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Originally Posted by Nyssa
Are there examples of Thriller, Suspense & Crime that are neither covered by Mystery nor Horror?
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Political thriller like something Tom Clancy would write might fit outside those two. While you could file it under Mystery it's pacing and tension elevate it to something that is more than Mystery and not Horror.
There you go bringing up the one category that I voted for that I didn't particular like the grouping of.
For me, Mystery/Crime and Thriller would have been the two categories. Suspense is just confusing the issue and Thriller and Crime are two different beasts. I wonder if the
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Originally Posted by from goodreads
Crime: The crime genre includes the broad selection of books on criminals, courts, and investigations. Mystery novels are usually placed into this category.
Mystery: Mystery fiction is a loosely-defined term that is often used as a synonym of detective fiction — in other words a novel or short story in which a detective (either professional or amateur) solves a crime. The term "mystery fiction" may sometimes be limited to the subset of detective stories in which the emphasis is on the puzzle element and its logical solution (cf. whodunit), as a contrast to hardboiled detective stories which focus on action and gritty realism. However, in more general usage "mystery" may be used to describe any form of crime fiction, even if there is no mystery to be solved. For example, the Mystery Writers of America describes itself as "the premier organization for mystery writers, professionals allied to the crime writing field, aspiring crime writers, and those who are devoted to the genre".
Thriller: Thrillers are characterized by fast pacing, frequent action, and resourceful heroes who must thwart the plans of more-powerful and better-equipped villains. Literary devices such as suspense, red herrings and cliffhangers are used extensively. Thrillers often overlap with mystery stories, but are distinguished by the structure of their plots. In a thriller, the hero must thwart the plans of an enemy, rather than uncover a crime that has already happened. Thrillers also occur on a much grander scale: the crimes that must be prevented are serial or mass murder, terrorism, assassination, or the overthrow of governments. Jeopardy and violent confrontations are standard plot elements. While a mystery climaxes when the mystery is solved, a thriller climaxes when the hero finally defeats the villain, saving his own life and often the lives of others
Suspense: Suspense is a feeling of uncertainty and anxiety about the outcome of certain actions, most often referring to an audience's perceptions in a dramatic work. Suspense is not exclusive to fiction, though. Suspense may operate in any situation where there is a lead up to a big event or dramatic moment, with tension being a primary emotion felt as part of the situation. In the kind of suspense described by film director Alfred Hitchcock, an audience experiences suspense when they expect something bad to happen and have (or believe they have) a superior perspective on events in the drama's hierarchy of knowledge, yet they are powerless to intervene to prevent it from happening. In broader definitions of suspense, this emotion arises when someone is aware of his lack of knowledge about the development of a meaningful event; thus, suspense is a combination of anticipation and uncertainty dealing with the obscurity of the future. In terms of narrative expectations, it may be contrasted with mystery or curiosity and surprise.
Horror: Horror fiction is fiction in any medium intended to scare, unsettle, or horrify the audience. Historically, the cause of the "horror" experience has often been the intrusion of a supernatural element into everyday human experience. Since the 1960s, any work of fiction with a morbid, gruesome, surreal, or exceptionally suspenseful or frightening theme has come to be called "horror". Horror fiction often overlaps science fiction or fantasy, all three of which categories are sometimes placed under the umbrella classification speculative fiction.
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My take: Crime is a sub of Mystery, focusing on the criminal investigation.
Thriller/Suspense have a certain pacing to them that heightens our anxiety and tension, but Suspense isn't really a genre for me.
Horror is its own thing. It is designed to scare. While mysteries and thrillers can scare us, horror tends to try to make us nauseated to boot.
And take all of this with a grain of salt because I have been known in the past to not read much mystery and to not be impressed by it when I have read it. I think I should like it, but I keep trying.