Most who appreciate the human mind can appreciate a good mystery, and, in fact, that is how the mystery genre came about. Mystery fiction is a genre in literature that focuses on someone solving a puzzle or a crime. It is also commonly referred to as crime fiction or detective fiction for this reason.

The genre includes novels and short stories that are written for a special kind of audience, because people who read mysteries expect the standard rules for the genre:

A realistic, yet suspenseful plot with a lot of twists

A shocking, yet realistic crime

Foreshadowing evidence

False leads

A clear crime solver, AKA the protagonist or detective

An unexpected villain, criminal, or culprit

The mystery will not get solved until the very last minute

For the most part, things will work out in the end

In any mystery story, however, just remember that there are three basic questions to be answered: 'What happened? How did it happen? Who did it?'