My thoughts about what mystery means to me are muddled and I'm not at all sure I know. A mystery is a mystery, after all.
Instead of a definition, emotions spring to mind when I throw the word out there and look at it from a distance. Mystery is … something tantalizing, intriguing, something that inspires awe — or sometimes fear. It’s a passion for knowing the unknown. It’s something I don’t understand, that I can’t absorb and control.
That’s part of the drama and delight of mystery, I think — our passion to know and to control the unknown. It’s a lot like life, which is probably why so many of us love writing and reading mysteries. Maybe we are hoping that one day we will not only figure out if Miss Scarlet killed Mr. Boddy with the candlestick, but why life’s moments unfold the way they do.
When it comes to the kind of mystery that comes to life on the pages of a novel, mystery refers to more than just the ‘event’ — the crime — and the subsequent twists and turns that challenge the writer and reader. The meaning of mystery also resides in the relationships formed by the characters in the mystery. It’s about the links between those who come together to contribute their gifts to solving (or perpetuating) the crime. It’s about those who, as Agatha Christie tells us, work to protect “innocence.” So the "mystery" isn't just about the unknown or the murder or whatever the dastardly deed might be — it's also about the “mysteries” within all those relationships that work for good and for ill.
It’s those characters and the sense of mystery surrounding them that lured me to reading mysteries — and later to writing them. Nancy Drew was probably the first, taking every penny of my allowance for a long time. As a romantic teen, I fell under the spell of the mysterious Mrs. Danvers in du Maurier’s Rebecca. Hercule Poirot and Jane Marple became fast friends, and I’ve had a serious crush on the cerebral Adam Dalgliesh for a long time now. And then there’s the coterie of strong, self-assured women we’ve been privileged to meet — the Jenny Cains, V I Warshawski, and Kinsey Milhones who attack the mysteries of life — and death — with gusto and guts.
These are but a sampling of the folks who represent mystery to me. It’s their wits and their savvy, their intelligence and their memorable relationships with friends and enemies that keep me guessing … and reading … and writing.
Which mystery character would you most like to meet?
Editor's Note: Sally Goldenbaum is the author of the Seaside Knitters books; a series that has been called both "engaging" and "charming".
Couldn't we have a convention of mystery characters? I don't know that I could pick just one I'd like to meet.
Without a doubt I'd like to meet Lincoln Perry, Elvis Cole and Joe Pike, John Ceepak, Ellie Hatcher, Walt Longmire, Stella Hardesty, Ray Dudgeon, Paula Holliday, Josie Prescott, Armand Gamache...Oh, I think I could go on for pages and pages... 
They're fascinating!
