How do you select your reviewers?

Anyone interested in reviewing for TMR is asked to submit trial reviews. Reviewers are selected on the basis of their writing skills and knowledge of the genre. Our reviewers come from a variety of backgrounds and professions, but all have a love of mystery novels. If you are interested in joining the staff of TMR, email us.

Are TMR reviewers paid?

TMR reviewers are unpaid, although they do receive free galleys and books for review.

Where do your books come from?

We receive ARCs, galleys and review copies from authors and every major romance publisher. The opinions we express are our own. We disclose this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255 : "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

In addition, a contributor may sometimes review a book that he or she has purchased.

Other sites post reviews months before the book is released. Why doesn't TMR?

Our goal is to post our reviews in a timely manner -- close to the book's publication date, when our readers have a reasonable chance of obtaining the book.

Why isn't every new mystery novel reviewed?

TMR now reviews nearly 50 new releases every month. It is a labor of love by all involved, but our contributors have jobs and families, so the work is done in our free time.

PLEASE NOTE: We do the best we can to review as many books as possible every month, but we cannot promise that every book sent to us will be reviewed.

Please remember that the thousands of hours of work put into this site is done by unpaid volunteers in our spare time. With families, jobs and other commitments, we may have unexpected responsibilities that restrict our TMR time. Also, at our discretion, we may choose not to review a book.

How do you decide how much plot to detail in a review?

We have a general rule not to reveal any details after the first third of a novel, unless the information is absolutely essential to evaluating the book. We do believe that we should describe the basic premise of the plot, but not the ending or spoiler information, of course. Readers want to know what the story is about so that they can decide whether or not this is a book they want to read. Our readers depend on us to be honest and complete in our reviews.

Why don't you allow authors or publishers to advertise their specific romance titles on The Mystery Reader?

Since coming online nearly 11 years ago as a candid and unbiased source of mystery reviews, TMR has established this policy so there is no appearance of impropriety or conflict of interest.

Why don't you review e-books?

Our staff is not large enough to review all the print books we receive, so at this time we are unable to review electronic books or self-published books.

October 17, 2009