what separates mystery from romances?

The best answer(s) I've come acrooss are in a book titled "How to Write Kiler Historical Mysteries" by Kathy Lynn Emerson
It will provide answers and resources to that and several other relateds questions, even if you're not writing a historical whodunit
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p.s. It's funny you should come from Chesterfield ,MO. My brother attended a seminary there for 4 years in the late 60s

"p.s. It's funny you should come from Chesterfield ,MO. My brother attended a seminary there for 4 years in the late 60s"

:D At first, I read your brother attended a seminar for 4 years! I thought boy! That's one long seminar! :)

Thanks for the suggestion, I'll see if the library has that book!

Well nowadays there's what's known as romantic suspense, but mysteries can have romance in them without being a straight-up romance novel or being necessarily romantic suspense.

Romances are primarily concerned with love and the interaction between two (or more people). Romance focuses on the relationship.

Mystery, on the other hand, is more about solving the puzzle, the crime, etc. Mysteries are primarily concerned with the central event, not the romance. You can have romance in a mystery (and vice versa) it just depends on the focus of the story.

Think about it as percents. The higher the percent of romance, the more likely it is that you're writing a romance. The higher the percent of mystery, the more likely it is that you're writing a mystery.

So just decide what's more important to your novel--is the main focus the mystery at hand or the romance? Then you'll have your answer.

I hope this makes sense! :-D

“Yeah, well I was planning on being Mrs. Aidan Murphy… not Mrs. McCormick. I feel like I belong on a spice bottle.” ~ Katherine Robertson, KILL ZONE