What is the Mystery Genre?

Stories that belong in the mystery genre usually focus on the solving of a puzzle or a crime by the main character who acts as a detective to put all of the clues together in order to find out "whodunit". It is the reader's job to follow along with the main character/detective and decode all of the clues presented by the author. To do this, the reader must notice and understand the meaning of the clues given and use logic to fill in the gaps.