A bloody knife in the garden bushes behind the house. The smell of Marlboro cigarettes in the bedroom. An overturned carpet. Two pairs of muddy footprints in the kitchen but nowhere else in the house. Eight frightened guests at the Moores' annual family gathering. One dead woman dressed in all yellow except for the stain right in the middle of her abdomen. Who did it?
How can you not be excited about a murder mystery?
I was always personally fascinated with the writings of the Queen of Crime, Agatha Christie and have since collected around two dozen of her books. I just love the plot formula she uses in most of her books: a murder is committed, there are multiple suspects who each have secrets or motives of their own, and the detective (Hercule Poirot is my fav) gradually uncovers their secrets or motives over the course of the story, with twists included towards the end. At the end, in typical Agatha Christie fashion the detective (Poirot) usually gathers the suspects into a room, explains the course of his deductive reasoning, and reveals the culprit. Sometimes the culprits confess, escape, left to die, get killed or kill themselves.
“I had killed a man, for money and a woman. I didn't have the money and I didn't have the woman.”
― James M. Cain in 'Double Indemnity'
It may all seem like pretty easy peasy stuff to write. But really, it is a craft. There is no 'Writing Crime and Mystery for Dummies' book or maybe there is, who cares. Of course, you can always search online and there are thousands of websites offering advice or guidelines on how to write the perfect crime novel. There is no magic formula. Different writers offer a variety of plots and settings. The protagonists may not be the usual goody two-shoes and always obey the law. The antagonists may not be the usual evil, often conflicted between the gray space of what's right from wrong.
Let's bomb drop. Agatha Christie, is only outsold by the Bible and Shakespeare. Boom.
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn had sold over two million copies in print and digital editions by the end of its first year in publication.
Stieg Larsson's Millennium series had sold 80 million copies worldwide since 2005.
And of course no one is a stranger to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes. His writings continue to live on for many generations to come.
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn had sold over two million copies in print and digital editions by the end of its first year in publication.
Stieg Larsson's Millennium series had sold 80 million copies worldwide since 2005.
And of course no one is a stranger to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes. His writings continue to live on for many generations to come.
So what is so addictive about crime or a murder mystery that makes us turn the page in anticipation?
We are survivors
We are survivors
Women especially are avid fans of true crime shows. The question is why? It is pure survival instinct. We are unconsciously preparing ourselves with the knowledge and skills to avoid being involved in such negative situations. We do not want to be victims. Of course, it is the same for men.
As humans, we are a bit skeptical of people. It takes us some time to trust people, whether it would be our neighbors, co-workers, people at the gym, or classmates. That is natural. Being paranoid is a whole other level. It is not natural for a person allowing someone they met at the bar to hold on their wallet filled with cash just so they can use the loo. I mean he or she might be a friend of a friend but, most people are not that naive. We would want to protect our own well beings and our possessions first before we offer a helping hand.
So, reading about crime fiction or watching true crime shows opens up our eyes to the many ways people are conned and taken advantage of. There are a myriad of ways people are poisoned, kidnapped, held for ransom, murdered, sexually assaulted and so on. It also opens our minds to corruption, organized crime and street gangs. It is a scary world. And there are scary people — sociopaths or psychopaths among us.
As humans, we are a bit skeptical of people. It takes us some time to trust people, whether it would be our neighbors, co-workers, people at the gym, or classmates. That is natural. Being paranoid is a whole other level. It is not natural for a person allowing someone they met at the bar to hold on their wallet filled with cash just so they can use the loo. I mean he or she might be a friend of a friend but, most people are not that naive. We would want to protect our own well beings and our possessions first before we offer a helping hand.
So, reading about crime fiction or watching true crime shows opens up our eyes to the many ways people are conned and taken advantage of. There are a myriad of ways people are poisoned, kidnapped, held for ransom, murdered, sexually assaulted and so on. It also opens our minds to corruption, organized crime and street gangs. It is a scary world. And there are scary people — sociopaths or psychopaths among us.
“All fiction is largely autobiographical and much autobiography is, of course, fiction.”
― P.D. James
We are curious
Oh we love a good story. We love talking about a rumor. We love gossiping about the what ifs and why nots. We are just plain busy bodies. We want to know. We don't necessarily know how to solve the mystery, so we just enjoy reading about someone else solving it. This is in our nature.
You know how some people just love solving puzzles? They have Sudoku, crossword puzzles, or word search games on their phone. They get a kick out of it. It is exactly the same as reading about crime fiction or murder mysteries. It is stimulating. It gives you a sort of satisfaction at the end.
Talking about satisfaction, do you ever find yourself binge-watching true crime on Netflix or TV and at the end of the last episode you feel like a withdrawal symptom catching on? Series like 'Making a Murderer', 'The Keepers', or 'Out of Thin Air' are so popular on Netflix. Each episode, the motives and plans of the murderers are ever so slightly revealed to us. They interview close friends and family or even victims who where lucky enough to escape the clutches of death. The murderers were their friends, uncles, boyfriends, wives, neighbors, pastors, electricians — you name it.
In a way, it is also a search for truth. The truth is about the human mind. The difference between our brain and the brain of that the murderer. We are curious on what goes on in the minds of Professor Moriarty, Hannibal Lecter, or Amy Dunne. People want to understand the psychology of murderers or serial killers because we are afraid or we want to feel afraid.
We want to feel fear
It is a dose of adrenaline in the comfort of our beds, arm chairs where ever. 'Oh! It is too horrible what happened to that woman! But it's just a book. That won't happen to me.' Adrenaline has an addictive effect on the human brain. That is why mystery or crime fiction readers relish in that feeling.
Reading about crime fiction pulls us into this wild world where we are probably trapped in an underground basement, with our hands and legs bounded. We are terrified. No one can hear us. We cannot hear anyone but the creak of footsteps coming down the basement stairs. His eyes are bulging out with insanity. He is walking towards us with a screwdriver in his right hand. Soaked in fear, we let out a scream beneath the duct tap on our lips. Nothing.
We look up and see that is already 1 AM in the morning. We let out a sigh of relief and turn the page for more!
Reading about crime fiction pulls us into this wild world where we are probably trapped in an underground basement, with our hands and legs bounded. We are terrified. No one can hear us. We cannot hear anyone but the creak of footsteps coming down the basement stairs. His eyes are bulging out with insanity. He is walking towards us with a screwdriver in his right hand. Soaked in fear, we let out a scream beneath the duct tap on our lips. Nothing.
We look up and see that is already 1 AM in the morning. We let out a sigh of relief and turn the page for more!
The Mystery or Crime Fiction genre really dives head first in to humanity's darkest moments — showing us the noire world that we live in. The best mystery/crime fiction writers opens you to the minds of evil, tips you off the balance of justice, introduces you to colorful characters and lives. They bring you on a hot air balloon to beautiful settings of Petra, quiet towns of Devon, and the back alleys of New York.
Crime has also changed through the centuries. The Caller by Chris Carter paints us a picture of how a serial killer uses technology to induce fear and terror in his victims by using a simple feature of 'video calling'. Crime has seep through our wires and into our screens. More and more people are turning to cyber-bullying, using social media to stalk and gain access in to peoples' lives. And of more recent times, social media is used as a tool for people to publicize their crimes to a large audience such as the Christchurch mosque shootings.
Crime is a part of our society. Human history's dirty secret is that societies are partially built on coercion and violence whether we want to admit it or not. That is why the crime fiction genre is so relatable to us and continues to fascinate people all over the world.
Sources
Begley, S. ( March 31,2015). Time.com. 'Here's the Cover for the New Book in Stieg Larsson's Millennium Series'
http://time.com/3765229/girl-in-the-spiders-web/
Crime has also changed through the centuries. The Caller by Chris Carter paints us a picture of how a serial killer uses technology to induce fear and terror in his victims by using a simple feature of 'video calling'. Crime has seep through our wires and into our screens. More and more people are turning to cyber-bullying, using social media to stalk and gain access in to peoples' lives. And of more recent times, social media is used as a tool for people to publicize their crimes to a large audience such as the Christchurch mosque shootings.
Crime is a part of our society. Human history's dirty secret is that societies are partially built on coercion and violence whether we want to admit it or not. That is why the crime fiction genre is so relatable to us and continues to fascinate people all over the world.
“Every murderer is probably somebody's old friend.”
― Agatha Christie in
'The Mysterious Affair at Styles'
― Agatha Christie in
'The Mysterious Affair at Styles'
Sources
Begley, S. ( March 31,2015). Time.com. 'Here's the Cover for the New Book in Stieg Larsson's Millennium Series'
http://time.com/3765229/girl-in-the-spiders-web/
Bonn, S. (January 8, 2016). Time Magazine. 'Why We Are Drawn to True Crime Shows'. http://time.com/4172673/true-crime-allure/
Smith, P. (April 5, 2018). 'This Is Your Brain On True Crime Stories'.
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