The Secrets of Great Mystery and Suspense Fiction

By: David Schmid, The Great Courses

Narrated by: David Schmid

Length: 18 hrs and 56 mins

Publisher's summary

Great mystery and suspense writers have created some of the most unforgettable stories in all of literature. Even those who don't consider themselves fans of this intriguing genre are familiar with names such as Hercule Poirot, Sam Spade, Hannibal Lecter, and Robert Langdon, and understand the deep and lasting impact this writing has had on literature as a whole. An utterly captivating and compelling genre, mystery and suspense has leapt off the pages of the old dime store paperbacks, magazines, and comic books onto big screens, small screens, radio serials, podcasts, websites, and more. You'll find elements, characters, and references permeating popular culture and news reports worldwide, and bleeding into other literary genres such as romance, political thrillers, sports stories, and even biographies. Nearly 200 years old, the genre of mystery and suspense literature is only growing more popular.

How did it become so prevalent? Why is mystery and suspense a go-to genre for so many around the world? What makes the dark and sometimes grisly themes appealing? In 24 lectures of The Secrets of Great Mystery and Suspense Fiction, Professor David Schmid of the University at Buffalo examines these questions, as he guides you through an examination of the many different varieties of the genre, including classic whodunits, hard-boiled crime fiction, historical mysteries, courtroom dramas, true crime narratives, espionage fiction, and many more.

Fans of the genre will be delighted by the breadth and depth of information presented, guaranteed to uncover gems they had not yet discovered. But anyone, whether they are admirers of mystery on radio and film, or simply fans of literature, history, or pop culture, will find something to enlighten and entertain in this study of a genre with such tremendous impact.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©2016 The Great Courses (P)2016 The Teaching Company, LLC

Very informative/Intelligently narrated.

While I lost patience with the question why, the narrator clearly knows the subject. I learned a lot. Thanks.

Insight into both the history and craft of mystery and suspense fiction

If nothing else this is a wonderful source of recommendations of great stories and writers on the genre. I was a little disappointed to see John MacDonald and Michael Connelly left out but it could be argued they are mostly adventure than classical mystery writers. I did enjoy the way the lecture drills down to various subgenres as his way of presenting the material. Certainly I have a more formal understanding of the genre. The PDF provided helps absorb some of the details.

Wow. So much!

No quality is lost in this stretch for quantity. I never thought there were so many genres of mystery and suspense.

Great ear food. Brain fodder too. Itchy to write? You'll get itchier and itchier and then.....

Super Fun

Now i have a huge list of books to find and read. The teacher obviously has a lot of passion and enjoys talking about mystery and suspense fiction.

Mis-titled

What made the experience of listening to The Secrets of Great Mystery and Suspense Fiction the most enjoyable?

Interesting enough material, but it wasn't instructive for someone wanting to learn how to write about the subject matter.
It was an entertaining overview of how Mystery and Suspense is and has been written. A great selection of authors analyzed, but it didn't actually concern itself with the listener writing. It was a reader's study.

Would you be willing to try another book from The Great Courses? Why or why not?

I take them on occasionally. Generally I find them instructive, often entertaining.

What does Professor David Schmid bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

This question is irrelevant to the nature of the title being reviewed, since it was an academic study, not an actual story.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

This question is irrelevant to the nature of the title being reviewed, since it was an academic study, not an actual story.

Any additional comments?

Re title the series: How Mystery and Suspense Is Written. It lack the necessary instruction about beats and high points, timing and other details of story construction. Thirty-six half hours later I found myself still wondering how to do this. The various "lessons" I've found for writing "genre Romance" have been much more helpful to that end. Was hoping for something like here.

Excellent Read!

Very in depth & detailed. I learned a TON that I will apply to my writing style!

Excellent Course!

This was one of the Great Courses best presentations. Highly recommended for anyone who wants to learn more about the genre of mystery and suspense fiction!

good look

this is a good look at the mystery genre. check it out if your interested

Some things to know before buying this

Professor Schmid mentions and discusses many different works over the course of the 36 lectures, but he keeps coming back, over and over, to Edgar Allan Poe, Sherlock Holmes, Agatha Christie, Dashiell Hammett, and Raymond Chandler. I suspect this is partly because he's interested in showing how the key elements of the genre can be traced back to those early works, and how later authors were influenced by or differ from them; and that it's partly because he's used to teaching an actual, semester-long class with a limited reading list of works he expects his students to read and discuss during the semester.

Are there spoilers of the works he discusses? Some, but not a lot. If you've never read Poe's "Murders in the Rue Morgue" or Christie's "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd," this will spoil them for you.

In some of the lecture series released by The Great Courses and others, including this one, the lectures sound like articles that the presenter has written down ahead of time and is reading to you verbatim, Other series sound more like the lecturer is talking to you directly. I prefer lectures to be this latter kind, but "The Secrets of Great Mystery and Suspense Fiction" is one of the former.

The performance isn't bad. Professor Schmid's voice is clear and easy to listen to, but he has a very choppy narration style.

The main focus, in case it needs to be said, is on written works (novels, short stories, and a bit on true crime narratives). Works from other media (movies, TV, radio) do get mentioned, but mostly for how they relate to the written works.

Professor Schmid is to be commended for the breadth of his coverage. He knows his field. Some people will find these 36 lectures to be overkill, and some will wish he had included some works or topics that he left out. I admit, there were times when I thought to myself, "Do we really need a whole lecture on this?" but mostly I was glad he was so thorough.

good diverse look at the mystery genre

These lectures review and highlight many diverse groups within the mystery literature genre. While the first few lectures mainly review the more famous white American and English writers and mystery series, there are also lectures on the diversity of the genre, including POC and gay/lesbian mystery writers.

As a result, I've discovered additional diverse works that I would love to read/listen to.