Pages

▼

3 July 2010

Defining your favourite crime fiction

There are many ways of looking at crime fiction, but I want you to look at the last 20 or so books you've read and count up whether they are
  • detective fiction
  • police procedural
  • psychological suspense
  • thriller
  • spy story
  • cozy
  • whodunnit
  • whydunnit
How many on your list don't fall into any of those categories?
Which category "wins" on your list?
If you go to the library or book shop what do you generally look for?

So be brave, vote in the poll in the right hand column, and then leave a comment about your choice.

In my own case it was a narrow win by "detective fiction" with 8 votes from "police procedural" on 7, then thriller, and finally cozy.

I guess when I start a new book I am happy if it is either one of those two types.

Now I got these categories out of a Wikipedia article and the problem is that many of them are overlapping.
Perhaps you can suggest a better list to run a poll on.
at

7 comments:

  1. BooksPlease3 July 2010 at 15:22

    I voted for "detective fiction" in your poll, but I do find it difficult to decide which category books fall into, so it could also be "police procedural". I also like "psychological suspense", but haven't read as many of that category recently.

    I've read a few "cozies" recently but I don't generally look for those when choosing what to read. I prefer the other categories, most of the time.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Amy3 July 2010 at 15:56

    Kerrie,
    Fascinating subject! I picked spy novels, which is sort of a combination, I guess, of police procedural and thriller.
    As I've gotten older, I'm really disgusted more with gore and horrific crimes. They can be bad but I don't want every graphic detail aka Ridley Pearson.
    Now I'm more fond of Hakan Nesser, Hanning Mankell, etc.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Kerrie3 July 2010 at 16:16

    Don't forget to vote in the poll Amy.
    I would have thougth though that spy novels were more like John Le Carre.
    Anything with a police investigation I assumed was a police procedural, while Hercule Poirot comes under detective - if that helps

    ReplyDelete
  4. Jose Ignacio Escribano3 July 2010 at 18:09

    My last twenty fall more or less in the following cathegory:
    Police procedural (10), thrillers (6) and detective fiction (4).
    Although some can be considered as well psycologicall suspense (2)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous3 July 2010 at 21:41

    I went back and looked at my stats for this year. Police procedural wins, but I don't think that is always the case. I think my tastes meander through practically all the different subsets of the mystery genre. I go through period where I read a number of cozies and then move on to psychological thrillers or whatnot. I am partial to series because I like to see what happens with the characters. But, there are so many good series out there now. It's tough to keep up and also sample the new ones I'm interested in. Sigh. I wish I read faster.

    I voted for police procedural in the poll, but that might change depending on the year and my mood. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous3 July 2010 at 22:24

    Kerrie - Interesting question. My own taste is rather eclectic, but I'd say whodunnit best captures the underlying theme of what I really enjoy.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Harvee4 July 2010 at 23:32

    I like mysteries by women authors, in a foreign setting. Second best, mysteries in a foreign setting by any writer. I am also enjoying Asian writers of mystery right now. Here are my current reade: My Sunday Salon.

    ReplyDelete

If you want to leave a direct link to your blog posting, click name, you will see the URL field opening up. Type your name and leave your blog posting's URL and readers will be able to jump straight to your blog.
======================
Thank you also for your interest in my blog.
From time to time you will find these comments have been put into moderation - I'll try to approve them as quickly as I can.