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Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

Amateur Sleuth KDP Category Guide

Amazon KDP Category Guide — BSR benchmarks, competition data, and how to rank

Category Overview

Kindle Store › Kindle eBooks › Mystery, Thriller & Suspense › Mystery › Amateur Sleuths

Competition Level

Medium Competition
5/10

BSR Benchmarks

Metric Benchmark
BSR to reach Top 10 < 800
BSR to reach Top 100 < 7,000
Average Price $3.99–$4.99

Amateur Sleuth sits between Cozy Mystery and traditional detective fiction. The amateur premise gives authors freedom in character profession — which also drives sub-niche discovery (librarian sleuth, chef sleuth, etc.).

How to List Your Book in This Category

  1. 1 Open your KDP Bookshelf and go to your book's details page.
  2. 2 Under "Categories", click Browse Categories.
  3. 3 Follow the path: Kindle Store › Kindle eBooks › Mystery, Thriller & Suspense › Mystery › Amateur Sleuths
  4. 4 If the subcategory is not selectable directly, contact KDP support for assistance.
  5. 5 You can hold up to 3 categories per book — use all three.

Tips for This Category

  • Character profession becomes the sub-niche hook — make it specific and memorable
  • The amateur's professional knowledge should be used to solve the crime
  • Series of 3+ are the standard expectation in this sub-category

Related KDP Categories

Cozy Mystery Police Procedural