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Romantic Mystery versus Romantic Suspense

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JacquelineSeewald:
There seems to be some confusion as to whether romantic mystery and romantic suspense are the same genre of fiction.  In fact, they are not. My new mystery novel THE TRUTH SLEUTH which will be published by Five Star/Gale in hardcover May 18, 2011, for example, is a romantic mystery not romantic suspense.

In romantic suspense the mystery is secondary to the romance. Plot focus is always on the romance while the mystery simply offers a plot device. In a romantic mystery,
the love interest is always secondary. The mystery is the key plot factor. The romantic aspect usually serves to provide depth to the main character(s).

In romantic suspense there is always a happy ending with the couple united at the end. In romantic mystery novels which are often part of a series like mine, that is not necessarily the case--although it can be.

Any thoughts or opinions on this subject?

Jacqueline Seewald

Leon:
When I write a story, I never consider the genre.

I begin with a narrative hook. From information in the narrative hook, all else develops and unfolds.

Little Eddie liked Sara until her brother, Carl, said she would not invite him to her birthday party because he played chess at Emma's house on Valentine Day.

Ed believed Vera the perfect wife until he discovered she and Hank had put arsenic in his
food.

The narrative hook provides characters in conflict.

Adventure. Comedy. Crime. Fantasy. Horror. Mystery. Romance. Terror.

Mix the above genre in any combination and what will have for a genre?

So much for my blah, blah.

Lance Charnes:
Jacqueline: Welcome to MWF.

Your definition for "romantic mystery" seems to include much of the mystery genre; it's a rare crime/mystery novel that doesn't have a romance of some sort for its MC, depending on how you define "romance."

Determining "plot focus" can also be tricky and up to the eye of the beholder. The J.D. Robb "...in Death" series is an apt example. More pages are spent on whatever crime Eve Dallas is investigating, but Eve's brainspace seems mostly taken up with Roarke (especially in the first book). "Romantic suspense" or "romantic mystery"?

"Suspense" and "mystery" aren't synonymous. Agatha Christie wrote mysteries, but most weren't very suspenseful. There often isn't much mystery in a Dean Koontz book, but they're packed with suspense. There can be plenty of suspense of the will-they-or-won't-they variety in a romance without there being a murder lurking in the background. Are there perhaps other terms we could use here?

Lynette:
Sometimes I think the classification is up for grabs. In my latest book, CALENDAR CLAN, I called it a mystery, but my publisher placed it in the Romantic Suspense catagory. Just goes to show there's a lot of overlap in publishing these days.

B L McAllister:
Whichever of the two it is that follows the following formula, I prefer not to read:
1. Girl and Boy meet (more or less)
2. One (or more) of them despises the other for no very good reason.
3. Something or other (often something interesting or sexual or violent or more than one of these) happens that sheds new light on the possibility of relationship.
3. Possibly repeat from step 2 a few times, depending on how thick a book is needed, then:
4. Again for very shallow reasons, boy and girl suddenly are intensely fond of each other, and go off together (though given their touchiness up to now, I wouldn't expect the relationship to last).

Is that romantic mystery or romantic suspense?

In my (and spouse's) Runaway Nudist the above formula is not followed, but our editor/publisher thinks of the story as at least overlapping "romantic."  So whichever it is, romantic mystery or romantic suspense that follows that rule, I guess we (I and spouse) must have accidentally written the other.

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