Mystery or Thriller? > Likes and Comments

How do you, as a reader, distinguish the two? When do you call a novel a Mystery, when a Thriller? Are you into both, or only one or the other? And why? Very curious!

I once hear this:
A mystery is about what happened.
A thriller is about what is happening.
A suspense is about what will happen

Hi,
For me, the difference is mainly about where the tension comes from.
A mystery invites you to think — it’s about uncovering something hidden. The pleasure comes from piecing things together, asking what happened and why. The tension is slower, more intellectual.
A thriller, on the other hand, is about urgency. Something bad is happening or about to happen, and the story pushes forward with pressure, fear, and stakes. The question is less what happened and more what will happen if this isn’t stopped.
I enjoy both, but I’m more drawn to thrillers that lean into atmosphere and psychology — where the danger isn’t only external, but internal as well. When a story blurs the line between mystery and thriller, that’s usually where it becomes most interesting to me.

David wrote: "I once hear this:
A mystery is about what happened.
A thriller is about what is happening.
A suspense is about what will happen"

I like that!

I write thrillers and feel a thriller requires jeopardy whilst a mystery requires a puzzle to be solved.

Vasyl wrote: "Hi,
For me, the difference is mainly about where the tension comes from.
A mystery invites you to think — it’s about uncovering something hidden. The pleasure comes from piecing things together, a..."

Spot on!

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