The mystery and suspense novel genres can typically be broken down into specific genres, each appealing to a different breed of reader, or at least a different breed of mood.

Procedurals, or what is generally referred to as "crime fiction", focus on the "how did they do it?" aspects of a crime or series of crimes. They concentrate on the procedural methods employed by the protagonist to solve the mystery. Police procedurals typically center around a current or former police detective using law enforcement related techniques to solve the crime. Examples of the police procedural category of mystery novels include Michael Connelly's Harry Bosch series and Tony Hillerman's Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee series. Legal procedurals focus on a lawyer or prosecutor protagonist and follow the judicial steps in solving crimes, or defending those who are accused of those crimes. The author John Grisham has set the recent standard for legal procedurals. Robert K. Tanenbaum has also written extensively in this arena with his Butch Karp / Marlene Ciampi series. A recent spin on the procedural is the forensic procedural, arising from what I like to call the "CSI: Insert City Here" effect. These novels focus on the forensic aspects of investigating crime scenes and crime victims. It is the examination of evidence that results in the solving of this type of murder mystery. Iris Johansen's Eve Duncan and the Kathy Reichs Temperance Brennan series are examples of this genre.

Hard-boiled, or noir mysteries, are the character-driven mystery books focusing on a street-wise and cynical private detective. The setting and atmosphere tend to be somewhat stark and bleak. This category has historically centered on conflicted male P.I's such as Robert B. Parker's Spenser and Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe series, but the classic definition of hard-boiled mystery novels now also includes female protagonists such as Sara Paretsky's V.I Warshawski.

Cozies are, historically, the traditional type of murder mystery. The action, and it is often very subdued and implied, is usually set in a small town, village, or rural countryside. The hero of the book is usually an amateur detective looking to solve a local murder. Violence is not explicit and often happens "off-screen". The emphasis is on solving the crime. The bad guy is always caught, and usually with diligent sleuthing and minimal muss and fuss. Agatha Christie's Jane Marple and Hercule Poirot, Joan Hess' Claire Malloy, Susan Wittig Albert's China Bayles mysteries are examples of cozy-type mysteries.

Gothic novels typically contain settings based in the supernatural and tend to rely more on suspense than mystery. Barbara Michaels' books are a good example of gothic genre novels.

Romantic suspense is often lumped into the same fiction bucket as the gothic category. These books focus on a committed or soon-to-be-committed crime with a romantic interest between the protagonist and victim or suspect as an added element. The setting may or may not be gothic-like. Mary Stewart and Phyllis Whitney are example authors in this category.

Novels in the espionage genre focus on spying and mayhem at the business or national level. Tom Clancy, Ian Fleming, John Gardner, and Len Deighton are popular authors in this genre.

Historical mysteries are set against notable periods in the past. Stephanie Barron's Jane Austen, Elizabeth Peters' Amelia Peabody, and Ellis Peters' Brother Cadfael are examples of historical mysteries.

There are many other sub-genres that make up the mystery field. These include novels that fall into the following categories: psychological suspense (Thomas Harris's Hannibal Lecter series and other serial killer based novels), capers and heists, non-procedural detective (Robert Crais's Elvis Cole and James Swain's Tony Valentine series), general suspense (Greg Rucka's Atticus Kodiak series), and thrillers (Ross Thomas' excellent Padillo/McCorkle series).