• Something that baffles understanding and cannot be explained.
• A story about a crime (usually murder) presented as a novel or play or movie
• A narrative in which the chief element is usually a crime around which the plot is built.
• The secret or specialized practices or ritual peculiar to an occupation or a body of people; rites or secrets known only to those initiated
• The plot revolves around some crime--whether it be a murder, theft or kidnapping. There is usually a detective in this type of novel.

The list of books 

• The Surprise Party by R. L. Stine
• A Stranger Came Ashore by Mollie Hunter
• To the Death by Patrick Robinson
• Shadowing Ivy by Janelle Taylor
• Lawman by Diana Palmer
• Backlash by Paula Gosling
• Trunk Music by Michael Connelly
• Habeas Campus by Wendi Lee
• The Trouble with Witches (Ophelia and Abby Mysteries #3) by Shirley Damsgaard
• Tippy-toe Murder (Lucy Stone Mystery #2) by Leslie Meier
• High Stakes (Nancy Drew & Hardy Boys SuperMystery #29) by Carolyn Keene
• Foul Play by Janet Evanovich
• The Cleaner by Brett Battles
• Darkfever (Fever Series, Book 1) by Karen Marie Moning
• Got the Look by James Grippando
• Dead of Winter by P. J. Parrish
• The Big Secret by Peter Earley
• Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon by David Michaels
• The Alligator's Farewell by Hialeah Jackson
• Coming Home to You by Fay Robinson
• Touch by Elmore Leonard
• Aftermath (Inspector Banks #12) by Peter Robinson
• Birds of Prey (J. P. Beaumont Series #15) by J. A. Jance
• Courting Trouble (Rosato and Associates #9) by Lisa Scottoline
• The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse: a Novel by Louise Erdrich
• The Devil Knows You're Dead (Matthew Scudder Series #11) by Lawrence Block
• Lonestar Sanctuary (Lonestar Series, Book 1) by Colleen Coble
• Kissing Christmas Goodbye (An Agatha Raisin Mystery) by M. C. Beaton
• Monkey See, Monkey Die (Reigning Cats & Dogs Mystery #7) by Cynthia Baxter
• Say Goodbye by Lisa Gardner