Romance novels generally take time to get to the meaty part of the story, but with mystery novels you know exactly what to expect, generally in the very first chapter.

Also, the author assumes the reader to be intelligent, curious and a seeker of adventure. And so the stories are written accordingly. I love them for the level of engagement they offer.

The fascinating aspect about them is that the author gives us readers, the clues, points us to subtle hints, sparks up our detective skills and yet keeps us guessing the perpetrator till the end. I love to play Sherlock with the author, that’s the real fun of this genre. And I immensely enjoy when the author has multiple plot twists. They up the fun quotient.

Another thing I like about reading crime novels is that they are humbling. When you read about a gruesome crime or killing, from the comfort and safety of your home with a coffee mug in your hand, tucked away from the brutalities of society, you realize that you are privileged, if nothing else.

 And yet another facet of crime and mystery novels that as a reader you may enjoy is the peep into a deeply shaded human nature. What motivates people to commit crimes? How does the human mind work? Don’t you like to reminisce on why a criminal did what he/she did? An abusive childhood, a traumatic teenage, don’t you love to speculate?

Every generation loves a good thriller, including children. As a mystery reader you should very well know that the story is in the details. This attention to detail and keen observation helps kids to focus on the reading and hence increases their concentrating powers.

Mystery novels have a unique vocabulary and so it introduces children to new and meaningful words. Investigation, criminal, offence, justice- don’t think you’d find these words in a school textbook.

Without doubt, a mystery novel makes kids and adults think. Who is going to be the victim? Who would be the criminal? Why would they do so? How would they have done it and got away?

It also gives kids a sense of what is morally right and what is wrong. It influences their decision making capacity.

And it makes them an avid reader. Isn’t this single most benefit enough? I distinctly remember how I started reading voraciously after I was gifted Enid Blyton’s, the Famous Five and Secret Seven series on my 10^th and 11^th birthdays by my booklover bestie. It changed me from a once-in-a-while reader to a book worm.  A few years later I progressed to Carolyn Keene’s Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys. It was an unforgettable journey with my books.