Puzzle mystery
Encyclopedia
The puzzle mystery is a sub-genre of detective fiction
where the emphasis is on the "whodunnit" aspect. The entire novel
or film is oriented to the puzzle and its solution, and characterization takes a distinctly secondary place.
Detective fiction
Detective fiction is a sub-genre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an investigator , either professional or amateur, investigates a crime, often murder.-In ancient literature:...
where the emphasis is on the "whodunnit" aspect. The entire novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
or film is oriented to the puzzle and its solution, and characterization takes a distinctly secondary place.