Crime vs mystery vs thriller (yes there's a difference).

The crime genre, mystery genre and thriller genre are three literary genres that sometimes people might confuse with one another. You yourself might have thought them one and the same. But there are differences between the three genres. Here I will cross-refence the facts and the clues to provide you with some clarity should you be unsure. I shall start by defining each one...

Crime: The crime genre focuses on someone committing a crime who a law-abiding figure of justice (and sometimes of authority) tries to stop them before they can continue committing further crimes. Often this heroic figure of justice and the crime-committing villain are enemies though not always. One thing they do have in common is clashing with opposing views such as that of morality. Take Batman and The Joker as a example in popular culture - these two are archenemies of each other and have views that completely differ. Batman wants justice and a fair society with peace. On the other hand, The Joker is out to cause trouble and chaos, committing his crimes as he pleases.

Mystery: Crime focuses on the crime being committed with the good character trying to stop the bad character. However where mystery is concerned, there is a good character such as a detective who sets out to solve the crime, commonly a murder. One such example is the television Rosemary and Thyme. Rosemary Boxer and Laura Thyme are two women (played by Pam Ferris and Felicity Kendal) who meet in a pub. They end up teaming up to get to the bottom of the suspicious death of one of Laura's friends. Though Rosemary is retired from the police force, both of them are gardeners who dig up dirt on people as well as the gardens they visit. The whole premise of this show is working out who the killer is of a murder as they work on a gardening job.

Thriller: The thriller genre focuses on playing with people's emotions. These normally include anxiety, fear, suspense and tension. It is a dark mix of mystery and horror. Thriller novels include Tokyo Express (1958) by Seicho Matsumoto and The Bandit Queens (2023) by Parini Shroff.

While the crime genre, mystery genre and thriller genre are all similar, they are all different and have their own unique qualities.


Until next time,


Thomas (they/them).

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