According to our 2012 Reader Survey, BookPage readers love suspense novels and mysteries more than any other genre. And what’s not to love? These books have complex, tightly-woven plots that keep you guessing and turning pages long past bedtime.
Tomorrow’s edition of BookPageXTRA features 10 thrillers from 2012 that we think you must know about. (Sign up here if you’re not already receiving the e-newsletter.) To spread the thriller love even more, we’re giving away a whopping 10 novels on the blog this week—including every single book pictured above!
TO ENTER: In the comments, tell us why you love mysteries and thrillers.
CONTEST DETAILS: One winner will be chosen by random.org from among entries received by 5 pm CST on Friday, October 19. Each winner will receive a copy of the 10 books pictured in this post. Prize must be shipped to a North American address, and Rhode Island residents are not eligible. (Full contest rules here.) Good luck!
—
ETA: Congrats to our winner, Karen! She loves mysteries because “even though they are often quite realistic, they are completely outside my everyday experience. There is nothing better that a well written mystery.”
Thanks to all who entered! Contest is now closed.
I love where mysteries take me! The intrigue and the bends and bends until I get to the end, and I am completely blown away!
You get the thrills and action without leaving home! how awesome is that?
I love mysteries and thrillers because they transport me into a place that gets my heart pumpin and nails bitten (although the nail part isn’t good).
Mysteries and thrillers are the best because after reading them, I feel entertained, scared, and smart (of course, I just KNEW that he was the killer).
Love to feel the heart pounding. . . .
Mystery books take you out of your day to day life and to places that you would never go. Plus I love trying to figure out how they will end and then being surprised!
I love the suspense and surprise. I like to be scared. And, I especially like it when I haven’t guessed the ending! Also, I am so amazed at the incredible creativity and brilliant way the authors’ minds work.
Mysteries and suspense novels allow me to experience excitement and danger from the safety of my home. I love to try and guess who did what to who. Great fun!
Mysteries and thrillers are the books that make me lose all sense of time as my thoughts are consumed with the puzzles that they provide.
I love mysteries and thrillers because you can try to solve the puzzle as the pieces are revealed. I’m not always right, but it’s fun to guess.
The absorption: When you’re consumed by a book/plot/character/idea.
Thrillers and mysteries allows us to suspend our disbelief and let us escape the shackles of common sense.
Mysteries/Suspense novels…better than anything on TV.
I love a mystery and always have. It isn’t so much the solution that intrigues me, but how it is arrived at that grips me. Right now I am reading The Beautiful Mystery by Louise Penny and enjoying getting a glimpse into the workings of Armand Gamache’s mind.
My favorite. Love Nesbo and Child.
I love thrillers because they take me away to different places and times. I love trying to solve them before the end of the book!
I love the “what is going to happen next” aspect of mysteries and thrillers. You never know what the next page is going to bring.
When written properly they take you on twist and turns that you don’t see coming. A mystery/thriller is always exciting.
This genre is the best escapism reading for me as a good thriller takes me on an adventure.
I love mysteries and always am trying to see if I’m right about who done it.
I love mysteries and thrillers because the good guys always win. Plus, the deviousness and intricacy of the plot twists and clues that the authors imagine is just mind-boggling to me. That’s why I usually read the ending first (I know, it’s awful of me to do that), but it actually makes me enjoy the story more as I realize how the author carefully and meticulously lays out the plot.
My friends berate me for reading the ending first – and now I see I’m not alone!! Not with all books, of course, but it intrigues me to see in the plot how and where the path leads. Thanks!
I like mysteries and thrillers because I’m to chicken to “watch” these (especially thrillers) on TV or the big screen. My imagination can temper and allow only as much as I can handle without the sound effects!
Pure entertainment!
I like psychological suspense more that the “who done it” books.
When reading a mystery or thriller, I’m always trying to stay one step ahead with my predictions and I’m actually delighted when I’m wrong. It so much better than seeing a movie because I have time to think about the plot and even look for clues in what I’ve already read.
I love mysteries and thrillers. Especially the ones that surprise you at the end.
Who doesn’t love a good mystery?! Thrillers are page turning books as well. These two genres are my favorite. Good luck in choosing.
I love the escapism of mysteries and thrillers. I’m always happy to have a book I want to fly through.
I love tightly written mysteries and thrillers that give clues to figure it out, but enough twists and turns that you couldn’t possibly predict the actual conclusion. The best is when I’m totally surprised and have to turn back and find those spots that I read as one thing when actually it was something totally different. The best!!
I was an early reader and have always loved mysteries! Once I discovered Nancy Drew, I couldn’t read them fast enough….then on to Agatha Christie……..had to get my hands on as many as I could. I enjoy many different kinds of books, but ALWAYS go back to a good mystery!!
I love thrillers because they are thrilling! But I’m an english teacher and always tell my students you can’t define a word with the word… so I would have to say thrillers transport me to another place, get my blood-pumping and my heart beating and just excited me!
I love the twists and turns of mysteries – it is so easy to get caught up in the story! I would love to win b/c I have only read one of the 10 books listed!
I like them because they take me places I wouldn’t really want to go to, but enjoy the ride from the safety of my own bed buried under the covers.
I love mysteries and thrillers because I have no life. Reading them is a great escape to places I’ve been and places I haven’t been with lots of action. It’s living vicariously through the characters that gives me plenty of excitement!
I love a story that keeps me guessing and that I can’t wait to pick up to are what happens next!
I love reading suspense/mysteries because I have to find out if the butler did it!
I’m pretty good at guessing the “surprise” in a mystery, but I looooove it when I am wrong (it does happen). Good mysteries are the ultimate page-turners:)
Don’t keep me in suspense! Announce me as a winner!
It’s a good book if it is by an author, such as Stephen King, who has the talent to make it scary real.
I love how the writer can keep me ‘sitting on the edge’ of a story and
eager to keep turning the pages.
I love mysteries and thrillers because you can get lost in the moment and stay there for hours reading and enjoying the book!
I love being in suspense. Reading mysteries and thrillers is a great way to add excitement to my life without leaving the couch!
I like the psychology of the crime, the detective and the criminal and how they get into each other’s heads!
I love mysteries and thrillers because they always keep you hooked – with all the suspense and twists and turns, you don’t want to put the book down!
I love mysteries and suspense novels because they give me thrills and chills in a safe enviroment like when you watch an old horror mivie on TV but you get more details in a book. Also the mystery and suspense genre has so many sub-genres I can find so many books to read to suit my mood from cozies to gritty realism. And I read across the spectrum! My “To Read” list has more mystery and suspense than anything else. I also have found a good mystery writer does their homework and knows their subject so I will always learn something. You never know when the knowledge of blood splatter patterns might come in handy!
My real life is SO boring, books (especially thrillers and mysteries) add some much-needed excitement!
Mysteries and thriller books are a movie in one’s mind. Free admission, too!
They give your mind room to roam and wonder.
I love mysteries and thrillers in any format. Hard core P.I., romance, sci-fi, and historical. It takes me out of my real life situation and puts me in a dangerous or mysterious setting for as long as I am reading. I love to be so involved that I check my door or worry about my main character like they are my real friend, but I always know that justice of some form will prevail. Not always true in real life.
Its always fun to try to predict the ending of mysteries. I love when I am wrong.
I love trying to figuring out the who’s and pondering the why’s
I love the way a good mystery/suspense/thriller book makes you keep turning the pages. You have to know who did what and why…I always think it’s the why that keeps me wanting more. But it’s the places these books can take you…not just geographically, but into minds that we may not truly understand (or want to). It’s the feeling of hearing a sound outside and jumping a little bit, but knowing you’re safe at home enjoying pure chaos.
I love mysteries (well, good mysteries!), because the author has to come up with a lot of creativity to make it good and suspenseful.
Emma @ Words And Peace
ehc16e at yahoo dot com
Mysteries and thrillers are so much fun because they challenge your mind…I’m always trying to figure out WHO did it, and WHY!
Mysteries and thrillers are the best way to remove yourself from the problems and worries we face daily.
I read mysteries and thrillers because I can enjoy moments of suspense and terror without leaving the safety of my couch.
Mysteries and thrillers put a little edge into my life without endangering it, especially the ones that take place in recognizable surroundings like John Sandford’s.
I have always loved mysteries going way back to the
original Nancy Drew! She was soooo smart!
Mysteries and thrillers allow me to wear the shoes of criminals and crime solvers. I can seek revenge, puzzle out a series of clues, escape justice, render justice, and more in a good mystery or thriller. Books, unlike TV/Movies, allow me to pull on the skin of a character. It’s in a book where I lose and find myself. A mystery/thriller gives me the opportunity to escape the mundane of everyday for an unfamiliar and often exhilarating world.
I love mystery and thriller stories because the good ones demand a certain logic to solve and the ending must satisfy a lot of requirements. I love the technical aspects of the newer forensic novels and I love getting into the head of a good cop or forensic analyst. Much more satisfying than most other novels.
I love the element of surprise. Thrillers and mystery novels help me escape my everyday world of cleaning the house!
I love thrillers that get my heart racing and mysteries that surprise me with plot twists I never would have thought of!
Mysteries and thrillers are always surprising and inventive.
I love mysteries and thrillers because they are quick reads. I can never put them down!
Mysteries and thrillers are exciting, and I can’t wait to get back to reading them, even if for only a few minutes at a time while I’m waiting in the car, have a few spare minutes in between loads of laundry, or while the kids nap. They are the best!
I like getting my heart pumping and my brain twisting and turning! It’s fun trying to figure out whodunnit! I esp. like when you think you have it all figurered out, and then POW, you were wrong!
I love thrillers because once you pick up the book, most of the time, you can’t put it down until you figure out who done it! I would love these books.
Thrillers allow me to escape beyond the boundaries and mysteries probe the mind.
Keeps the blood boiling and being surprised is the best
I love mysteries that keep you on the edge of your seat and just when you think you’ve figured it out…you find out that sometimes appearances are deceiving!
I love mystery/thrillers because they’re so hard to put down! You just have to know what’s happening next and who did what. Great escapism, so much better than TV. Sandford is one of my favorites, Just love Lucas Davenport and Virgil Flowers. Look forward to trying some new authors.
Those are the books that keep me up late at night reading – don’t want to put them down!
I like the twist and turns and the surprise endings. It takes my mind to mysterious places.
I like mysteries because I have to think and keep up with a lot of information while I am reading through the book. Then it is so interesting to see the author put it all together for a great ending with all loose ends tied, t’s crossed and i’s dotted. That is when you get to see if you have kept up with the info and in your mind picked the right person as the murderer or bad guy and more importantly, WHY.
I like them because you never know what’ll happen next,you might guess but nothing is as it seems,and then it’ll be a shock to the end,love them all.
I like them because they scare the daylights outta me,and then you hear a noise and wonder if IT’S coming after you or a squirrel outside..Then the doorbell rings………
I grew up in Iteland with no TV and oil lamps (I am not kidding). If it was not for the great Agatha Christie and Patricia Wentworth and other great mystery writers life in rural Iteland would have been very dismal. I am a true mystery lover and am an avid reader to this very day. I get most of my books from the library. Would love to win the books and own them
The unknown. The unsolved. The unique characters.
I love mysteries and thrillers because they keep me on my toes and make my brain work.
I love mysteries and thrillers because I love to try and figure out who done it. Sometimes I’m right!
I like mysteries and thrillers because they are full of suspense, intrigue, and surprise. I especially like the ones with unexpected twists and turns and a bit of romance.
I love mysteries and thrillers because they take me to another world. I should have been a detective!!!
I love mysteries and thrillers because they take me to another world. I should have been a detective!!!
I like the vast range of settings and characters. Whenever I’m going to visit a new place, I look for mysteries set in that place.
Reading thrillers is the best bang for your entertainment buck!
I love thrillers and mysteries because they let me believe in a world where in spite of the bad things that happen, good mostly always triumphs (although it often wears unusual clothes) and I can do all this believing in a very comfortable chair.
I’ve loved mystery-suspense books since I was a child and read Nancy Drew mysteries. I think it’s the unknown issue of who did it and why that is most attractive to me as a reader.
I love to read every day. I think of it as an addiction. I try to read my favorite authors new books as they are published. the Bookpage keeps me up to date of the books as they come out. please sign me up for the contest.
I try to figure out the ending but am pleasantly surprised when Im wrong!)
I love mysteries and thrillers because I love the intricate plotting and the complex characters that the authors use to advance their stories. Plus, who doesn’t like the second hand thrills and chsllenges of trying to guess who the criminals are and how to catch them.
I love mystery and suspense novels because you never know what is going to happen next! I always try to figure out who the killer is but usually I am dead wrong. The authors always keep my guessing and I love that.
They’re so good I’m unable to put them down!
I am fascinated by the twists and turns all the authors minds can take.
I try to anticipate how the story line will go but most often the author takes another direction.
I love mysteries and thrillers for the challenge of trying to figure out the plot and they quickly transport me into another world.
Love picking up a “good read”…hooked by the first page of a thriller/mystery…intricate plotting, likable characters and not so likable characters, surprises that you didn’t see coming, tightly woven writing, lots of good local color…think of Anne Perry’s Monk and Thomas Pitt series in Victorian England…you are there on the cobblestones with them…Can’t wait to finish the book and then when it is finished wonder when the next one comes out!
Reading such books is a gift!
I love mysteries and thrillers because they are a great escape from my very normal day to day life. Admittedly I wouldn’t want all that excitement and danger in my life, but it’s a fun break form reality.
I love reading mysteries and thrillers! It’s a wonderful chance to read a book that will take me completely away from my life. Who doesn’t like a book that stimulated their mind. I can try to guess the killer or learn some new information. There’s alwasy some truth in the fiction. Thanks.
I love to read good literary mysteries – the suspense keeps the pages turning – I like to think about how I’d end the book – but the author usually surprises me!
When a thriller or mystery keeps me up way past lights out, I know the book is a good one. There’s nothing better than wanting to read more of it the first thing in the morning!
I love reading a good book that I just don’t want to put down. It is fun to be totally surprised by what happens next.
How can you not love thrillers? The suspense, the action, the psychology of the human mind. What more do you want in a book?
I love Thrillers because I love puzzles. I like trying to figure out where the story is going and when I think I have it figured out, to be trown my a twist.
I have enjoyed the mystery genre for years. Love the atmosphere! Just finished Don’t Ever Get Old by D. Friedman. It was great! Would enjoy a whole new batch of thriller/mysteries to consume & pass on. Here’s hoping……
Love mysteries as I can completely escape while reading one. Love to try to solve the mystery and am sometimes totally fooled by the end and that keeps me interested. Also, love to examine human nature and how it effects the outcome of the story.
I love thrillers because of the quality and great variety of work represented by the genre. I think thriller writers are among the most talented, from Jo Nesbo to John Sandford.
Suspense and thrillers are the BEST reads! They challenge my mind, are entertaining and easy to identify with the heroine …..or admire the hero!
I love thrillers because I get so absorbed in the storyline I feel as if I am actually there involved in the action and feeling all of the characters thoughts as my heart races and ebbs with the buildout and action.
I love reading mysteries because I am always intrigued how the story will play out.
I love thrillers for the bursts of adreneline they pump through me as the story unfolds. I enjoy trying to figure things out.
It keeps me on the edge of my seat, hard to put down at times I want to keep reading instead of going to work.
I love love love thrillers, especially the on the edgers your seat, nail biting stay up all night cause you just can’t put it down kind. I like trying to figure out what’s going to happen and being totally shocked when there’s a huge twist that you never saw coming.
There’s nothing like a good, suspenseful mystery to get that heart rate going…love it when I can’t put the book down!
I have been reading mysteries for over 50 years. Writers are getting smarter – I still can’t see the ending until it is upon me.
I love a great page-turner. I read a lot at bedtime and I keep thinking “just one more page” and before I know it, I’m up most of the night!
I love it when the mystery is so compelling that you can’t put it down, and when there’s an unexpected twist you didn’t see coming.
GONE GIRL!
Thrillers are just that – thrilling! Reading these draws you into the story and makes it difficult to put the book down. It is so amazing how the authors are able to write to describe a visual picture of the murder and plot. These stories let me escape the everyday and escape into a storyline.
I started reading thrillers in high school. My Mom got me started on Stephen King. I love the suspense, anticipating what will happen next and who did it. The twists and turns of a great thriller is an awesome ride and enjoy them often. I have been guilty many times of staying up too late because I just can’t put a book down.
I love suspense. It gives me excitement, involvement, thrills and chills, and keeps me reading until the book is finished.
I love to be scared and then know it’s just a book, and I love a book that I hate to put down.
I like to read thrillers and mysteries because they are usually fast reading, want to read it all as fast as I can. I try to figure out what is happening as I read; I try to figure out who “done it.” When I come to the end and there is an unusual twist or surprise ending, I am THRILLED – because I did not see it coming. Then it is a very worthwhile read!
I have been addicted to thrillers since I read my first Nancy Drew as a child and my first Robert Ludlum as an adult. I can live all the things I would never do by reading books, but thrillers and mysteries will always be my favorite genre.
I’m always amazed at how cleverly a really good writer constructs a plot. I’ve been a thriller reader since I was in high school ( very long ago!), and I can still be surprised by the outcome when a book is well written.
I love taut mystery writing. The kind of writing that slowly, yet deliberately builds up the suspense. I love reading something so shocking, that I have to re-read it for added shock value. I love turning off the light at night after reading, only to have my mind race through passages in the book. (And then having to turn the light back on!) I love knowing when I reach the heart racing ending, I only have to reach for another book on my stack, and the entire scenario begins again.
Thrillers call me all day long. I can’t wait to sit in my reading chair and get involved in the mystery of a great book!
Thrillers are my way of taking a mini vacation without leaving home. I can lose myself in a good book and have fun trying to solve the mystery. I will stay up late, not wanting to put down a good thriller and feel sad to turn the last page. The more twists and turns, the better. I choose a good mystery over anyother genre and am always trying to add to my “must read” list.
My “life” is spent mostly sitting at a desk before a computer. I do solve a few small mysteries like why doesn’t the bank agree with me on my checking account balance, and I am sometimes at risk for paper cuts or getting ink stained fingers – which is why when I get the chance to get away into a mystery of thriller I am all in. They bring things to life.
I love suspense and mystery thrillers, because the plots thicken, and keep you reading to see what happens next. The stories are too good to put down. The story keeps building to a climax and keeps the thrills at top level.
I have loved a good mystery for as long as I can remember. I lose myself in all those scary, jump out at you and cause you to hold your breath books just waiting to see what happens next. I started with Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys but nothing back then can compare with our new Authors now. I have even got my 15 yr old gradaughter into these books. Just keep on turning them out for its great to be scared.
I love thrillers because they are good for my health. I listen to books and don’t mind at all if I get stuck in commuter traffic–in fact, I almost hope for traffic so that I can get closer to solving the mystery. No commuter stress means no stress heart attach–as I said, good for my health.
They keep me on the edge of my seat…. I love the characters of Stuarts Woods…. His books are one of the series that I get as soon as they are out. Just engrossing.
I just love the suspense. I love trying to figure out the mystery. I love all the twists & turns & the cliffhangers.
I love thrillers and mysteries. They take me to places I’ll never visit and I really like the different aproaches to solving crimes etc. in other countries. That’s very interesting it, seems every country has a differen t attitude about that. I can tell if a story is written bt an american or a native author. Love the translated mysteries and thrillres.
I love where thrillers take me-the unknown. I love when a book takes me into the wee hours and can scare the bejeebees out of you–love when morning comes!!!!!
Mysteries are just plain fun to read! And the “mystery” genre includes so many different forms–police procedurals, medieval history, domestic settings (small-town life, ordinary folks caught up in circumstances WAY over their heads, spouses, family members), hard-boiled detective thrillers, international espionage. The list is endless! Do romances offer this? Sure! Science Fiction? Of course! General fiction (which I love as well)? Most certainly!
But there’s something about seeing the different side of an individual’s make-up, whether it be the darkness of a normally good person or the conscience of someone who is traditionally up to no good! I believe the thought process either of these people experience makes for a fascinating read.
As long as there are terrific writers out there turning out edge-of-your-seat thrillers I’ve read (and thousands I haven’t!) , you can count me among mysteries biggest fans!
The best part about reading a thriller is staying up way too late to find out what’s happening. I love that I can get so wrapped up in the stories.
Love having the bajeebees scared out of me in the late night hours – can’t wait till moning comes.
I love solving puzzles. Mysteries keeping me guessing right up to the end.
I love the twists and turns and the you never saw that coming! Also, when the author gets into the mind of the psycho killer – much better than the blood and guts on TV.
I love mysteries and thrillers because you can enjoy all that suspense and action in the comfort of your home without being in any danger at all. Completely transporting!
I love mysteries because I enjoy the suspense and like trying to solve the puzzle, especially when I am surprised by the ending.
I love the suspense of a good thriller/mystery!!
I love mysteries and suspense novels because I love the heart pounding spooked feeling these books arouse in you!
Love the stories set in Scandanavian countries – must be my Minnesota roots!! Chilling tales.
I find that when I get to an especially “scary” part of a book, I have to stop and take a break from it for a few minutes and then go back…part of the fun of reading a mystery or suspense book!
I like reading mysteries and thrillers for the intense storytelling and the fun of guessing the ending.
Thrillers are more thrilling, mysteries, mysterious. Oh come off it. It’s exciting, intriguing, sitting at the edge of the seat, bitting nails, worried about your favorite character. THAT’S what I love about them. Literature is great, it’s what I do, but when I really want to delve into a story, I turn to the macabre!!!
These novels take me to where I should have had a career. Simply cannot read enough of them. Have a list ready to take with me when I pass!
I love a good mystery!
I like reading suspence novels because it is like a rollarcoaster ride for your senses…as the characters face danger at every turn. I think that is why the inmates at the two prison libraries where I am employed enjoy at enjoy them too as well.
They always keep me guessing!
I live alone and since most TV programs don’t interest me I can get lost in a good mystery and give my mind a good workout trying to anticipate how the story ends. You can also forget about daily problems we all have.
I love the twists and turns of mysteries — trying to keep up with clues and suspense!
I love the thrill and excitement of being chased and shot at — without actually being chased and shot at
I love the best of these types of books because they combine great character studies with great plots! They give me something human to consider while keeping me guessing about the direction of the plot. What’s not to love?
A good mystery is like a good friend, I get involved and I care what happens. I laugh and cry and try and figure out how on earth the end or mystery will be tied up (no pun intended). I would love to win the ‘friends’ listed.
As a former English teacher and librarian, I love discovering authors who write beautifully, such as John Sandford – Pulitzer Prize winner, and who make me think. Much as I loved the hunt for appropriate resources when helping students, I love the hunt for the murderer in a well constructed mystery. When I also learn about another country and its culture – well, what more could anyone ask of a book? Mysteries have it all!
Good thrillers take a reader to another place, sometimes another time. I love trying to figure out the plot, but also love getting to know great characters.
I love a great mystery/thriller because there is nothing better than losing yourself in a edge-of-your-seat page turner!
I love a great mystery/thriller because there is nothing better than losing yourself in an edge-of-your-seat page turner!
I listen to more mysteries than I read and they have helped to distract me from housework, rehab exercises, yard work, boring drives, painting, etc. I am in much better physical shape because I extend my exercise to “just get to the end of this chapter”. I really enjoy the mysteries with female detectives -Eve Dallas, for example. These women don’t have to rely on physical force to solve crimes. Especially good is the Maisey Dobbs series.I also enjoy the flawed detectives of Mankell, George, etc. I really enjoy the humorous asides of Kate Atkinson’s detective. I am reading and enjoying more Scandinavian writers who do not feel impelled to explain everything- even at the conclusion of the story.
I love mysteries and thrillers because while I am reading them they will stay with me throughout the day and I will find myself thinking about all the possibilities of what will happen next! There is nothing like being kept on the edge of your seat!
They remove me from tedium,boredom & drudgery–temporarily
I love reading a book that gets my heart pounding and that I can’t put down. Mysteries and thrillers are never boring!
I love mysteries because, even though they are often quite realistic, they are completely outside my everyday experience. There is nothing better that a well written mystery.
When life is mundane, a mystery or thriller novel takes you away to places you can only dream to go, and become someone you dream to be.
Mysteries fuels my inner sense of adventure without leaving home, being a “Bond-girl” w/o all the danger. I can even pretend to be a female detective!
I love mysteries because they are so methodical. The pacing is so important in mysteries and thrillers because the writer needs to have that build-up for the story to work. I particularly love a good character backstory so we know what the character has faced in their lives and any personal baggage they may be bringing to the present situation. Definitely my favorite genre of books!
I like thrillers because no matter how bad things get for the protagonists, they eventually figure out the solution, or how to get out of deadly situations, and win through by the end. Even if it’s a dark ending, they’ve persevered and used all their resources to survive. I love a book that keeps me turning the pages all night to see how s/he’s going to get out of THIS mess…
I like the challenge of looking for clues and matching them up with the character’s personalities.
Mysteries fuel my sense of adventure. I can actually feel like a “Bond-girl” w/o all the dangers. I live the rush and excitement and I don’t have to leave home!
Mystery…the word says it all. Intrigue, suspense, a problem to solve. A world different from one’s daily life.
I love mysteries & thrillers because they keep you guessing! A good book has a dramatic, surprising ending–typical of good mysteries & thrillers.
Love suspense and mystery. A book that keeps me guessing until the end and keeps me reading past my bedtime is the best.
I love well-crafted mysteries and thrillers that have richly developed characters and plots that explore important issues and themes of the human experience.
I like the mystery/thriller genre for the break from the worries of my life, the mental stimulus of puzzling the book out and with “Gone Girl,” Gillian Flynn’s incredible restructuring of the standard form.
Thrillers take you everywhere. And they take you as someone else. I think of them as being “character driven.” So I can be anyone and anything…a mob hitwoman, a CIA agent, a damsel in distress, a child in hiding, a Navy Seal and even myself in another world. They are the ultimate “great escape.”
I love books that I hate to put down and that’s what mysteries do for me.I love them best when there are lots of twists and turns to keep you guessing
Love thrillers it’s the best way to escape from my life! I’ve been a reader as long as I can remember. Now in hope to instill that voraciousness in my kids!
Thanks you for the oportunity!
In real life I’m a wimp, but when reading a thriller I am right there in the action (but still safe).
I especially like thrillers set in interesting locales.
I like the suspense and I like to try to figure out who did it.
I like trying to figure out the solution to the puzzle and that I can be involved in dangerous and scary situation without being in peril.
A really good thriller involves your mind in a visceral way. You get wrapped into the story so intensely that you can never be too far from the book in order to continue reading. A good thriller also keeps you perplexed and confused, unable to both guess what the next thin to occur will be or figure out how everything ties together. Good thrillers have the ability to almost turn the pages for you and really make you upset when a more mundane activity (like work or family) happens to interfere. Plus in a good thriller, almost everything is explained, so that behaviors have a motivation and things happen for a reason–which is a bit more reassuring than life!
I’ll tell you later. I want to keep you in suspense.
I love mysteries and thrillers because there’s nothing better than snuggling up with a good “scare.” I love trying to solve the “puzzle” and the slap on the forehead when it turns out I guessed wrong!
I love how suspense thrillers can transport you somewhere else — which can be oceans away or in the next town over. They also have a way of drawing you in and making you feel as if you’re an integral part of the story, not an observer looking in.
And of course it’s a way to have amazing adventures without the expense or imminent danger!
I love thrillers because they are exciting. I can be trasported from my everyday life to amazing places and situations I would probably never want to really experience.
They make my blood boil and my heart pound with excitement to know I’m alive with curiosity and yearning to quickly turn more pages to find that every throbbing answer to WHO DONE IT?, the puzzling question of what will happen next. I cannot put it down until I have come to the last page and then, still wanting more, I must start another one……..
GLoria
Mysteries engage my mind. They are exercise for my brain.
I used to read only science fiction books. Then, a friend loaned me both Silence of the Lambs and Patricia Cornwell’s Postmortem, and my world expanded to include a long, long love affair with mysteries & thrillers! Thanks so much for this amazing giveaway!!
I enjoy thrillers and mysteries because the ones I read create an atmosphere that is so different than my own life. I also learn about places I will never go and to times in history that are interesting to me. A well-written thriller or mystery is a literary treat.
I like following the psychology of the criminal and the detective. The detective’s personal strengths and weaknesses emerge through the story and you must find out how s/he overcomes their weakness to triumph. The killer gives a glimpse into the human dark side, though I find it amazing just how dark it can be. Even if the crime didn’t really happen, the author was able to think it. If you cannot be at peace with yourself unless you understand and cope with your own dark side, mysteries provide a stage that allows you a safe stage to exam it.
I love mysteries and thriller because [if the story is good] they get my heart thumping!
I enjoy the excitement of not knowing what will happen next. Thank you for the giveaway.
I love mysteries and thrillers because they are so suspenseful so many twists and turns they keep you on edge and they are so unpredictable!
A creaking door, footsteps on dark steps, a lone gunshot, a shrill scream followed by a hallow laugh and a crash of broken glass are not for those all alone. Mysteries and thrillers help me understand the current presidential campaign.
Mysteries take me away from the hum drum of my everyday life. Love the challenge of trying to figure out who did it–feel it gives me a sharper mind.
Because the good ones are so unpredictable.
i love reading suspense novels because I like to match wits with the author. I like trying to figure out the mystery before it is revealed.
I love mysteries and thrillers because it makes you feel a part of the book and make you want more.
I am retired on disability so my life is not exactly what could be called ‘exciting!’ However, I am a life-long lover of books and reading, especially suspense novels. Two of my favorite authors are Stuart Woods & Lee Child. I enjoy stories with some humor thrown in for good measure, in addition to lots of mystery and, well…..suspense! A novel with an exciting plot and believable characters (not necessarily likeable but believable) is a terrific way to escape for a few hours or days.
I love the aspect of suspense.
I love the way suspense novels can transport you to a different space.
Thrillers & mysteries are fun!! Life & death scenarios, heightened emotions & great stories make them my favorite genre to read.
I love mysteries and thrillers, always have starting with Nancy Drew at least 70 years ago. I am an avid reader and the only time I don’t read a mystery is when my book club has a book that isn’t a mystery which is once a month. but I read the non myteries in between.
I love thrillers and mysteries because you stay up way too late reading just to find out what will happen next!
I love thrillers and especially thrillers by favorite writers. There are few things more exciting than seeing that your favorite author is coming out with a new book.
I LOVE to try and figure what the ending before too many clues are given. My favorites are ones where I didn’t see it coming
I enjoy mysteries and thrillers because of the challenge in figuring out the true nature of the characters–often the “bad guy” is not who I thought it was!
Mysteries take the everyday tedium from me …. and also make me feel like what is about me is so bad after all …
I love to get engrossed in suspenseful, thriller books….it allows me to escape the hassle of everyday problems. Bring them on!
I love mysteries because they are an excellent break from the read world: At the end, you really know who dunnit, while you can never be sure in real life.
Thrillers are my way of learning more of the world. There is evil and good. We must understand both. It is such a jolt to learn of the ways to conquer evil-doers. Turning pages with the “what next” in mind and “can’t wait to see” is part of the joy of reading. I just love good books, but I can’t get enough of a good thriller!
Grafton is usually as close as I get to suspense, but I LOVE giveaways!
Good mysteries and thrillers are the types that call me away from chores because I just HAVE to find out what happens next…the ones I reread in my head when I should be trying to fall asleep.
I love suspense/mystery novels. I love to think I have it solved but then I read further and decide it’s someone else. Then at the end I’m blown away because I didn’t see that twist coming. My favs are John Sanford & Lee Childs but my new fav is Jo Nesbo.
I love the escape to adventure and excitement without leaving my comfy environment. Thrillers thrill me and mysteries mystify me!
I love love mysteries and thrillers because I love the excitement of not wanting to stop reading and finishing the book as soon as possible but hate it when the book ends and I want something else just as thrilling and suspenseful to read.
I love thrillers for two basic reasons: (1) the pure enjoyment of reading the suspense and getting caught up in the story and (2) the challenge of trying to figure out the ending (and/or killer). I do sometimes – and other times, the ending is a total surprise. Love them either way!!
I love the “edge of my seat” suspense! I like trying to guess the endings and discovering the creativity of the writer as he takes me through the twists and turns of his story. Reading is such an awesome escape from my day to day routine!
With winter right around the corner there is no better way to spend an evening but curled up with a good thriller/mystery. A fireplace burning and a bowl of popcorn make it perfect.
I love suspense and thriller novels because I never know what to expect next. There are so many different styles of mystery that I know I haven’t experienced yet, so that’s also a reason why I love this genre.
I like suspense novels because at my age I need books that keep me turning the pages to find out what happens next in order to stay awake and not fall asleep reading my book at night
I love to read and suspense novels move faster and build the intrigue, always providing a puzzle that’s challenging to resolve!
what is there not to like ? dark winter nights, hot cocco, and a thriller to keep you under the covers !!
Thrillers and mysteries make you think and create a platform to solve the puzzle of the book. Good ones keep you guessing right up to the end.
The thrill (ahem) of “whodunit” is enough to keep me coming back to mysteries and thrillers time and again.
I like the puzzle aspect of mysteries and thrillers, trying to figure out whodunit right alongside the protagonists.
I love the thrill of going along for a suspenseful ride.
I love trying to figure “who done it” and then being completely surprised because I guessed wrong. I love the gasp when you find out who did.
The puzzle, the twists and turns of the plot, the gritty characters – no other genre can keep ones mind so engaged for hours on end. I started by loving Nancy Drew and now can’t wait to find new books by favorite authors or even better the thrill of finding a new author!
I am a retired Detective from the MPDC, Metropolitan Police of the District of Columbia. I love thrillers and mysteries. It is not only “a busman’s holiday” but a real game to anticipate the solution. If I can’t
figure out who the bad guy(s) is ….the I highly tout the book to friends. My favorite characters are Harry Bosch, Lucas Davenport, George Smiley,Milo Sturgis, Matt Scudder, Dave Robichieux, Clete Purcell, Jane Whifield, Mitch Rapp and anything by Thomas Perry, James Lee Burke, John LeCarre, Dennis Lehane and Robert Block. My new favorite is the female detective in Peter DeJonge’s new series , Darlene O’Hara .
Why do I like suspense novels? Because I want to know what happens, of course!
My foray into mysteries began with the Nero Wolfe series by Rex Stout, then onto Agatha Christie. Although I love many different kinds of books, I read more mysteries and thrillers than anything. They keep me engaged and exhilarated and challenge me to solve the mystery with the clues provided. There are wonderful choices of authors who write first-class thrillers. Some that come to mind are Linwood Barclay, Harlan Coben, Gillian Flynn, Gregg Hurwitz, Michael Robotham and Chevy Stevens.
I love reading mysteries and thrillers. I enjoy the nail-biting suspence and the interesting characters. The more terrifying the mystery the more I enjoy reading it. I also like looking for clues that will aid me in guessing the identity of the killer or guilty party. I enjoy surprise endings. The intriguing plot and the guess work involved makes this genre one of my favorites.
Thrillers and suspense novels give me a bit of an adrenalin rush without actually being in any danger. Love it.
Oh WOW! A great list.
Why do I like mysteries…because, unlike life, they get solved and tidied up.
Why do I like thrillers…because they are like life, but you’re not at risk.
The best of both worlds!!
would love to win-love all of the suspense!!
I love to try to figure out a good mystery and I like when my heart races and I can’t wait to turn the page. My favorite author for now Stuart Woods
they scare me and I hear noises in the night but I just can’t put them down…please pick me to win so I can be scared senseless yet again and thanks for running the contests
Who needs sleep?
I love mysteries and thrillers because I know that deep down even though I’m truly a coward, I also love to feel the suspense that won’t let me put the book down no matter how scared I may get.
Reading thrillers and suspense novels keeps my attention, I love trying to guess who what, where, or when.
The best suspense authors, in my opinion, create the best characters. We care about them and walk their journeys with them. I love feeling that I am participating in the unraveling of the mystery; plus, I am totally taken out of my usual life for a few hours — so much fun!
A good mystery involves unraveling, solving basic questions: who and why. Who does not like to solve a problem.
I am a problem solver and I love figuring out puzzles. I think that is what draws me through this genre. I want to find out “who-done-it”!
Mystery and thriller plots allow me to feel stomach dropping moments vicariously. Heaven forbid, not in my reality.
I love thriller books because they get the blood pumping. You try to figure out what is going to happen next and you just can’t stop reading. Your mind races along when you read a exciting book.
I love mysteries and thrillers because they chill me, thrill me, entertain me, and transport me.
There is nothing like a book that makes me stay up too late! Just one more chapter…
I love the twists and turns of mysteries. You’re guessing who the murderer is, who the next victim will be, etc. It’s exciting.
I love it when I simply can’t put down a book and has to read through the night to get to the surprising conclusion.
I love the twists and turns on the journey of a good mystery. I like to play detective and try to figure things out a step ahead of the characters. The best reads are the ones that leave me stumped and truly surprise me.
I love reading a good mystery with an engaging story. I also need adventure in my life even if it is fictitious.
I love reading suspense novels because there is no better way to feel alive and in the moment than having your heart race and your pulse pounding with a turn of a page.
I love mystery’s and thrillers because they always have the element of surprise and when the book (author) is very good then there are lots of surprises!
My commute to work on public transportation takes more than an hour each way. Whether I’m waiting for the bus or sitting in rush-hour traffic, mysteries and thrillers create a magical universe populated with entertaining characters and unique situations, replacing, for a short time, the depressing reality of my long commute. Armed with a good book in my favorite genre, I travel totally absorbed, so much so that arriving at my destination is often a disappointment simply because I have to stop reading and return, reluctantly, to the utterly predictable real world.
Well of course the thrill of each chapter…one cliffhanger leading into some new shocking revelation!
Also I (typically) love the ingenuity of the protagonist as she tries to figure out the whole picture and stay ahead of the game.
I love mysteries and suspense because— why are my lights are flickering when there’s no storm, and what’s that nois
Mysteries are my favorite books. I love finding our why someone was killed in the dark of the night in the middle of the country road. I really prefer English mysteries. I hve never been therem but I do like to follow a mystery there.
I like to exerecise my “sleuthing” skills.
Life is all consuming. Suspense novels provide the necessary escape and relief to make one’s existence tolerable.
I love the breathless feeling you get when you’re desperate to find out what happens at the end of the book. And in a well-crafted mystery, following along with the detective/sleuth as they uncover clues is a lot of fun.
I love mysteries/thrillers because they keep you hooked. You just have to finish to find out what really happens. They exercise your mind while entertaining it.
Thrillers take you to a place of excitement and challenge your “detective skills”. The characters come to life and I get invested in their problems and lives. I like reading a book that you just can’t put down and you don’t want to ever end. That is why I read thrillers.
I love mysteries for the intellectual exercise of “solving” the mystery. It gives me chance ot escape the real world where mysteries are often unsolvable.
I love mysteries. They take me out of myself.
I enjoy reading but often don’t have the time to read as much as I like. A good thriller makes me find the time to read it.
LOVE trying to figure out the endings … and so often it’s a SURPRISE!! When there is some quick dialogue, a gripping climax, and an unknown (to me!) location I’m in heaven!
I love reading!! The mystery/thriller books makes me work my mind to see if I can solve the mystery. They keep me on the edge of my seat as I feel that I am there with the characters. They can entertain and even educate you depending on background information.
I have loved mysteries and thrillers since I was a teenager. I think I love them so much because nothing like it is ever going to happen in my real life. Add a historical setting and I will enjoy it even more. I think my favourite book of all time is a mystery/thriller, none other than Rebecca by Daphne DuMaurier.
I love the suspense – so much more fun then my ‘real’ life.
How can you resist the thrill of being drawn into another world that just might be around the corner or even in another universe but is full of puzzles, questions and tickles to the brain and emotions??
Love getting wrapped up in someone else’s misery
Currently going through cancer treatment and chemo and all it’s fun side effects. Love to read the thrillers and mysteries, they take me out of my ‘real’ life and into a life of adventure. I can imagine myself somewhere else just for a short time. It is totally a mind relaxer for me and I enjoy the ups and downs of a really good thriller.
Life can be tough sometimes, so there’s nothing like a mystery or thriller to transport to a whole new world!
I love puzzles so reading mysteries was a given, but more and more I am enjoying the development of the characters in some of the series; their personal dramas that echo some of the sentiments of the mysteries they are unraveling and/or the criminals they are pursuing.
I love a book that pulls me in and won’t let go till the very end.
I’m currently working on my debut mystery novel and I’m throwing in lots of thrills and suspense. I write my novels to thrill and surprise readers the same way the authors do that I love to read. I love mysteries and thrillers because you don’t know what’s coming next. You have to keep turning the pages to see what’s going to happen. Lots of times you lose sleep but its well worth it in the end.
I love mysteries and thrillers because I love the surprise and suspense of what lies ahead. It always makes me want to keep reading!
I love suspense thrillers because they draw me in so completely that I lose track of time. The characters can be so real that I think about them even when I’m not reading the book. And the twists and turns can so surprise, delight or exasperate me, I may regret that the book has to come to an end.
I get absorbed into the story when I am reading mysteries. Every sound is blocked out and I become entranced. My family will talk to me and I can not hear them. It’s an awesome experience!
Mysteries and thrillers are a great escape.
I love to get away with a thriller. It takes me away to a different world that the author has chosen. I enjoy the suspense, the setting and the final clue. It enhances my special reading time especially keeping my mind active.
I just find it fascinating to “watch” how clues are discovered in places where I would never think to look. I relish that edge-of-my-seat feeling of nail-biting suspense that temps me to read the ending to see if “my friends” made it to live another glorious day. I simply enjoy murder and mayhem with the added touch of romance and/or the paranormal. A most delightful way to spend a few afternoons or evenings. It can sometimes make getting to sleep a challenge.
Hi. I like mysteries but didn’t really come into liking them alot until in my late 20′s. I was in love with romance until then. But after losing my job I needed something to occupy my time and my brain with- so I started reading mysteries to see if I could find the killer and the clues. I started looking for similarities and looking for different ways to do things. And then I started wanting to write them. It keeps my brain occupied. And I like that. I also like brain teasers and crossword puzzles and the biggest mystery to me is a crossword puzzle. I just completed my first easy puzzle recently. Sad isn’t it? But hoping to get better and prove my smarts with the crossword puzzle.
My first reading series was Nancy Drew, followed by Agatha Christie. Amazing that the main characters were ALWAYS so close to the scenes of dastardly crimes, and I could vicariously get in on the action by helping to deduce who the villians were, why they committed such nasty deeds, how they would be foiled (not aluminum!) by the time I reached the conclusion of the story.
The way a persons brain works who did it, why, where……both crafty & crazy plots and people. The investigative skills used to unlock the crime.
It keeps me guessing.
The more I read the better books I need to keep me interested. NO more ‘light’ books….na-uh…..I need to be on the edge of my seat!
Some of the best books out there are mysteries and thrillers and they get better every year.
Just can’t beat that rush of adrenaline!
When life gets the best of me, that’s when it’s time to get the best of a book full of mysteries and suspense to make my day.
I enjoy the cheap adrenaline rush as I live vicariously through characters who seem to handle bad situations better than I probably could!
Suspense novels take me out of my comfort zone into a world or life I don’t lead. They also keep the mind sharp trying to figure who the culprit is and the reason for the bad deed.
I like all kinds of books, but sometimes I need quick and engaging and that’s when I turn to mysteries or thrillers.
I have always been a mystery fan…today’s thrillers are even more exciting and entertaining. I love the guessing, the twists and turns, and the roller coaster ups and downs.
Some of my favorites are Michael Connelly, John Sanford, and James Patterson. On the fun side, you can’t beat Janet Evanovich!
Life can be boring and thrillers make you think. I need to feel those brain cells moving every once in a while.
I love a good psychological thriller, books like Gone Girl and Defending Jacob…and all of P.D. James’s books. I want to be kept guessing to the end.
When the game is afoot, the more mysterious the maze – the merrier!
You’ve just gotta love them for the escape from every day life, and allowing us to do things we probably would never do in our own lives.
I love thrillers and mysteries because they make me use my brain! I love trying to fugure things out and feel quite proud when I get it before the book characters!
I am fascinated by the twists and turns in the plot; second-guessing the ending is one of my favorite activities.
I love mysteries and thrillers for many reasons, one of which is how they exercise my mind. I love that feeling of suspense and the “A-ha!” when you think you’ve got it all figured out….And then the author throws you another curve!
i have always loved mysteries since my first nancy drew/ hardy boys to david baldacci’s camel club. they keep u on ur toes and the mind flying. the older i get the more i need to exercise the little gray brain cells and keep them finely tuned. mysteries due that for me.
I just love the fluttering feeling of evil butterflies swirling in my stomach every time I read a suspense/mystery novel. Plot twists and exploring shades of moral grayness is the kind of of book I love–the kind that leaves you thinking and pondering after the last page.
I love all types of mysteries just for the joy in reading them and the amazing creativity in authors. Have probably read hundreds just in the past couple years and there are always fresh approaches, new twists, etc. I don’t know how they do it, but I love it!
Mysteries taunt us, tantalize us, suggest that the world is not what it seems and the truth is buried somewhere deep. I love them because they show us that the high and mighty people have flaws and kinks and secrets, and the lowdown dirty folks have virtues and dreams, and the two are not as far apart as they’d like you to think they are. Mysteries and thrillers give writers a way to approach difficult topics — racism, environmental destruction, misogyny, political corruption, economic disparity, religious bigotry — in a way that makes readers more inclined to gobble up the information like a treat than regard reading it as a chore. These books educate as they divert. And they have the greatest power in all of literature: the power to make us readers keep turning to the next page, compelled to find out what happened.
I love mysteries and thrillers because they make me think. Reading a mystery makes me wonder about ethics, politics, psychology, relationships, and how humans function with each other and the world we live in. On a baser level, I enjoy a good read! There’s something awesome about good writing that keeps you hanging on, wondering what will happen next…and in doing so living vicariously through the story’s characters.
I love a trying to understand why people do the things they do. In a mystery series, I love getting to know the protagonists; it’s a lot like developing a relationship over time. You come to care about them.
Just pick me for Heavens sake.
Pick me, pick me, pick me, please.
If I told you why I like thrillers then there would be no more mystery for you to solve. Please let me know when you solved the mystery. I have already given you the clues <3
A mystery takes you on an adventure that you would never in a life time get to experience.
Always enjoy solving puzzles. Reading mysteries allow you to do that and provide a great escape! Thanks for the contest.
I enjoy not knowing what’s going to happen next, is this character good or bad, who’s next to die. The excitement of not knowing is why I’m a mystery and thriller reader.
I love resolution! Mysteries provide me with that resolution. Plus, who doesn’t like a little excitement in their lives?
I love mysteries, especially those featuring women, because I love stories with suspense, character development and strong and independent women. As a teenager, I became a feminist and needed to find fiction books that showed women in the protagonist in a story. I also like the complexity of mysteries and their reflection of real life.
I read thrillers for the can’t-sleep-at-night, lock-the-doors, don’t-look-out-of-the-windows creeps they give me.
I love stories with lots of twists and turns….keeps me thinking about it between reading sessions….trying to figure it out!!….and then I hate to get to the end!!
Because I have been reading mysteries, suspense novels, and thrillers since I was in grade school (and we won’t talk about how many decades ago THAT was, heh), I’ve basically “seen it all,” and there’s not much left that truly surprises me. Therefore, I keep reading these genres, trying to find those marvelous books here and there that DO shock me – the gems that are indeed not predictable, because reading just one of those amazing endings that I did not see coming is worth every ten that I did!
The thrill of thrillers, there is nothing like it!!!! I have been hooked since Nancy Drew in the 60′s! This is my favorite genre. I love to recommend thrillers/mystery to my alternative high schoolers! They love thrillers and scary novels too!!!!!
I love trying to figure out the ending way before I get there. It makes it hard to lay down the book and go to bed….