Have you ever said this about a book? Do you know why? I have and I do. The reason is the reading was compelling. It moved you into a different world and allowed you to become something or someone you are not. The best part of a mystery is –well, the mystery!

 

For your readers to feel like they have transcended space and time, you have to make them want to keep reading. Give them some meat and potatoes, something filling to keep them going.

 

 

In short, give them writing that makes them ponder. Make them ask, whodunit? Make them wonder if they are the sleuth they think they are by making the puzzle hard to solve right up until the very end.

 

How do I do that, you ask?

 

Simply. Start and end your book with a question.

 

Make the beginning a “who killed/robbed/raped/plundered/pillaged whom” sort of question, and slowly throughout the rest of the manuscript, find ways to answer it –and yet not.

 

For example, I will ask, “who killed John Smith”? as my story question. I might add, Sally did it, but then I have to ask why? I might have a possible why but I have to ask how? Etc. etc. and so on. Space these questions out, and make them plot points. The one that is most reader’s favorite is the “will he/she catch the bad guy before he does something else dastardly”?

 

If you give your reader plenty to consider and ponder as they go along, they will hardly have time to get bored! They certainly won’t put your book down either, as they want to know the answers!

 

It’s a good idea to keep them hanging at the end if you are a series writer. I mean, you do want them to come back for another dose of your brand of mystery, right? So why not end the book with a “this is the end… or is it?” what if the serial killer gets away? What if the robber is seen by the detective/sleuth hiding the booty or what if ___you fill in the blank. That is how you hook the ending, and keep them coming back for more.