Genres Within Crime Books and the Introduction of Rom-Mystery by Matt Cost

Choosing a book has never been easier or harder than right now. First you decide if you want fiction or nonfiction. Let’s say you go with fiction. Then your choices are still astounding in number of genres. So, you whittle it down to crime. This still leaves some work to do as you have mystery, thriller, and suspense to consider. And the sub-genres are still like the grains of sand on a beach. You’ve got Amateur Detective, Cozy, Noir, Private Investigator, Police Procedural, Historical, Thriller, Phycological, Domestic, Medical, Legal, Paranormal, and Rom-Mystery.

Okay, I think I made up the Rom-Mystery thing, but not sure, it seems like it should be a thing. Simple and difficult, right?

If you are searching for a book, you might find yourself traversing down a path looks like this:

Fiction>Crime>Mystery>Historical>Noir>Private Investigator>Rom-Mystery

This could lead you to The Brooklyn 8 Ballo series. A work of fiction that is a mystery, historical, a sliver of noir, 8 Ballo is a PI, and there is a slow burn romance involved. Rom-Mystery.

If you wanted something a bit lighter, you might find yourself following Alice down this particular rabbit hole:

Fiction>Crime>Mystery>Private Investigator>Amateur Detective>Rom-Mystery.

To find yourself at The Mainely Mystery series in which our hero, Goff Langdon, has a blistering romance with Chabal. Rom-Mystery.

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Looking for a more professional private investigator series with a former Boston homicide detective hanging out his own shingle in his hometown to help care for his elderly grandpops? Try this:

Fiction>Crime>Mystery>Private Investigator>Professional>Rom-Mystery.

The Clay Wolfe Trap series will fit the bill! Set in the fictional town of Port Essex, the mysteries are twisted, the thrills are shocking, and the romance is hot! Meet Baylee Baker. Rom-Mystery.

Branching to the edges of mystery and into thriller is not a far step to take and can be a nice way to recharge the system. There are a ton of distinctions within the thriller genre. Give this a go:

Fiction>Crime>Thriller>Psychological>International>Action>Political>Conspiracy>Rom-Mystery.

Max Creed is a modern-day Robin Hood looking to bring justice to those wronged by the ultra-wealthy in any way necessary. The romance in these is a slow burn that begins to heat up in book two of The Chronicles of Max Creed. Rom-Mystery.

Need more historical? Let’s give it another go and see if we can find another Rom-Mystery.

Fiction>Crime>Mystery>Historical>Noir>Private Investigator>Rom-Mystery

This time the search just might lead you to a new series debuting in 2026. The first book is 1955 and contains a simmering relationship between the two main characters of The Jazz Jones and January Queen Mysteries. Rom-Mystery. 

No cover yet but it might look something like this: 1955

Or perhaps you like your crime with a blast of humor? Try following this journey of genres:

Fiction>Crime>Mystery>Private Investigator>Amateur Detective> Humorous>Rom-Mystery.

This will not lead you to one of my books for some time as Bob Chicago Investigates is still in the initial editing stage, but at some point, in the not-too-distant future, you will get a chance at some chuckles as Bob Chicago fumbles and bumbles his way through the pages. And then he meets Junko! Rom-Mystery.

I currently have six different mystery/thriller series in various phases of the writing and publishing pipeline and every single one of them has romance. Rom-Mystery. Because romance makes the writing world go around. But they can’t be pegged as that and that alone. All of them have their nuances of mystery, thrills, suspense, humor, history, and so much more.

What do you think? Will Rom-Mystery catch on?

About the Author

Matt Cost was a history major at Trinity College. He owned a mystery bookstore, a video store, and a gym, before serving a ten-year sentence as a junior high school teacher. In 2014 he was released and began writing. And that’s what he does. He writes histories and mysteries.

Cost has published six books in the Mainely Mystery series, starting with Mainely Power. He has also published five books in the Clay Wolfe Trap series, starting with Wolfe Trap. And finally, there are two books in the Brooklyn 8 Ballo series, starting with Velma Gone Awry. For historical novels, Cost has published At Every Hazard and its sequel, Love in a Time of Hate, as well as I am Cuba. The Not So Merry Adventures of Max Creed is his 17th published book.

Cost now lives in Brunswick, Maine, with his wife, Harper. There are four grown children: Brittany, Pearson, Miranda, and Ryan. They have been replaced in the home with four dogs. Cost now spends his days at the computer, writing.

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