The 7 Best Genre Bending Mystery Novels

Genre Bending Mysteries CoversI did not set out to be a science-fiction writer, or an alternate-history writer, or whatever universe it is I have stumbled into and made my home. It is the mystery genre that has always sung sweetest to me, but I also find a special kind of magic in following mystery heroes—cops, detectives, determined amateurs, the whole range of investigator protagonists—through unfamiliar landscapes: distant planets (Blade Runner), bizarro realities (Jasper Fforde’s novels), or, I don’t know, a distant continent and the tortured psyche of mankind (Heart of Darkness). There is special electricity created by crossing the wires of what we know (the determined hero delving deep and deeper) with what is new and strange. Here’s the paradox, here (dare I say) is the mystery: the more alien it gets, the more powerful the shock of recognition.

 

 

 


About Ben H. Winters

Ben H. Winters is the New York Times bestselling author of Golden StateUnderground Airlines and the Last Policeman trilogy. The second novel in the trilogy, Countdown City, was an NPR Best Book of 2013 and the winner of the Philip K. Dick award. The Last Policeman was the recipient of the 2012 Edgar Award, and was also named one of the Best Books of 2012 by Amazon.com and Slate. Ben lives with his family in Los Angeles, CA.