Genre/Sub-Genre Question Crime Fiction

Happy Pooch · Dec 28, 2007

I'm about to query a MS but struggle what genre/sub-genre to call it.
The novel is about a realistic crime and it covers police procedures and toward the end the guilty party is found. The book's main character is not a heroic detective but the man falsely accused of the crime. The plot is character-driven and the characters are ordinary people.

I hate to call it a detective because that might disappoint readers who expect a superhuman private eye/detective and an over-the-top ending where the culprit starts shooting left and right, etc. I read about a "Cozy Detective" sub-genre but am not familiar with this. Maybe it's just my ignorance but that sounds old-fashioned and reading geared for little old ladies to me. The MS certainly is not a whodunit, hard-boiled, courtroom drama, or legal thriller.

I have been wondering whether to call it commercial fiction with perhaps a crime-fiction sub genre.

Any help you can give me by identifying a genre/sub-genre or giving me links about sub-genres will be much appreciated. Thanks!

Gillhoughly · Dec 28, 2007

If you find a generally similar type of book on the racks look it up to see if a reviewer or seller gave it a genre label.

A "cozy" tends to have minimum or offstage violence and is about the detective (often an amateur) following clues to the killer. I always think Agatha Christie for those. All the clues are presented to the reader, who tries to solve the case as well.

Look around the library for books about mystery-writing and mysteries in general. A favorite of mine is Murder Ink, an affectionate and informed look at the genre. I think it's got a definitions section.

Otherwise, finish the book and let your future agent worry about how to label it.

Good luck!

DeadlyAccurate · Dec 28, 2007

My agent specializes in "crime fiction," so you could go with that. Otherwise, I would just call it mystery or thriller or commercial fiction (whichever the agent seems to specialize in). Don't overthink it. My book has elements of science fiction, mystery, thriller, and chick lit. I simply called it mystery or commercial fiction.

Happy Pooch · Dec 28, 2007

Thanks for the replies. I don't care about the genre per se but needed to get some idea as to which agents to approach without turning them off by labeling the MS something that it is not.

IceCreamEmpress · Dec 28, 2007

I think the "falsely accused person must solve crime or be jailed" genre is generally best categorized as "mystery" or "thriller": more on the "mystery" side if he/she is doing traditional detection, and more on the "thriller" side if people are shooting at him/her.

But I think any agent who represents crime fiction would most likely be interested.

Stijn Hommes · Dec 28, 2007

If it covers police procedures, you can tag it as "police procedural", which is an actual subgenre. An official police officer solving a crime. It's definitely not a cozy - Cozies have very limited violence and usually have a limited amount of ground to cover and a limited amount of suspects because the setting is a small village or closed location. If this is a realistic crime, "cozy" is not the way to describe it.

Happy Pooch · Dec 28, 2007

Thanks for the additional replies, especially for saying my MS doesn't sound like a "Cozy" because I so NOT wanted to write a cozy

If Crime Fiction is specific enough for agents, I'll stick with that.

Begbie · Dec 28, 2007

I'd use crime novel. Unless the protag is actively seeking the real killer (whodunit style), I wouldn't call it a mystery. Unless there's a lot of action and a multiple body count, I wouldn't call it a thriller. Police procedurals are typically from a cop's POV. Good luck!

IceCreamEmpress · Dec 28, 2007

Stijn Hommes said:
If it covers police procedures, you can tag it as "police procedural", which is an actual subgenre. An official police officer solving a crime.

I love police procedurals! This book isn't one, though, because the protagonist is the person who solves the crime, not the police officers. (At least, if I read the original post correctly.)

DeadlyAccurate · Dec 28, 2007

Begbie said:
I'd use crime novel. Unless the protag is actively seeking the real killer (whodunit style), I wouldn't call it a mystery. Unless there's a lot of action and a multiple body count, I wouldn't call it a thriller. Police procedurals are typically from a cop's POV. Good luck!

When it comes to what shelf the bookstore is going to plop it on, it's going in the mystery/thriller section. There's no reason not to call it one or the other.

David I · Dec 29, 2007

Try not to pigeonhole it too precisely--unless it is exactly like something else out there. One of the things agents do is decide how to label the manuscript for marketing.

You may have something new here ("A gritty police procedural--from the point of view of the accused!"), or something that fits within an existing category...or something that is within a category, but with a unique spin. The risks of getting too precise are at least as great as the risks of getting too precise. "Crime fiction" is enough; that and a short description should be enough to let the agent know what you have on offer.

("Cozies" usually involve drawing rooms and hassocks and sherry, and possibly extraneous trappings such as quilting or cats. Doesn't sound like you're over there--but, please, let your agent decide--that;s what she's there for! You may have just written, I dunno, the world's first "hard-boiled cozy procedural.")

Happy Pooch · Dec 29, 2007

Thanks again for all the replies. I'll stay with the more generic Crime Fiction. My concern wasn't how to label it but how to target the right agents. Thanks again!

Genre/Sub-Genre Question Crime Fiction

Happy Pooch

Gillhoughly

Grumpy writer and editor

DeadlyAccurate

Absolutely Fazed

Happy Pooch

IceCreamEmpress

Hapless Virago

Stijn Hommes

Know what you write...

Happy Pooch

Begbie

Quite a character

IceCreamEmpress

Hapless Virago

DeadlyAccurate

Absolutely Fazed

David I

Happy Pooch