Welcome to the first installment of Genres Defined, a new Reader Voracious series that deep dives into the nuance of genres: what are the defining characteristics? what is reasonable to expect when picking up a book? Today we are talking Mystery vs Thriller!
Mystery vs Thriller
This whole post came into being because someone recommended a cozy mystery to me as a thriller two years ago. Sometimes it feels like the book community thinks that these two genres are the same; Mysteries and Thrillers are not the same.
The debate between mystery and thrillers has been on my mind for a long time, clearly. Just a little bit of a self roast before we get started… 🤣
What’s the Difference?
Admittedly there is a lot of overlap between the mystery and thriller genres, which I think adds to the confusion. The way I like to differentiate between the two genres is that mystery is primarily concerned with solving a crime and pursuing justice, whereas at its heart a thriller is centered on the main character’s safety and survival.
🔎 Mystery: about a crime and justice
😨 Thriller: about safety and survival
These two central themes help to categorize mysteries and thrillers at a glance, but of course there’s more to it. Often times determination lies in the tone of the book. According to Masterclass, “Thrillers are dark, engrossing, and suspenseful plot-driven stories. They very seldom include comedic elements.” The primary goal of the Thriller genre is suspense and the main character is in an almost constant state of danger.
“A thriller novel devotes most of its focus to suspense, dread, and the fear of a future crime—instead of one that’s already happened.”
Masterclass: Mystery, Thriller, & Crime Novels
The plot in a mystery centers around the main character piecing together clues of a crime. The plot is a big puzzle piece, and the tension typically comes from red herrings and misdirects rather than actual danger driving the plot.
Some mysteries are also thrillers (and vice versa!), but not all mysteries are thrillers. Nor should they be! There’s a place for cozies, for noir, for whodunnits. As a mood reader, sometimes we just want a cozy whodunnit where the main character isn’t also fighting for their survival.
Mystery & Thriller Subgenres
The differences between and nuances of the Mystery & Thriller genres are best illustrated by their subgenres.
- Classic Mystery
- Crime Mystery
- Police Procedurals
- Noir
- Cozy Mysteries
- Action Thriller
- Crime Thriller
- Psychological Thriller
- Political Thriller
- Spy Thriller
If you read similar books to me, chances are you’ve seen a lot of overlap between the two genres: I like my books full of tension, dread, and danger. Both mysteries and thrillers can be page-turners that keep you glued to the book until the final reveal, making both excellent reads in the summer months when you crave fast-paced books.
Mystery Recommendations
Thriller Recommendations
End Notes
As you can see, the Mystery and Thriller genres are rather distinct but do have a lot of crossover with other genres. A lot of Mysteries have Thriller elements and vice versa, but the genres are not interchangeable.
Honestly it feels really good to get this off of my chest. I hope you found this topic and new series of interest – I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!
💬 What do you think about my definitions for mystery and thriller?
💬 How do you categorize these books?
💬 What Mysteries and Thrillers do YOU recommend?
I admit, I’m someone who always confuses the two 😂 This is very helpful though, I didn’t know the element of danger is essential for thrillers!
Honestly? I get why! Especially since there is so much overlap between the two. I feel like the types of thrillers I read are always mysteries, but not all mysteries are thrillers. Gotta keep it confusing lol.
Ah this is such an interesting post, I’m so glad you got to finally write it! Love that self-roast ahah, I have some drafts dating back to………. 2016 that I never wrote aerm so I get it 😂
I’ve been getting more and more into mysteries and thriller lately, it’s so good to see the real difference here between the two, I often find myself confused by it. I think I fall more for mysteries than thrillers, though. I love your recommendations, thank you so much!! More books for my TBR! 🙂
I never really thought about the difference before! I just tagged books as mystery/thriller whenever I finished with them lmfao. Thanks for this though! And I love your recommendations!
I’m glad I’m not the only one 😂😂
We all are guilty of this… even me haha! Thanks for reading 🙂
HAHAHA I think a lot of people are in the same boat as you — especially since there is so much overlap between the two! If you read similar mystery books to me, there’s almost always thriller elements which muddies the water a bit. Thank you for reading and I’m glad I was able to share something new with you!
I like mysteries much better than thrillers, personally. (Though I think in my Goodreads shelves I lump them together because there is so much crossover.) I think it’s partly because thrillers often veer too close to horror for my tastes, while mysteries usually don’t. Cozy mysteries are a BIG favorite of mine, though. I rarely read mysteries other than cozies.
I totally get where you’re coming from! If you aren’t a horror fan, thriller is dangerously close (and thrillers definitely crossover with horror, too!). What are your favorite cozies? I want to try the genre out!
I love this idea and can’t wait to see what else you have planned for this series! And thanks for including the self roast so I feel better about all the other posts I have stuck in my drafts folder 😂
Ahhh thanks so much Veronica! I am really excited to sprinkle these genre explainers around… two of them have been in semi-draft form for like a year as well hahaha. Believe me: you are not alone with overwhelming drafts
I always knew that there was a difference but I could’ve never articulated it this well! What a great post, Kal! I definitely lean more towards mysteries, I love a good puzzle to feed my inner teenage detective. But a few of the books I read recently are definitely thrillers, now that I think about them. Both These Deadly Games and The Luminous Dead are on my TBR so those will be a great chance to further refine my own thoughts about thrillers and what kinds I enjoy!
Aww thank you so much Lay!! I swear, every mystery I gravitate towards has thriller elements hahaha. YOOOO I LEGIT CANNOT WAIT YOU NEED TO READ THE LUMINOUS DEAD NOW!
I’ve been enjoying both genres lately! I loved Lock Every Door by Riley Sager, as well as Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson. I think there is a clear distinction between mystery and thriller, but I hadn’t really thought about it before! I recently watched an interview with Rian Johnson about writing Knives Out and how he merged the two together by having a classic whodunnit structure of interviewing the suspects at the beginning and having a big reveal with Detective Blanc explaining who committed Harlan’s murder at the end, but he created suspense in the middle by having the main character, Marta, be in danger for her role in Harlan’s death. He said he wanted elements of both mystery and thriller, which I thought was interesting!
Riley Sager’s thrillers for the most part are so well loved! I read his first and enjoyed it well enough but not enough to read his other work. Truly Devious is so enjoyable for me though. Thanks for mentioning that interview because I am going to go watch it now.
Thanks for this post, I think it’s the first time I’ve understood the difference between the two genres XD
Oh my goodness, I’m so glad you found it helpful in differentiating between the two!