it's a mystery 13

In mysteries, the reader doesn’t know who the killer is until the end. In thrillers, the reader knows who the bad guy is from the beginning. The only question is how much damage he’s going to do before he gets caught. ~J. A. Jance

Crime novels have been popular in every culture everywhere in the world. The second story ever told was a murder mystery - you know, the first story ever told was Adam and Eve, a love story. The second story, Cain and Abel. ~ Rene Balcer, executive producer of Law and Order.

I think if you can create something and make something from week to week that the whole world enjoys every second of every day, it's pretty special, and sends the right message that if you commit a crime, we're gonna catch you. That's the bottom line - justice. ~Anthony E. Zuiker creator of television show CSI

Mysteries work as stories with the require beginnings, middles and ends. Those ends usually entail the bad guy getting caught and/or punished. That is the rule. If the bad guy doesn’t get it in the end, you may be dealing with literature, and that’s another kettle of fish entirely. ~ J. A. Jance

Some of my favorite mystery/thriller authors/characters:

1. Sue Grafton - Kinsey Millhone, PI - Grafton's alphabet mystery series has gone from A to U so far, what will she do when the letters run out?
2. Lee Child - Jack Reacher, former MP, tough guy who doesn't mess around, Reacher always gets it done.
3. Robert Parker - Spenser PI, Jesse Stone small town police chief, Parker's death earlier this year left a finite number of great crime novels out there, would like to read them all.
4. Janet Evanovich - Stephanie Plum, bounty hunter in the 'burg' NJ. In addition to her sometimes comedic exploits at bounty hunting, her family offers quite a few smiles as well, especially grandma!
5. John Grisham - Former attorney turned writer, his legal thrillers are meticulous and gritty and always good to the last page.
6. Scott Turow - Practicing lawyer and writer, more gritty courtroom legal thrillers, the latest just out - Innocent - sequel to the 1987 Presumed Innocent which I loved, looking forward to this one.
7. J. A. Jance - Joanna Brady, Arizona county sheriff in addition to being a wife and mother, she works around the 'good old boy' network and gets the job done her way.
8. Nevada Barr - Anna Pigeon, National Park ranger - When reading about park rangers I would expect to hear about wild animals etc, but am always surprised to find the biggest problem the rangers have is with the 2 legged kind, and Anna handles both kinds courageously.
9. C. J. Box - Joe Pickett, Wyoming game warden Joe Pickett (like Anna Pigeon park ranger) finds more than he bargains for in the Wyoming back country and has a knack for finding trouble.
10. Stephen White - Dr. Alan Gregory, psychologist. White uses his experience as a psychologist to create some great story lines and characters.
11. Stuart Woods - Stone Barrington, former NYPD cop turned PI, usually has a grand adventure with the bad guys getting caught in the end.
12. Stephen King - More thought of as a writer of horror, but there are lots of mysterious and thrilling things in a King story, always a good read.
13. _____ looking for my next favorite author, any suggestions?

What is your favorite genre?

Do you like books that stand alone or have recurring characters, sequels, or series?

What is on your nightstand?

Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body. ~ Sir Richard Steele

more lists here at Thursday 13