Detective and Crime Fiction Subgenres

narratives or fiction that centre on criminal acts

is a subgenre of Chinese crime fiction

novels published in England from the late 1820s until the 1840s that glamorised the lives of the criminals they portrayed

a 19th-century genre of popular novel, in which characters explore the secret underworlds of cities and uncover corruption and exploitation

is a genre of crime fiction marked by darkness in theme and subject matter

Detective fiction is a subtype of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an investigator or a detective-whether professional, amateur or retired-investigates a crime, often murder.

A procedural drama or procedural is a cross-genre type of literature, film, or television program that places emphasis on technical detail.

Cozy mysteries (or cosy mysteries) are a sub-genre of crime fiction in which sex and violence occur offstage, the detective is an amateur sleuth, and the crime and detection take place in a small, socially intimate community.

The police procedural, police show, or police crime drama is a subgenre of procedural drama and detective fiction that emphasises accurate depiction of the investigative procedure of police officers, police detectives, or law enforcement agencies as the protagonists, as contrasted with other genres that focus on non-police investigators such as private investigators (PIs).

A whodunit (less commonly spelled as whodunnit; a colloquial elision of "Who [has] done it?") is a complex plot-driven variety of detective fiction in which the puzzle regarding who committed the crime is the main focus.

An inverted detective story, occasionally known as a "reverse whodunnit" or "howcatchem", is a crime fiction structure in which the commission of the crime is shown or described at the beginning, usually including the identity of the perpetrator.

Tartan Noir is a form of crime fiction particular to Scotland and Scottish writers.

The historical mystery or historical whodunit is a subgenre of two literary genres, historical fiction and mystery fiction.

Girl detective is a genre of detective fiction featuring a young, often teen-aged, female protagonist who solves crimes as a hobby.

Tart Noir is a branch of crime fiction that is characterized by strong, independent female detectives with an amount of sexuality often involved.

The genre's typical protagonist is a detective who battles the violence of organized crime that flourished during Prohibition in the United States (1920-1933) and its aftermath, while dealing with a legal system that has become as corrupt as the organized crime itself.

The "locked-room" or "impossible crime" mystery is a type of crime, typically murder ("locked-room murder"), that appears in crime and detective fiction, in which the circumstances make it seem impossible for the perpetrator to have entered the crime scene, committed the crime, and left undetected.

The legal thriller genre is a type of crime fiction genre that focuses on the proceedings of the investigation, with particular reference to the impacts on courtroom proceedings and the lives of characters.

a genre of crime fiction usually written from a police point of view and set in Scandinavia or the Nordic countries

Mystery is a fiction genre where the nature of an event, often a murder or other crime, remains mysterious until the end of the story.