BOOK DNA: VALIDATING HOW SUCCESSFUL MYSTERY LITERATURE IS CONSTRUCTED by STEPHEN PAUL MORGAN (Under the Direction of Leara Rhodes) ABSTRACT This content analysis validates how writers construct commercially or critically successful literature in the mystery genre. The produced data and analysis seek to ground writers’ creative intuitions by educating them on what has worked before, as well as helping delineate the upper limits of innovations on and deviations from genre conventions. Due to the high sales figures of the mystery genre, as well as a theoretical domain transfer when applying the methodology to other genres, this research will focus on the mystery genre. Though Uses and Gratifications theory would have provided ample foundation for the study, a more appropriate theoretical base came from the Narrative Paradigm, which condenses audience needs into two core concepts: Narrative Fidelity and Narrative Coherence. INDEX WORDS: Thesis, Mystery, Thriller, Content Analysis, Creativity, Intuition, Publishing, Editing BOOK DNA: VALIDATING HOW SUCCESFUL MYSTERY LITERATURE IS CONSTRUCTED by STEPHEN PAUL MORGAN B.A., Ashford University, 2011 A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of The University of Georgia in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree MASTER OF ARTS ATHENS, GEORGIA 2013 © 2013 Stephen Paul Morgan All Rights Reserved BOOK DNA: VALIDATING HOW SUCCESFUL MYSTERY LITERATURE IS CONSTRUCTED by STEPHEN PAUL MORGAN Major Professor: Leara Rhodes Committee: Valerie Boyd Richard Menke Electronic Version Approved: Maureen Grasso Dean of the Graduate School The University of Georgia May 2013 iv DEDICATION To Megan, my wife and my partner in everything. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS A special note of gratitude goes to Dr. Leara Rhodes. Her relentless enthusiasm, support, and expertise helped me feel as though I was always on firm ground. She is a true friend and mentor. I also wish to acknowledge Professor Valerie Boyd, whose generosity has more than once brought distant goals within my grasp. Special thanks to Dr. Richard Menke for working across department lines to offer his expertise. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .............................................................................................................v TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................................... vi LIST OF TABLES ....................................................................................................................... viii LIST OF FIGURES ...................................................................................................................... xii CHAPTER 1 Introduction ....................................................................................................................1 Increasing Publishers’ Power Against Digital Competition ....................................1 Thesis and Research Questions ................................................................................7 2 Literature Review...........................................................................................................8 Previous Research into the Mystery Genre ..............................................................8 Previous Narrative Research ..................................................................................15 The Narrative Paradigm 17 The Narrative Paradigm .........................................................................................18 3 Approach/Methods .......................................................................................................21 Sample Selection ....................................................................................................21 Methodology for Content Analysis ........................................................................23 4 Results and Discussion ................................................................................................27 Perspectives............................................................................................................27 Characters .............................................................................................................29 Initial Crime ..........................................................................................................49 vii Chapters ................................................................................................................58 Story Arcs .............................................................................................................65 Clues .....................................................................................................................67 5 Conclusions ..................................................................................................................71 Summary ...............................................................................................................71 Final Argument .....................................................................................................80 6 Limitations ...................................................................................................................82 7 Future Research and Implications ................................................................................84 Marketing to Readers .............................................................................................84 Validating Editors’ Intuitions ................................................................................85 Social Advocacy ....................................................................................................85 Audience Research.................................................................................................87 Further Content Analysis .......................................................................................87 REFERENCES ..............................................................................................................................88 APPENDICES A Full Collection of Tables and Figures ..........................................................................92 B Codebook Template ..................................................................................................117 viii LIST OF TABLES Page Table 3.1: Variations Within the Mystery/Thriller Genre ...............................................................9 Table 5.1: Distribution of Perspectives Throughout Total Sample ...............................................28 Table 5.2: Distribution of Perspectives Throughout Total Sample ...............................................29 Table 5.3: Distribution of Characters Throughout Total Sample ..................................................30 Table 5.4: Distribution of Character Roles Throughout Total Sample ..........................................31 Table 5.5: Character Role Distributions for Individual Samples ...................................................33 Table 5.6: When Character Descriptions Are Given for Total Sample .........................................33 Table 5.7: When Character Descriptions Are Given for Each Book .............................................34 Table 5.8: Which Character Delivers the Description for Total Sample .......................................34 Table 5.9: Which Character Delivers the Description for Each Book ...........................................34 Table 5.10: Character Descriptions Given Through Dialogue or Exposition for Total Sample....35 Table 5.11: Character Descriptions Given Through Dialogue or Exposition for Individual Samples ..............................................................................................................................35 Table 5.12: Characters Who Have Connections to Other Characters for Total Sample ................36 Table 5.13: Characters Who Have Connections to Other Characters for Individual Samples ......37 Table 5.14: Description of Characters Given Through Physical or Personal Details for Total Sample ...............................................................................................................................38 Table 5.15: Description of Characters Given Through Physical or Personal Details for Individual Samples ..............................................................................................................................38 ix Table 5.16: Nature of Character’s Connection to Another Character for Total Sample ...............39 Table 5.17: Nature of Character’s Connection to Another Character for Individual Samples ......39 Table 5.18: Distribution of Characters Who Broke the Law for Total Sample .............................40 Table 5.19: How Many Characters Broke the Law for Individual Samples ..................................40 Table 5.20: Character Motivations for Total Sample ....................................................................41 Table 5.21: Character Motivations for Individual Samples ...........................................................42 Table 5.22: Whether or Not a Character Acted on Their Own for Total Sample ..........................43 Table 5.23: Whether or Not a Character Acted on Their Own for Each Book ..............................43 Table 5.24: If Working With Someone Else, What Was the Character’s Role for Total Sample .43 Table 5.25: If Working With Someone Else, What Was the Character’s Role for Individual Samples ..............................................................................................................................43