Mystery: Benefits

Every genre comes with drawbacks. But every genre also has benefits. Some of the benefits of mysteries:

• They teach logic and how to be observant; after all, half of the fun of mysteries is trying to figure it out before the protagonist does!
• They remind us of the consequences of leaving “small” sins unchecked; few people, even in fiction, ever start out intending to commit murder.
• They offer us an understanding of the why behind awful things. Random crimes always seem doubly terrible to us because of their randomness; mysteries allow us to see the why.
• They assure ius that we will reap what we sow. The criminal will be found and punished, no matter how smart or insidious.