At a recent reading I was asked what is the difference between mystery, suspense and thriller. My reply: “Spelling?” All kidding aside, there is a difference—though many readers don’t differentiate, and of course many books overlap the genres, but I will briefly explain the differences.
Mystery is basically a puzzle waiting to be solved. The protagonist (detective, amateur sleuth, etc.) goes searching for clues, which are only revealed to the reader as the protagonist discovers them, and adds pieces to that puzzle until it is complete and solved.
Thrillers… Well, basically, they thrill. Action such as chases, eruptions of violence, any type of physical sequence of events that gets the readers’ flight or fight response going. A more distinct definition between thrillers and mysteries is that in thriller novels the reader knows who the killer is at the outset, but that the “thrill” is in the hunt or the cat and mouse game between killer and protagonist, and that the protagonist is often in danger. Whereas in mystery the protagonist is not usually in danger, just collects clues and solves the puzzle (ie., Agatha Christie, Hercule Poirot).
Suspense: The master of suspense, Alfred Hitchcock, described suspense as “a state of waiting for something to happen”. He used the example that if two people were sitting in a cafe talking and fifteen seconds later a bomb went off, that for the audience it would be fifteen seconds of mundane conversation followed by surprise. But if the audience saw the saboteur come in, place the bomb and set the timer for one o’clock, that the audience would be in suspense during the couple’s conversation as one o’clock approaches, not knowing if they would be blown to bits or escape unscathed.
Some suspense can have action (ie., a bomb being placed), some can have danger but no action (the reader knowing a stranger is hiding in a closet when a woman enters her home), and some can have no danger and no action, but have intense tension and conflict between characters, which when expressed through setting, mannerisms and dialogue, result in suspense. For example, a simple conversation between two characters who are attracted to each other. In this case there is no danger and there could be no action whatsoever as they just stare at each other, but their mannerisms and dialogue can create great suspense. Will they finally kiss or will one of them turn and walk away?
For those who like to dissect the difference between mystery and suspense, it is usually split like this: in suspense novels the reader knows things the protagonist does not. In mystery novels the reader is only given information and clues as the protagonist learns them.
Do mystery, suspense and thriller ever overlap? All the time! My novel, The Slayer, is a prime example. The mystery portion is the main plot: the protagonist, a female RCMP Constable, sets out to solve a cold murder case. But along the way, her personal life collides with the investigation through a series of events and complex relationships, personal and professional. A tremendous amount of suspense is achieved through the relationships as well as characters that exhibit behaviours that may or may not have sinister origins. This suspense builds continuously, layer upon layer, building to the last quarter of the book which then turns into a thriller, while keeping the mystery component (readers don’t know who the murderer is until the protagonist figures it out herself) and the suspense (extreme conflict and tension among the characters and in their relationships).
Thus, some novels are categorized under “mystery-thriller”, some under “mystery-suspense” and some under “thriller-suspense”. Do you ever see a novel categorized under “mystery-thriller-suspense” though? Sometimes, but rarely. There seems to be some agreed upon rule against using more than two words to categorize a book. Mine is categorized under “thriller-romance” in some bookstores (because of the romantic sub-plot) and in other bookstores it could be shelved in a stand-alone category of mystery, suspense or thriller, or any combination of all three. Do I care which category it gets put in? Nope. It is a mystery, it is suspenseful, and it does thrill. And you can buy it here. (Couldn’t resist!)
Happy reading everyone!