It's a Mystery

The voyage of discovery is not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes. - Marcel Proust

Plotting a romantic mystery is a challenge. I know, I know, a bunch of you write this stuff and are nodding your heads. Uh, at least I hope you're nodding your heads and I'm not just a total idiot.

See, it's bad enough to plot a romance with conflict's and relationship problems, etc., and not have to worry about paltry little things like murder, blackmail and clues. How much to reveal to the character and the reader, and how little. What's a red herring and what isn't. Whether to reveal your bad guy or keep him hidden. How the H/H can get involved amongst bullets flying and big misunderstandings.

Still, although it's a challenge, and I don't feel that I can start writing until I've got it mostly figured out, I'm enjoying it. It's a little like reading a good mystery and not being able to figure out whodunnit until the last page. Only, I know I'm going to be right.

Anyone out there have words of advice for a novice romantic suspense gal? Do's and Do Not's?