The genre I probably watch the most, the type of movie I’m most likely to sit down with on any given day is the crime genre. I love a good crime story. I love watching detectives (or reporters, or priests, or little old ladies) solving crimes. The best crimes, of course, are murders, and the best type of crime story is a murder mystery.
One of the many things I love about a good murder mystery is how malleable it is. There are a million ways to murder someone and a million other ways to solve the case. There are Agatha Christie-style mysteries in which some high society dame is bloodlessly murdered and an eccentric detective carefully interviews all the suspects and solves the case by putting them all in a room together.
There are hard-boiled stories about gritty murders on skid row. There are film noirs and sexy neo-noirs. There are crime stories that are funny and others that are sad. Some are told matter-of-factly, almost like a documentary, and others are told with stylistic flourishes. I love them all.
So as I was thinking about what kind of movie theme I could have for May I thought about murder mystery, and because I love alliteration Murder Mysteries in May had a distinct ring about it. And here we are.
themidnightcafe.org 
Murder mysteries are even more fun when you get a curated picklist like this, thanks for highlighting books that balance suspense, unexpected turns, and emotional stakes!