Genre guide · Fiction
Mystery: word count & book length
How long a mystery book should be, which trim sizes suit it and what that means in printed pages. Typical length: 70,000–90,000 words.
About mystery
A crime — usually a murder — is solved over the course of the book, and the reader is given a fair chance to solve it too. Series potential is a big selling point.
Printed length in recommended trim sizes
| Trim | Pages at 11 pt | Spine (white) |
|---|---|---|
| 5.5 x 8.5 in Digest | 274–358 pages | 0.62–0.81 in |
| 6 x 9 in US Trade | 242–314 pages | 0.54–0.71 in |
| 5 x 8 in | 336–428 pages | 0.76–0.96 in |
Page counts for these lengths
Tips for this category
- Readers binge series: plan consistent trim size, typography and cover branding from book one.
- Keep a clue ledger (where each clue is planted and paid off) during revisions.
About Mystery
Mystery is a fiction genre where the nature of an event, often a murder or other crime, remains mysterious until the end of the story. Often within a closed circle of suspects, each suspect is usually provided with a credible motive and a reasonable opportunity for committing the crime. The central character is often a detective (such as Sherlock Holmes), who eventually solves the mystery by logical deduction from facts presented to the reader. Some mystery books are non-fiction. Mystery fiction can be detective stories in which the emphasis is on the puzzle or suspense element and its logical solution such as a whodunit. Mystery fiction can be contrasted with hardboiled detective stories, which focus on action and gritty realism. Mystery fiction can involve a supernatural mystery in which the solution does not have to be logical and even in which there is no crime involved.
From the Wikipedia article “Mystery fiction”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Most-published mystery works in Open Library
| Title | Author | First published | Editions |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Secret Garden | Frances Hodgson Burnett | 1911 | 1,598 |
| A Study in Scarlet | Arthur Conan Doyle | 1887 | 1,447 |
| The Hound of the Baskervilles | Arthur Conan Doyle | 1900 | 1,309 |
| The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes [12 stories] | Arthur Conan Doyle | 1892 | 1,134 |
| The Moonstone | Wilkie Collins | 1800 | 1,015 |
| The Sign of Four | Arthur Conan Doyle | 1889 | 962 |
| The Woman in White | Wilkie Collins, John McLenan | 1800 | 790 |
| The Story of the Amulet | Edith Nesbit | 1905 | 578 |
| The Invisible Man | H. G. Wells | — | 563 |
| The Return of Sherlock Holmes | Arthur Conan Doyle | 1903 | 545 |
Open Library lists 16,013 works under this subject.
Awards for this genre
Frequently asked questions
How long should a mystery book be?
What trim size is best for mystery?
Sources & data
- Subject statistics from Open Library.
- Summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).