Mysteries in a Novel
Nathan Bransford asked a great question about who has tucked a great mystery into a novel:
Note that I’m not necessarily asking for your favorite mystery novel! Some great mysteries have been crafted outside of that genre, whether it was wondering if Snape could be trusted in the Harry Potter series or whether Ahab would get his nemesis of a white whale in Moby-Dick.
It made me think about how I’m always seeking out puzzle fiction.
Because there are mysteries, as in the genre of mysteries (and I read a lot of those), but then there are mysteries or puzzles tucked inside non-genre fiction, such as Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore or Tell the Machine Goodnight or Gnomon. I just bought Gnomon and can’t wait to read it. (And try to figure out what the numbers mean on the first page.)
I just started Margaret Atwood’s The Testaments, and there are tiny mysteries scattered over the pages. I love it when you encounter one and tuck it into the back of your brain, knowing that Atwood will solve it for you later.
I wanted more stories added to Bransford’s post. What mysteries-inside-non-genre-fiction would you add?
2 comments
Shadow of the Wind, by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. It’s shelved in literature but there are definitely mysteries at its core. It’s one book I have read more than once.
I would also put The Time Traveler’s Wife as a bit of a mystery.
An Instance of the Fingerpost, by Iain Pears
The Quincunx, by Charles Palliser