Crime, Mysteries & Thrillers discussion

Anywhere between 400-500 pages is ideal as it gives enough time for character development without slowing down the action.If the book is interesting I can read up to 250-300 pages in a day.In some cases I don't mind 500+ pages but anything more than 600/650 & it is generally gonna have a lot of filler & it needs editing.

How long is a piece of string? ;)

For me, the ideal crime thriller page count is between 250-300. I like them quick and easy.

I don't really pick books by page count. If I like the author, I'll read the book - with the caveat that his or her long book better be as good or better than shorter ones. If too many long books in a series are not up to par, I'll stop reading him or her.

The Mysterious Affair at Styles appears to be about 73000 - 75000 words long, based on a rough calculation of counting the words on one page and multiplying it. At any rate it's not particularly long, but the plot is effective and the characters are developed enough.

In terms of the length of other pieces of writing, I don't think you can set a particular length onto them. They need to keep the reader engaged and have a plausible plot (although to be fair I did use to mock Christie for the ultra quick murder in "Death on the Nile" until I found a real life murder case which was similar in method). Character development can be subtly done or more overtly applied, in one book or over a series, but personally I prefer the plot development.

All new books are too expensive, especially hardcover books, the kind I prefer. I almost always refuse to pay the price of a new hardcover book. I either buy them used or win them from various blogs on the Internet.

I don't think there is such thing as ideal book length

I really like books in the 300-600 page length range. Any more than that and if feels like it should be part of a series, any less too choppy.

Quality is above quantity. If a story is great page count does not matter, however a boring book any number of pages is too many. Very few pages does not fully develop story and characters.

I like my novel thick enough for good character development or, if not that, a complex, intriguing plot. But otherwise, who cares? Agatha Christie is one of my favorites and her novels are quite short.

My ideal book length is between 350 and 600, I have read books that are longer but it did not feel like it, so there are always exceptions.

My ideal length is 250-350 pages, I tend to get bored very easily, and if there isn't a nice, juicy, fast, page turning, plot, I will take forever to finish the book.

Taylor wrote: "My ideal length is 250-350 pages, I tend to get bored very easily, and if there isn't a nice, juicy, fast, page turning, plot, I will take forever to finish the book."

yes, it my numbers too!

Between 250-400 is ideal for me. The short usually are a nice tight, read without excessive detail and fewer characters. For the most part, if it get longer than 400 pages I will think twice before picking it up. I will make an exception for a book starting a new series.

Jenni wrote: "Maybe there was a time around when Agatha Christie was writing that ~220 pgs was the norm, because Patricia Highsmith's and Conrad Jones' books from the early half of the 1900s are that length. Th..."

Um, maybe, but Dorothy L. Sayers' superb books are from around the same time and tend to be a bit longer. But the only time book length matters to me is when my hands are tired and I drop the heavier ones in the bath!

The ideal book length is that which uses the necessary number of pages to say what needs to be said! There are times when there are unnecessary sections in a novel that could easily have been removed. For example, in The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest there is a section early in the novel of about 100 pages that could have been omitted and not hurt the story at all. I have no issues with length, as long as it fulfills the story.

OK. When I buy a book it usually judge on how thick it is. Usually never below 3/4" unless I like the author

I meant 3 quarters of an inch! Sorry about that.

I'd definitely drop a four inch book in the bath!

may be about 300-400 pages

400-500 pages is just right for me! I've paid $16.99 for both a 250 page book and a 750 page book(both new releases). It depends how much they were charging for a thick book. As long as it was under $20 then yes, I'd still buy :)

Arwen wrote: "may be about 300-400 pages"

I agree with you, Arwen. 300-400 is about right.

I guess 300-400 is about right. If a really good book goes over than I can get sleep deprived because sometimes I just can put it down. It's really nice to read when the house is still and quiet after everyone else has gone to sleep.

Long enough to be satisfying. I found Stieg Larsson's books satisfying, and they were quite long, but I also find shorter books (Christie) satisfying. It just depends on what mood I'm in and how long I want to get stuck in with a book. :)

350-500 pages, usually.

Jenni wrote: "Just watched The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo on DVD. The movie was as well cast as the books. He's created a superb character in Lisbeth Salander."

I can't decide which Lisbeth I prefer (Noomi or Rooney). Both are incredibly portrayed. I hope there will be a second English film.

Jenni wrote: "I've only watched the one with Rooney Mara. I selected that version because her build and look seems more true to the character in the book. Her portrayal is very powerful."

Noomi Rapace was definitely a more powerful character physically. Rooney Mara's Lisbeth had a delicacy that NR didn't.

What did you think of Daniel Craig as Blomkvist? I found his English accent jarring in comparison to the rest of the cast. And I did quite like Mikael Nyqvist in the original films.

I have a tendency to let the larger novels get the best of me and push them off outta fear of the unfinishable! However, I will read any of them if they sound good! I do like one that I will breeze through!

I prefer books that are in the 300-350 range. It has to be an amazing story to hold me into a book of 400-500 pages. Often this is due to the fact that with a book of that size , I most likely wont read in one sitting. Thus, the story gets interrupted too much. For me, that's like turning off a movie to go to the grocery store and watching the rest when you get home. Loses me. One of less pages is a better choice for me. I usually start one of that size and read through the night. Keeps me in the story that way.

Don't mind the length of a book too much but do like the shortish chapters in James Patterson's books as hate having to stop reading halfway through a chapter.

Daniel Craig didn't work for me. I think it was the scene where he was sitting in his underwear with his perfectly chiselled James Bond body and I thought "Blomkvist doesn't look like that!"

200 pages or so. can dela with 350, but not more than that

For me, anywhere from 300-400 pages works; long enough to cover story and character development, I think, although my #1 is still Agatha Christie who of course wrote around the 200-page mark.

Regarding price, after reading all about the huge Apple lawsuits and such, it totally explains why Kindle books (especially bigger-name ones, or bestsellers) are higher than I thought they'd be to buy (hope THAT gets settled in a favorable way for readers!) when I originally got the reader. They need to go back to the original concept of bestsellers being no more than $9.99!

@ Tania - I agree - short(ish) chapters are great, especially when you keep glancing at the clock on your nightstand knowing you should have turned the light off an hour ago... :-)

Regarding book length overall? Depends. I'm currently reading "Atlas Shrugged" and boy, is it a tough read (I love it though). Some of Ayn's paragraphs alone could make up three chapters of one of Patterson's!

It really depends. If it's a series I really like, such as Urban Fantasy, I prefer a bit over 500 pages. They rarely reach that though :( For cozy mysteries I like about 250 pages or a little less. Romance I prefer under 200 pages. Horror I think 350 to 500 is good. Same for suspense IF it's original enough.

I think a good writer should be able to tell a good story between 300 to 400 pages.

Under 300 pages. More does not equal better. Most of the books I read are between 200 and 300 pages. I might go over 300 for an author I trust - Elmore Leonard, for example. But The Stranger is only 121 pages, and it's one of my all-time favorites.

There is no good mystery story long enough to suit me. Once I get pulled in I never want it to end.

I agree, 200-300 pages is long enough. And I've recently read books where it quickly became obvious the author was filling space. Either that or they'll bounce back and forth from one character to another and while you find one interesting and the other boring, pretty soon you start skipping pages. Happened with David Baldacci' s The Target. He could have completely omitted the North Korean' s part and I would have been happy. Instead, I skipped half the book because I simply lost interest.

For me somewhere around 300-400 pages. As with others here I'm finding a lack of editing skills with publishers, who seem to let authors run on and on. I recently finished I Am Pilgrim which is 705 pages, and my review said 300 of those were superfluous.

For me the ideal book length is anything over 500 pages unless it is a bad book then the shorter the better! Really, I don't like shorter books - seems like you just get starter reading one and it is finished. Give me length and lots of story any day.

One of the reasons I prefer long running series is because the multiple books often read like one giant book. I get invested in the characters and storyline and can stay with them for a very long time.

When I run into a poorly edited author I stop reading and will not buy any more of that author's books. Period.

Lexie wrote: "Jenni wrote: "Maybe there was a time around when Agatha Christie was writing that ~220 pgs was the norm, because Patricia Highsmith's and Conrad Jones' books from the early half of the 1900s are th..." Lexie that made me laugh. Same for me. I read in the bathtub and I worry about dropping the book.

Jamie Lynn wrote: "It all depends on the editing. Lately there are books that seem to be unedited. I am running into books with 200 pages of fillers. Some books need to be longer to tell the story. Others seem to fil..." Drives me crazy. My favorite review was when someone said the book had not one wasted word. That's what I like to read.

I would say in the 300-page ballpark is about ideal for me. But a good book, whether it's 200 or 800 pages, will engage me to the point where I don't notice how long it is.

I've read some 700+ page books that were so good it seemed like they were only 200 pages long. And some 200 page books that were so bad they seemed like they were 1000+ pages long.

My ideal book length is around 350 pages (I've always said it's easy to write a novel. you just write a page a day and at the end of the year, you've got a book--just kidding).

Under 400 pages is ideal. I sometime like a really quick book that's much shorter too - if everything moves quickly. But it really depends on the book. I mean The Stand by Stephen King was 800 pages in its edited down version - but it was a great book. He later put out a bigger edition with all the stuff he had to trim out to get down to 800! But generally I'm more inclined to buy a book that's not that huge...The Kennedy Connection: A Gil Malloy Novel

I'm not too picky, although I prefer novels to novellas. Anywhere from 280-400ish is fine with me.

Alan wrote: "One of the reasons I prefer long running series is because the multiple books often read like one giant book. I get invested in the characters and storyline and can stay with them for a very long t..."
Me too!

Interesting fact I learned just yesterday, as a matter of fact. Longer books sell better than shorter ones. The study referenced "short" as being under 300 pages.