Claim: Agatha Christie was a crime novelist.

Crime fiction is the literary genre that fictionalises crimes , their detection , criminals , and their motives . It is usually distinguished from mainstream fiction and other genres such as historical fiction or science fiction , but the boundaries are indistinct . Crime fiction has multiple subgenres , including detective fiction -LRB- such as the whodunit -RRB- , courtroom drama , hard-boiled fiction and legal thrillers . Suspense and mystery are key elements that are nearly ubiquitous to the genre .