HOL Ravenclaw

You sit in the comfort of your home. The shape you saw on the bark was odd, but not enough to assume meaning from it. The image as you recalled it in your head bugs you, and you shake your head to yourself. Surely it was just a scratch. Or a trick of the light?

Yet without enough information, you couldn’t just leave it hanging.

You decide to find more information, digging in the library for any information from various types of books.

Task:
Research about any mystery novel, movie, show, or drama in at least 100 words. Talk about the author, the title, and what it’s about. Please also include content warnings and what age bracket the written mystery is targeted for. I suggest searching for mysteries for kids, teens, or young adults. Please make sure to avoid spoilers and keep all information you include in your post appropriate for all ages regardless of what you choose to research.

Alternatively, in at least 125 words, write about your opinion on mystery as a genre in literature. Is mystery something you enjoy watching or reading? What part or element of mystery do you like most? What do you think makes mystery exciting for people? Do you have a favorite in the genre?

This task is worth 15 beans/sapphires. You can earn an additional 10 bonus beans for completing all Week One tasks by Friday, October 31st, at 11:59 PM (HOL time).

Upon completion of this task, an additional “task” in the form of a symbol or puzzle will be sent to you by me, Katherine Laurier, through Private Message within 24 hours. You can accomplish this as a means of earning more beans and sapphires, however this is not required for you to complete, just like any other “regular” task. Alternatives for the symbol/puzzle may be requested through the same Private Message. For more detailed information, feel free to check Information and Questions or ask me a question through PM!

My absolute favorite mystery novel is Murder on the Orient Express! Agatha Christie wrote this work of fiction, and it was first published on January 1st, 1934, in the United Kingdom. It's recommended for those who are 14 and up, with content warning of violence and language. The plot of the book revolves around a murder on the train known as the Orient Express, which had been stopped by heavy snowfall. The detective who works on the case happened to be a passenger on the train heading to London. The plot is complex, with twists and turns at every corner, as the detective tries to find which of the passengers had committed the crime.

Mystery is something I absolutely enjoy watching and reading. My favorites are detective thriller stories.
Mystery can be difficult to write and keep tasteful, because you want to pitch in enough clues, hide the exact solution to the problem, keep the difficulty level of solving intriguing, make sure that the solution is one that the audience wouldn't normally think of so that they aren't disappointed in the end when they are expecting something out of the ordinary, and at the same time keep the writing style beautiful and then tie up together all the elements in the plot of the story neatly without any loopholes. Mystery stories that end up being tasteless are usually either very easy to solve or very complicated to understand, and both can be uninteresting reads. It takes a lot of skill and hard work on the part of an author to write the mystery genre and add just the right amount of suspense into it.
I like the suspense as I do all things mysterious and puzzling and I enjoy solving the clues alongside the main character. I often think about the mystery, when I am not reading, and try to solve it before I get back to reading the rest of the book. I like anything that lets me think out of the box, so that explains why.
I think that people in general are intrigued by the unknown, fueled by an innate curiosity to find out what happened that caused something extraordinary. Extraordinary phenomena anywhere in the world draw large crowds, and I think that is why many people are drawn to mystery stories. Finding out more about something extraordinary always excites most people.
My favorites in this genre since childhood are Sherlock Holmes, Enid Blyton, Nancy Drew and Agatha Christie (from an older age), and Nancy Springer and the Enola Holmes Mystery series.

I actually don’t know much about mystery books as we never really had any and for reasons I never got to read them. People have told me they are nice and I have been wanting to try some. Shows on the other hand I have enjoyed mystery genres hence me thinking I would like it in a book. I would say what I love most about it is how it always keeps you guessing and engaged. I think there are more concentrations given towards it because we all have some need to want things solved and known but there is an excitement in participating in the discovery or even just in the guessing. I cannot think of a favourite per say but I know I have enjoyed it when opportunity gives and would probably still.

I really enjoy mystery as a genre, particularly the classics such as Agatha Christie and the Sherlock Holmes stories. I do also enjoy more modern mysteries, probably my favourite that I’ve read in recent years is “The Eighth Detective” by Alex Pavesi. I would say this is aimed at 14+ with content warnings for violence, language and sexual assault. This novel is about a man who worked out the “rules” for a good murder mystery, and wrote a short story collection using them. The novel contains each of these stories, while the main plot surrounds the mystery of why this author disappeared to live a life of seclusion and anonymity. I think it’s incredibly well done, and the Alex Pavesi managed to seamlessly weave each short story into the main plot of the novel.

For this show i choose the show Riverdale. I started watching it a few years ago and its quite the good mystery show. The show it self is written by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa. I would recommend this for kids the age of 16 and older because some parts can be pretty heavy. Some content warnings are death, robbery and cults. In the first season it is about a murder on a twin brother and they try to solve that piece by piece because they start to realize something seems off. It is based in a small town. So for everyone who likes a teen mystery and drama show, this one is for you!!

I enjoy the thrill and excitement of good mysteries. I don't read mystery novels due to Dyslexia, but my favorite mystery tv show is Murdoch Mysteries. My favorite aspect of watching mystery shows is guessing who did it and seeing if you're right. My mom and I watch Murdoch Mysteries on Mondays and we like to take guesses at who committed the crime. The culprit is often the one you least expect. I think many people read mystery novels or watch the mystery genre for the excitement and the twists and turns that often happen in this genre. They make you think that the culprit is one person, but then part way through, they make you think it might be this other person, but then it ends up being a group of people that were all in on it together.

I love mysteries, particularly murder mysteries, and one of my favourites is the murder mystery musical (because of course I'm talking about musicals) "We Are The Tigers." It's not the most famous, but it is excellent, and I definitely recommend it! It is a dark comedy slasher, targeted at young adults, so it does contain some dark content including strong language, depictions of blood & death and references to alcohol & drugs, but it also has a lot of lighter comedy moments throughout. It's about a group of cheerleaders at a sleepover, where some of them get murdered. It has some excellent songs, including "Skype Tomorrow" (which does not contain any strong language, but does revolve around the sadder theme of a friendship breakup.)

I have always really enjoyed reading Mystery books. I grew up reading The Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, and The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, just to name a few! Although I also usually prefer books to movies, I find that I also enjoy watching mysteries as they often manage to find a way to keep you in suspense and eager to find out more, especially as there is always a mystery that you know will likely be answered by the end. My favourite part of mysteries is probably just enjoying how the logical side of the conclusions play out! Although I also do have some fun trying to guess who the culprit is when reading as well. My most recent favourite in this genre is The Seven and a Half Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle. Lots of exciting twists and a very unique concept!