During
the holiday season this past year, a good friend who also reads and writes
mystery fiction gifted me a copy of THE GOLDEN AGE OF MURDER by Martin
Edwards which I appreciated.The book got me thinking about what I want to
discuss in regard to mystery and crime fiction.
The
traditional mystery features a detective or several detectives who investigate
a crime or series of crimes. The amateur sleuths can work in any number of
unique and unusual professions which provide interesting background and setting
for the story. They can live in any place in the world. They can be nosy
spinsters who live in small English villages or gifted professors who
investigate bizarre historical crimes. From cozy to thriller, the amateur
sleuth fascinates readers.
The private detective novel is a mystery genre unto
itself. In 1887, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle created Sherlock Holmes, the most famous of
all fictional detectives. Sherlock Holmes was not the first fictional
detective. However, his name is one we think of immediately. Conan Doyle stated
that the character of Holmes was inspired by Dr.
Joseph Bell, for whom Doyle had worked as a
clerk at the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary.
Like Holmes, Bell
The Golden Age of Detective Fiction, the
1920’s and 30’s, brought many writers of detective stories to the forefront.
British female authors like Agatha Christie are particularly memorable. Of the
four "Queens of Crime" of that era: Christie, Dorothy Sayers, Ngaio Marsh and Margery Allingham, all were British except for Marsh who was
a New Zealander.
In the 1930’s, the hard-boiled private
eye novels began to evolve with American writers. Over the years, many interesting
writers have emerged in this genre. Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler, Mickey Spillane,
Ross Macdonald, and Robert Parker are just a few of the writers who still
resonate with readers. P.I. detectives are tough guys dealing with seedy
characters on the mean city streets, the so-called underbelly of society. They
are professional detectives who live by a code of honor but rarely earn much
for their efforts. They generally have antagonistic relationships with the
police and, like the amateur detective, tend to be more intelligent than
professional law enforcement counterparts. The P.I.
novel was male-dominated until the late
1970’s and early 80’s when writers such as Sara Paretsky, Marcia Miller and Sue
Grafton began creating women investigators who were as tough as men. These
novels offered more in-depth characterization and, in the case of Paretsky, a
social agenda.
The police
procedural provides the reader with a different type of detective story. In
reality, most crimes are investigated by police. This type of mystery stresses
step-by-step procedures followed by professional detectives such as processing
crime scenes to collect physical evidence, canvassing the area for witnesses or
suspects, postmortem examination of bodies in the case of murders, identifying
a victim if that is not known, and interviewing known friends, co-workers,
relatives and associates. The list is often long and tedious. Not generally so
in a novel. Although it is agreed that the police procedural should be accurate
in portraying what law enforcement officers actually do, it is not necessary to
bore readers to death. Like the P.I. novel, this is action-oriented genre
fiction. While the plot may be the backbone of a police procedural as O’Neil De
Noux, a longtime police officer and homicide detective, observed in an article
written for The Writer (“How to Write
the Police Procedural Novel,” October, 1992 issue), the novel won’t interest
readers unless there are well-developed central characters-- witness the great
success of Ed McBain's 87th precinct series in books, film
and as a television series. Much of the
appeal of the novels rest with main character Steve Carella and his
relationship with Teddy, his deaf-mute wife, as well as his interaction with
fellow police detectives such as Meyer Meyer.
Distinctive
places also add interest to the modern police procedural. For example, moody
Scandinavian settings have provided bleak backgrounds for the investigations of
Inspector Martin Beck (Sjöwall and Wahlöö in the 1960’s) or Wallander (Henning Mankell) and more recently Inspector
Tell (Camilla Cedar).
It goes without saying that all books
should be researched for accuracy of detail. However, Eric Wright observes (The
Writer, October 1990 issue, p. 9) that writers should do their research last.
His reasoning: once a story is written the writer will know what information is
actually needed and necessary. Collecting unnecessary facts proves to be a
waste of valuable time. I am of the opinion that it also leads to information
dumping as many writers then cannot resist the temptation to include material
that should be cut and which has no purpose in the book or story.
Of course, the more traditional view is
that authors who write police procedurals must insist on total accuracy.
Margaret Maron, for instance, has explained how she used interviews with police
detectives and civil service clerks, attended “criminalistics” classes and took
notes on the trivia associated with everyday police activities in a station
house to depict realism in her police novel series (The Writer, June, 1993
issue).
Patricia D. Cornwell’s novels have long
graced the bestseller lists. Her Dr. Kay
Scarpetta forensic pathologist crime novels are strongly associated with her
own career. Cornwell describes herself as having been a crime reporter. The character
of Dr. Scarpetta appears to have been initially inspired by an interview she
had with a female medical examiner. She went to work for the medical examiners
and eventually became their computer analyst. Her opinion: stories that lack
credibility and authenticity will be unread (The Writer, December 1991, p.
18-20).
P. D. James is another author of police
procedurals we can describe as the real deal. James held a position
as a senior employee in the Criminal Policy Department in England
Cross genre
fiction combining elements of romance, the paranormal, and suspense with
mystery have become more common in today’s crime fiction. I believe this less
traditional approach is becoming a trend in modern mystery fiction. The
traditional lines are blurring and authors are experimenting with a greater
variety of style and technique in a genre that is now more dynamic, fluid and
exciting. What remains the same is the need for a well-developed plot,
well-rounded and well-defined characters, and a distinctive setting.
My latest novel
DEATH PROMISE from Encircle combines elements of mystery thriller with romantic
suspense. Set in Las Vegas, New York and London, the pace is fast-moving and
exciting which is more typical of the modern crime novel and appealing to
today’s readers who do have a shorter attention span.
For more about the novel, check it out here:
DEATH
PROMISE is now available in print and
e-book from:
and many
other booksellers.
Positive reviews
are starting to be posted:
Library Journal:
"Romantic suspense with an interesting plot...the plot kept this reviewer turning the pages."
"Romantic suspense with an interesting plot...the plot kept this reviewer turning the pages."
Your thoughts, input and
comments welcome and appreciated!
