May 17, 2024
By Allison Vasquez
Staff Writer
Mystery. It’s a vast genre consisting of cozies, noirs, thrillers, whodunits and more.
According to the market research and data analytics company YouGov, histories and mysteries were the most popular book genres Americans read in 2023, with more than a third of readers saying they read a book in each of those genres within the past year.
Freshman Isabella Fata said she enjoys reading mystery books because they hold her attention.
“[With] mystery books, it’s like I have to flip to the next page now because I need to [solve] the mystery,” Fata said.
She said within the mystery genre, she favors murder mysteries such as “The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle” by Stuart Turton.
“I just… love that book more than anything. It’s probably one of my favorite books,” Fata said.
“Somebody might [seem] nice, but they won’t be, so you have to be careful.”
The novel follows the protagonist, Aiden Bishop, who suffers from amnesia and awakens every day in the body of a different guest at Blackheath Manor. To get out of the time loop and break free from Blackheath, he realizes he must solve the murder of Evelyn Hardcastle within eight days.
Junior Gaby Morán Lara said her favorite mysteries are those in the classic “Sherlock Holmes” series by Arthur Conan Doyle.
“Mystery books are darker than, for example, romance,” Morán Lara. “Romance is [usually] all candid and sweet, and mystery is all dark, and they usually talk about crimes.”
She said mystery books have taught her that appearances can be deceiving.
“Somebody might [seem] nice, but they won’t be, so you have to be careful,” Morán Laran said.
Media specialist Ms. Murru, who co-advises the Book Club, said mystery is an engaging genre.
“You kind of can play a detective a little bit,” Murru said. “I really like reading books [where] you can try to figure out what happened in the story.”
Murru said her favorite genre of mystery is true crime because she likes its nonfiction elements.
Her favorite true crime book is “I’ll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman’s Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer” by Michelle McNamara, which chronicles McNamara’s investigations and interviews to catch serial killer Joseph James DeAngelo Jr., better known as the Golden State Killer. It includes accounts of his crimes and McNamara’s obsessive quest to reveal his identity.
Murru said mysteries geared toward teenagers typically include characters who are of a similar age.
She said the most popular mystery books in the media center are “One of Us Is Lying” by Karen M. McManus and “A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder” by Holly Jackson, both of which center on teenage characters.
Murru said even though mystery novels are fiction, readers like their realistic elements.
“[I] love the clues that you’re putting together trying to figure out who the murderer is, who the robber is [or] who the criminal is,” Murru said. “It really takes a lot of critical thinking skills to solve these mysteries.”
