Collideoscope

Posted by: Denelle

Since books seem to be the buzz of the summer around here I thought I'd comment on an article Publishers Weekly recently ran an editorial about the Christian mystery, in the classic who-done-it sense, and its lack of popularity in the Christian market.

with some notable exceptions, the true mystery novel seems to be a difficult sell. Among the puzzled is Sue Brower, senior acquisitions editor at Zondervan. "I'm not sure why the traditional mystery doesn't work in CBA," she said. "If you think about how successful thrillers are, it just doesn't make sense."

I can attest to that. While I'm not a huge reader of Christian fiction, some of my favorites have been the things written by Frank Peretti and Bill Myers (yep the guy who wrote McGee and Me writes amazing adult fiction too) which fall into the thriller/supernatural category.

And yet the Christian mystery genre continues to struggle. Another publisher goes on to suggests that:

"I wonder if the wide variety of kinds of mysteries in the general trade—everything from hard-boiled and noir to police procedurals to cozies and Agatha Christie-style—prevents readers from looking in CBA stores or aisles," Delffs said. "Since readers wanting a 'clean' mystery read can find that in the general trade, perhaps they don't look for a CBA mystery."

And I think that is where the truth lies. Some of the best mysteries of all time, from Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys for kids and on up through Agatha Christie, are acceptable (or as he stated "clean") material for a Christian audience. Where paranormal/thriller/suspense and romance clearly need a Christan niche to be acceptable to a Christian audience.

What do you think? Do you have a favorite Christian mystery or is the genre seriously lacking?