The Mystery, Crime, and Thriller Group discussion

Hello,

My name is Byron, and I live on Vancouver Island. My reading interests are wide. Rather than constraining myself to one genre, I just like a good tale well told. Perhaps this has left me with eclectic taste.

I've written a mystery and now I'm trying to find comparative authors/genres. Are there writers that anyone can point me to who write in between mystery-thriller and mystery-cozy?

- My first chapter is the murder (On-screen, so bad for cozy. No blood, so good)
- My protagonist is neither detective nor police, and he is accompanied by his 13 year-old niece (Suggestive of Inspector Gadget, I know, but it's definitely not YA)
- There are five "F's, three "S" and a "damn". I feel that they are realistically and judiciously used, not gratuitous.
- There is no further on-screen violence until a physical fight and fire at the climax.
- There are no guns.
- A true crime of hjacking, ransom, and money laundering is woven in throughout the story. This is the catalyst for the mystery and I've offered a fictional solution.

It's not a thriller. And, I know some cozy readers would be put off. I've been told by the few people who have read it not to change just to fit tropes of a genre, but I've received feedback like "The story is quite dark and serious and somehow light and fun at the same time."

The closest that I can come to is the Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time. Sort of Ruth Ware meets Inspector Gadget, but that sounds awful! Erle Stanley Gardner haha

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Kind regards,

Byron

I loved The Curious incident, so would gladly read yours if l may. It sounds like a crime novel to me and l wouldn't worry about fitting it into a genre box. Let the book be as it i. It sounds a bit similar to Jasper Jones too.

Thank you for the comments, Michael. Once my interior is formatted and I have copies to circulate, I would be more than happy to take you up on your offer!