10 Best Reasons to Read a Mystery

10. To help mystery writers pay the rent.

9. So you have an answer to, "Read any good books lately?"

8. To pass the time in the bathroom when you've already read this month's Oprah.

7. To distract you from those drilling sounds in the dentist's office while you wait.

6. To know who dunnit before the non-reading movie audience does.

5. To keep you awake that extra hour when we turn the clocks back and it's too early to go to sleep.

4. To sublimate murderous thoughts about your ex.

3. To learn more about autopsies and forensic techniques than the producers of Crossing Jordan, CSI, and Law and Order -- and to let them know when they screw up.

2. To give your recurring nightmares complexity and substance.

1. To read the juicy parts without having to buy an erotic novel!