Readers' Advisor News
An e-newsletter published
quarterly by Libraries
Unlimited
June 2005
Secrets of the Successful Mystery Book Club
by Gary Warren Niebuhr
A Mystery Book Club? Impossible, you say? Think again. Not all mysteries make for great discussions, but some are ideal for book clubs—for example Dennis Lehane's mind-bending Mystic River. But how do you find those titles? Here are some of the elements to consider when determining if a title would work for a book discussion title. Some of these elements can be determined from reading reviews but the best test case will be to read all or part of the text as a test.
Author—Is the author well respected in the field? If this is a first novel, did it get a great review? Has the author won awards? Is this author a bestselling author?
Plot—Is the crime compelling by its nature? Is the plot believable? Are there enough clues? Does the plot play fair? Does the plot hold your interest? Do you care whodunit? Do you care whydunnit?
Subplots—Are there threads to the plot that were as compelling to read as the mystery/crime?
Main Character—Do you care what happened to this character? Do you understand what happened to this character? Do you agree with what happened to this character? Do you identify with this character? Is this character heroic? Are the characters' decisions and actions believably motivated? Is there something about this character that you cannot understand?
Secondary Characters—Do you care what happened to these characters? Do you understand what happened to all of the characters? Do you agree with what happened to all of the characters? Do you identify with one of the secondary characters? Are any of the secondary characters heroic? Are the secondary characters decisions and actions believably motivated? Is there something about any of the secondary characters that you cannot understand?
Subject—Is this book about some life experience outside of the mystery/crime? Does this novel teach you anything new?
Setting—Is the setting of this novel interesting? Are there elements within the setting that taught you something new?
Time Period—Does this novel hold a mirror up to a particular time period? Are there elements in the time period that taught you something new?
Structure—Is there something unique or challenging in the structure of this novel?
Style—Is there something unique or challenging in the style of this novel?
Theme—Does this novel make you consider an element of life from a new angle? Does this novel challenge your opinion or perspective on an element of life? Does this novel raise your emotional level?
These are elements that contribute to great discussion for crime fiction, as well as other types of literature. Don't be afraid to try mysteries with your book club. Mysteries are immensely popular with readers, and a mystery book club is a great way to build community.
Gary Warren Niebuhr library director, Greendale Public Library, Wisconsin; and is the 2005 Margaret E. Monroe Award winner from the American Library Association in recognition of his contribution to the development of adult services in libraries; and the author of Make Mine a Mystery (Libraries Unlimited, 2003), which won the Macavity Award, the Anthony Award, and The Kenneth Kingery Scholarly Book Award from the Council for Wisconsin Writers in 2004. He is currently working on a book club guide for mysteries, Read 'Em Their Writes, which is the source of this list.
Niebuhr is also the author of A Reader's Guide to the Private Eye Novel (G. K. Hall, 1993), which was nominated for an Anthony Award. His private eye short story, "Over There", appears on the Summer 2004 issue of Hardluck Stories. He received the Don Sandstrom Memorial Award for Lifetime Achievement in Mystery Fandom; and he was the Fan Guest of Honor at the 2004 Bouchercon and the 1995 Magna Cum Murder. In addition to his other activities, Mr. Niebuhr operates P. I. E. S. (Private Investigator Entertainment Service), a mail order catalog of private eye fiction that can be found at http://www.execpc.com/~piesbook/piescatalog.html.