Mystery, Suspense, Thriller, Espionage, Paranormal - The Same Thing?

Mystery reading has always been a favorite pastime of mine.  Although I love true crime novels best, I am also attracted to paranormal, horror, and any other genre that includes mystery.  But are they the same?  Let's take a look and find out.

Mystery Stories -Definition: Mystery is a genre of fiction in which a detective, either an amateur or a professional, solves a crime or a series of crimes. Because detective stories rely on logic, supernatural elements rarely come into play. The detective may be a private investigator, a policeman, an elderly widow, or a young girl, but he or she generally has nothing material to gain from solving the crime. 

This definition comes from fictionwriting.about.com in the glossary section.  So, a person or person solves a crime or a series of crime.  Detectives rely on logic.  Most sleuths have nothing to gain from solving the crime.  

Suspense Stories: (the following definition comes from Dictionary.com).

Suspense -sus·pense   [suh-spens]  Show IPA

noun

1.

a state or condition of mental uncertainty or excitement, as in awaiting a decision or outcome, usually accompanied by a degree of apprehension or anxiety.

2.

undecided or doubtful condition, as of affairs: For a few days matters hung in suspense.

The story is a state of uncertainty or excitement, or an undecided or doubtful condition.  If I read this correctly, this could be the crime or crimes decision or ending a mystery the crime solver is waiting for?

Thriller – this definition is from Wikipedia:

thriller is a broad genre of literature, film, and television programming that uses suspense, tension and excitement as the main elements.[2] Thrillers heavily stimulate the viewer's moods giving them a high level of anticipation, ultra-heightened expectation, uncertainty, surprise, anxiety and/or terror. Thriller films tend to be adrenaline-rushing, gritty, rousing and fast-paced. Literary devices such as red herrings, plot twists and cliffhangers are used extensively. A thriller is villain-driven plot, whereby he or she presents obstacles that the hero must overcome.[3][4]

Here we are told that suspense and excitement constitute a thriller.  Hmm, doesn’t that also include mystery?

Espionage, spy novel, political thriller – the following definition is also from Wikipedia:

Spy fiction, literature concerning the forms of espionage, was a sub-genre derived from the novel during the nineteenth century, which then evolved into a discrete genre before the First World War (1914–18), when governments established modern intelligence agencies in the early twentieth century. As a genre, spy fiction is thematically related to the novel of adventure (The Prisoner of Zenda, 1894, The Scarlet Pimpernel, 1905), the thriller (such as the works of Edgar Wallace) and the politico–military thriller (The Schirmer Inheritance, 1953, The Quiet American, 1955).

Ok, I get it.  Suspense and espionage can also be mystery.  Reading mysteries has never been more exciting.  It’s possible to read mystery novels online, on eReaders, or in book form.  Since all of the above definitions fit into the category, mystery lovers should have plenty of books to read for a lifetime!