Advisor Online Blog by Cindy Orr


ThrillerFest Reports
The International Thriller Writers ThrillerFest was held last week. Check our reports here, here, and here.

Would True Crime Readers Enjoy Police Procedurals?
That’s the question posed by Sarah Weinman in the LA Times. Weinman’s article talks about Douglas Preston’s true crime book The Monster of Florence, as well as his thrillers written with Lincoln Child (Relic, etc.). Michael Connelly has also written mysteries (the Harry Bosch series) as well as a true crime book titled Crime Beat: A Decade of Covering Cops and Killers.