1 / 14

TYPES OF MYSTERY

TYPES OF MYSTERY. CAPER Humorous narration Scrambling action Bumbling but lovable characters Protagonists or plots need not be super-realistic Comedy is the primary goal. Authors: Works: Nancy Atherton Aunt Dimity and the Duke Elmore Leonard Get Shorty. CLASSIC WHODUNIT

nitesh
Download Presentation

TYPES OF MYSTERY

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. TYPES OF MYSTERY • CAPER • Humorous narration • Scrambling action • Bumbling but lovable characters • Protagonists or plots need not be super-realistic • Comedy is the primary goal. • Authors:Works: • Nancy Atherton Aunt Dimity and the Duke • Elmore Leonard Get Shorty

  2. CLASSIC WHODUNIT • Defined by their plots • Protagonist is usually brainy • Eccentric • Antisocial • Quirky areas of knowledge • Focus on using the brain/intuition. • Authors:Works: • Agatha Christie Murder on the Orient Express • Ellery Queen QBI: Queen’s Bureau of Investigation • Robert Langdon The DaVinci Code • Stieg Larson The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

  3. COZY • Almost entirely a female subgenre • Amateur detective • Cats • Knitting or quilting, cooking, pots of tea, family, friends, and community • Ordinary, suburban or small town women of a certain age • Somewhat comedic – tone is light, fun, easy reading • Authors:Works: • Nancy Atherton Aunt Dimity’s Death (1992) • Aunt Dimity Digs In (1998) • Agatha Christie Partners in Crime (1929) • Karen MacInerney Murder on the Rocks

  4. ESPIONAGE • About spies and spying • British version is usually realistic, has little sex or violence • American version is also know as a “Thriller” and is more action-packed • Authors:Works: • Tom Clancy The Hunt for Red October • Without Remorse • Nelson DeMille The General’s Daughter • Ian Fleming Casino Royale (James Bond) • Robert Ludlum The Bourne Identity

  5. FORENSIC • Crime-solving aspects of pathology, physiology, anthropology or archeology, psychology, and behavioral analysis • Use trace evidence processing, fingerprinting, DNA, ballistics, document analysis accident reconstruction, bugging, wiretapping, computer technology, etc. • Authors:Works: • Patricia Cornwall Postmortem • Jeffery Deaver The Bone Collector • Thomas Harris The Silence of the Lambs • Jeff Lindsay Dexter in the Dark

  6. HARD-BOILED • Set among criminals rather than crime fighters • Typical storyline concerns revenge, vigilante justice, or the commission (rather than the detection) of a crime • Subject matter may include hellish marriages, sexual abuse, drug/alcohol addiction, prison life, or other similar antisocial experiences • Formerly called “Sleaze” • Authors:Works: • Dashiell Hammett The Continental Op • Lawrence Block The Specialists • James M. Cain The Postman Always Rings Twice • Double Indemnity • Ed McBain Big Bad City

  7. HISTORICAL • Set in a previous era, or deals with events which occurred in a previous historical era • Often feature real persons or events in some form • Authors:Works: • Jack Higgins The Eagle Has Landed • Matthew Pearl The Dante Club

  8. LEGAL • Usually feature a lawyer as the protagonist • Considerable freedom in the field – prosecutors against defense lawyers, American attorneys and British barristers, small-town generalists to Supreme Court justices, legal mysteries versus legal thrillers • PI influence led to levels of social commentary and a wider range of investigative actions • Authors:Works: • Erle Stanley Gardner The Case of the Sulky Girl – Perry Mason • John Grisham The Street Lawyer • The Firm • The Pelican Brief • Scott Turow Presumed Innocent • The Burden of Proof

  9. MILITARY • Armed services of one of the world’s nations – usually a “superpower” • Set in a war or military conflict • This background allows for unique crimes, investigative procedures, legal and political issues, training, weapons, social relationships, causes of death, and plot devices. • Authors:Works: • Tom Clancy The Hunt for Red October • Nelson DeMille The General’s Daughter

  10. POLICE PROCEDURAL • Must be realistic depictions of official investigations • Emphasize teamwork, methodical pavement-pounding, lucky breaks, administrative hassles, and endless paperwork • Lots of profanity, irony, sick humor, and tragedy • Authors:Works: • Micheal Dibdin Vendetta • James Ellroy The Black Dahlia • Ed McBain The Mugger • Joseph Wambaugh Finnegan’s Week

  11. POLITICAL • Have a governmental or public policy setting and focus • They can vary from assassination novels, to Washington insider farces, to attacks for or against an issue such as capital punishment • Authors:Works: • Richard Condon The Manchurian Candidate (1959) • Frederick Forsyth The Day of the Jackal (1971) • The Odessa File (1972) • John Grisham The Street Lawyer (1998) • Antonio Mendez Argo

  12. PRIVATE EYE • Defined by a non-police detective, usually a paid professional investigator • Protagonists should represent a balance between empathy versus cynicism, community versus independence • Authors:Works: • Sue Grafton A is for Alibi • C is for Corpse • N is for Noose • Dashiell Hammett The Maltese Falcon • The Thin Man

  13. SERIAL KILLER • Typically have a higher level of random violence, explicit gore, and serious mental illness than any other • Crimes are committed by a psychopathic stranger or a sociopathic acquaintance • Serial killer stories can be cross listed in any subgenre except Cozy • Authors:Works: • Patricia Cornwall Postmortem • Thomas Harris Silence of the Lambs • Jeff Lindsay Darkly Dreaming Dexter

  14. THRILLER • Among the most loosely used terms in the genre, being applied to any book with even a little action or adventure • Usually built around a plot device such as a chase, a showdown, a rescue, an act of vigilante justice, or a race against time to prevent a crime from occurring • Almost all thriller protagonists are male • Authors:Works: • Robert CraisTaken • James Patterson Kiss the Girls

More Related