Murder mystery v. thriller

Symphony · Mar 30, 2008

I think I might be 'thinking' myself into a corner here but I'm getting so muddle. Would somebody very kindly put me out of my misery and explain the difference between a murder mystery and a thriller? I realise that a thriller doesn't necessary have to be written around a murder, but when does a murder go from mystery to thriller, if you know what I mean?

I'm basically thinking of my own novel and trying to place it - and I'm getting so confused.

Thank you so much. Sorry if this is a really stupid question.

Symphony

JJ Cooper · Mar 30, 2008

I hope the lovely folks over at agentquery don't mind me quoting some of their work:

Mystery:

Mysteries typically focus on the process of solving a crime, rather than the details of the crime itself. The puzzle behind the crime is central to the plot. Amateurs or professional investigators perform the sleuthing, and often a single protagonists or a whole host of characters recur in popular serial titles.

Unlike crime/true crime fiction which explores the world of the criminal mind, mystery focuses on the investigators or detectives determined to bring the criminal to justice. The strong “mystery” narrative behind the crime is a trademark of this genre. Subgenres include cozies, historicals, culinary, detective, supernatural, caper, women in peril, noir, detective fiction, and classic whodunits. Mystery is also a member of the general grouping of “genre fiction,” “mainstream fiction,” “category fiction,” and "mass market" fiction.

Thriller/Suspense:

The dramatic conflicts of thrillers/suspense are fraught with peril: a life-threatening danger that jeopardizes the protagonist, his or her loved ones, or even the whole world. The stakes are often large—death and destruction to lives, the downfall of an entire nation, an ecological disaster. However, thrillers can also simply portray riveting psychological tension between two opposing characters. Thrillers and suspense fiction are paired together because thrillers often utilize suspense elements in the development of the story—evil lurking just around the corner that motivates the protagonist to hunt down and capture the villain-at-large.

Although both thrillers and mysteries often involve the protagonist solving a crime and bringing bad guys to justice, the central conflict of thrillers/suspense focuses on developing an urgent sense of imminent jeopardy rather than solving a mystery or the detection of a crime. Thriller/suspense protagonists must win at all costs against a menacing, pernicious threat—or else things are going from bad to worse, and fast. Subgenres include psychological, supernatural, military, espionage, political, medical, legal, erotic and literary thrillers. Thriller/suspense is also included in the general grouping of “genre fiction,” “category fiction,” “mainstream” fiction,” or “mass market fiction.”

JJ

Stijn Hommes · Mar 30, 2008

mysteries are about solving a crime, thrillers are about suspense and fear.

maestrowork · Mar 30, 2008

Symphony said:
I think I might be 'thinking' myself into a corner here but I'm getting so muddle. Would somebody very kindly put me out of my misery and explain the difference between a murder mystery and a thriller? I realise that a thriller doesn't necessary have to be written around a murder, but when does a murder go from mystery to thriller, if you know what I mean?

I'm basically thinking of my own novel and trying to place it - and I'm getting so confused.

Thank you so much. Sorry if this is a really stupid question.

Symphony

A mystery is about solving the crime: police procedures, clues, etc. The readers go along with the ride trying to solve all the puzzles. The protagonists are not necessarily in life-and-death dangers.

A thriller thrills. The mystery is just a means to an end. The core purpose of a thriller is the thrill rides, the car chases, the gruesome murders, the villains, the bombs, etc. The protagonists are often in life-and-death dangers.

RJK · Mar 30, 2008

As a new author, I have the same problem. For lack of a better description I call my work a Crime Thriller.
The protagonist must catch the bad guys before they find the heroine who is the lone eye witness. It ends spectacularly with a thrilling rescue.
It's not a mystery but a crime is solved. There are police procedurals involved but that is not what the story is about. There are even explosions, but they are not the central climax of the story.
Crime thriller best describes it but I don't know if that is a legitimate sub-genre.

jodi henley · Mar 31, 2008

in a thriller, usually you know who done it, or have a good idea. Or you can see it coming, but a mystery is a mystery (or should be) Thrillers are all about action and adventure, Ludlum MacInnes and Mclean did some great classic ones, Jack Higgins--Tom Clancy, Dan Brown.

Symphony · Mar 31, 2008

That's brilliant. Thanks, everyone. It makes it so much clearer when it's spelled out in front of you.

My teeny brain can rest now .........

S
xx

Phaeal · Mar 31, 2008

Mystery appeals to the intellect and involves solving a problem, answering a question. Thrillers appeal to the emotions, engendering a pleasant paranoia. Can the two combine? Sure, but what you label the work depends on where the emphasis lies.

gp101 · Apr 1, 2008

jodi henley said:
in a thriller, usually you know who done it, or have a good idea. .

Sometimes, but not always. The best rule of thumb I've heard is this:

In a mystery, the dead body (or bad deed) is done early, like in the first chapter, and the story is about solving who did it. There may be danger during the story, but primarily, it's about the investigative side of things and figuring out a puzzle.

In a thriller, there may be dead bodies upfront as well, but the focus of the story is to prevent the next happening of the initial event (murder, bomb, stealing secrets to overthrow the world, etc), to spoil the grand plan of the baddies, to avoid getting killed yourself.

I find that in mysteries, the protag is doing (most of) the chasing, while in thrillers, the protag is getting chased. Thrillers are defintely quicker paced, while mysteries tend to be a little more cerebral.

As to the poster's comment about knowing who did it up front in a thriller... sometimes that is true, and the story is a battle between the baddie and your hero. But a lot of times, it's uncertain who is killing all the people, who is stealing the secrets, etc. So the hero must figure out how to prevent the next occurence, while trying to figure out who's doing it.

sheadakota · Apr 1, 2008

jodi henley said:
in a thriller, usually you know who done it, or have a good idea. Or you can see it coming, but a mystery is a mystery (or should be) Thrillers are all about action and adventure, Ludlum MacInnes and Mclean did some great classic ones, Jack Higgins--Tom Clancy, Dan Brown.

I disagree- Thrillers are not always that predictable- and you do not always see it coming- action -adventure is a seperate genre altogether. I have written six thrillers and not one car chase in any of them( I am being generic here)- I like the agentquery definition of the difference between the two.

Murder mystery v. thriller

Symphony

JJ Cooper

.

Stijn Hommes

Know what you write...

maestrowork

Fear the Death Ray

RJK

Sheriff Bullwinkle the Poet says:

jodi henley

Symphony

Phaeal

Whatever I did, I didn't do it.

gp101

sheadakota

part of the human equation