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Now, a holiday treat for anyone who’s interested in Christmas mystery reading: a list of Christmas-related mysteries, courtesy of Grave Matters.

Enjoy!

I came across a very insightful blog post today, that I thought I’d share.  On the Make Mine Mystery blog, there was a post by Mark Troy that included excellent suggestions on adding an element of suspense to your murder mystery.

Suspense is important even in cozy mysteries; it provides momentum for the story and comes in especially handy at the climax of your novel.  Would your book be as interesting if, after your sleuth names the killer, he’s quickly and easily arrested by the police?  Yes, there’s satisfaction that the detective–amateur or professional–solved the crime and that the murderer has been detained, but it’s not exactly riveting reading.

Troy suggests isolating your protagonist (in most cases your detective) to create suspense.  He points out the problem facing all writers–how to put the protagonist in a dangerous situation without making him or her look foolish for being in it. 

The entire article is interesting, and I really recommend it for anyone looking for ways to make their novel more exciting.  Here are some of Mark Troy’s ideas for isolating your detective (believably) with the murderer:

Have your detective confronted while he’s out gathering evidence.

Have your detective isolated with the killer while he’s in a remote setting.

Have the killer turn out to be a mentor or friend of your detective.

Have your detective eagerly run ahead of his backup and end up in the killer’s clutches.

Troy offers many other ideas for adding suspense, too–some of them involving internal isolation techniques–so be sure to check it out.  I thought it was a fresh perspective on an old plotting problem.

So you’re busily cooking up your mystery recipe, fully realizing some innocent victim or two will die as a result of tasting it.  One of the most important ingredients in your fatal stew is the suspect.

Choosing suspects: Who murdered your victim?  Suspects aren’t usually eager to be classified as such.  It’s up to your police detective or sleuth to connect the dots.  Was there a public argument between your victim and suspect?  Did your victim confide in their friend about a suspect (if so, is the friend in danger, too?)  Would the suspect gain monetarily from the victim’s death?  Was there another obvious reason besides money (revenge, love, hate) that could have motivated a suspect?  Who was close to your victim?  Who loved or hated him?

Number of  suspects: Try not to bog your reader down with too many suspects.  If you’re writing a 65,000– 85,000 word book, cramming in ten suspects with varying motives, means, and opportunity can make the plot pretty confusing. Usually, the smaller the number of suspects, the better.  Cozies frequently confine the number of suspects to five or six and let the reader get well-acquainted with them. 

Suspect names: Try not to name your suspects with similar-sounding names or with names that start with the same letter (if you have a Kate, don’t have a Karen.)  You don’t want your reader to find out the name of the killer and then have to flip through your book to find out who they were. 

Suspects who move along the plot: Your suspects are going to want to stay out of jail.  To do this, they might lie about their motive or opportunity or implicate other suspects.  If their implications are false (or don’t lead to the actual killer), they’re red herrings.   The suspects can also provide genuine clues to the murderer (perhaps a clue that the suspect doesn’t even realize is key to the case) or can  clumsily reveal their own guilt (accidentally breaking their alibi, revealing knowledge that only the killer could know, displaying guilt, nervousness, or other out-of-character traits.)

Suspect deaths:   Sometimes mystery writers will kill one of the book’s prime suspects.  Not only can this add more urgency to the plot (this murderer must be caught before he/she can kill again), but it can add another layer of depth to the mystery–why was this particular suspect killed?  What did they know? 

Think creative writers don’t have to work on business writing?  Think again.  It’s as important (or maybe more so) to have a well-crafted query or cover letter as it is to have a manuscript that’s as flawless as possible.  Do you have a blog or website?  If not, you need to rethink….a web presence is a great tool to help you get your foot in the door.  After your foot is there, your blog or website can help you with your promotion efforts.

Here is a great blog entry on the Urban Muse website on crafting a query letter (it was written with freelance writers in mind, but apply the tips to your manuscript query.)  Had your query rejected?  Don’t take it personally: here is a blog covering the context of rejection on an old post  on the Slushkiller website (thanks to Et  in Arcaedia, ego’s post for pointing it out.)

Tips for making your blog reader-worthy can be found here at the Write to Done blog. 

Polish up your business writing and you’ll soon start seeing results. Just make sure that your manuscript is completely proofread and in as perfect a condition as you can make it–don’t waste the manuscript requests you receive from agents and editors.

One of the most important elements in your mystery novel is your detective.  Depending on the type of book you’re writing (police procedural, thriller, cozy), your detective might be a member of the police department or a gifted amateur who unwittingly becomes involved in your case. 

If you plan on writing a series, your detective’s personality needs to be one that you can explore over the course of several books.  There are many wonderful mystery series featuring the same detectives that you can read.  It’s nice to have a sense of how other authors create interesting characters for their readers to enjoy book after book.  Interesting sleuths include: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock, Colin Dexter’s Inspector Morse, Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot and Jane Marple, P.D. James’ Adam Dalgleish, Raymond Chandler’s Philip Marlowe, Anne George’s Southern Sisters, and Nancy Atherton’s Aunt Dimity. 

M.C. Beaton’s series feature two intriguing detectives: Hamish McBeth (a police constable in a Scottish village) and Agatha Raisin (formerly a busybody, currently a private investigator.)  Hamish is a lovable officer–a gangling man who loves his village and desperately tries to prevent his own promotion (which would mean he’d have to leave the place he loves.)  The readers tune in each book to check in with the recurring characters, see what’s happening with Hamish’s disastrous love life, and see how he plays down the fact that he has solved another case.  Agatha Raisin, on the other hand, sometimes causes as many problems for the police department as she solves.  It’s fun to pick up a new Agatha Raisin book and see what trouble Agatha is in this time. 

If you do choose to have an amateur detective, make sure that he or she is involved in the case in a natural and believable way.  It’s a stretch to believe that the sleuth just decides to play detective one day, for example.  It makes a lot more sense that they would become involved if they or someone close to them is a suspect (and they want to clear their name) or if the victim was someone important to them.

It’s nice for the detectives, amateur or professional, to have their own foibles to deal with.  I loved it when even Christie’s brilliant Hercule Poirot had faulty reasoning or made an error.  Of course, he always figured it out in the end, but when he took us along on a red herring it was always fun.

Some publishers and agents are looking for books with specific hooks for the readers (this is especially true in the cozy mystery genre.)  Does your sleuth also do crosswords?  Quilt? Scrapbook?  Hobbies can be tools to reel in readers. 

In Christie’s books, Poirot usually explained his reasoning and unveiled the murderer in a room full of suspects.  That’s less common today in mysteries.  The reader is more likely to find the detective locked into a dangerous confrontation with the killer at the book’s denouement.  In a police procedural, you might find a similar situation–perhaps the police are desperately trying to locate the murderer (once they discover his identity) before he kills someone else.  Or maybe the police have realized who the killer is at the same time they’re recognized that a particular person close to him will be in danger. 

Whatever personality and foibles you create for your detective, remember that they can help to make or break your mystery novel.