Mysteries' Colorful Characters Reel in Readers

NPR | By Lynn Neary

Published July 20, 2007 at 4:00 PM EDT

Books in the crime/mystery genre often feature a colorful character, frequently a detective, who is the main reason readers keep coming back for more — from Edgar Allan Poe's Auguste Dupin to Ross Macdonald's Lew Archer, by way of Sherlock Holmes.

In his latest novel, Bad Luck and Trouble, author Lee Child continues the adventures of dashing Jack Reacher.

Lynn Neary

Lynn Neary is an NPR arts correspondent covering books and publishing.

See stories by Lynn Neary

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