Two Sides of a Bloody Coin - Musings From The Bookface

Murder, there are few words in the English language that can sum up more feelings of dread and horror. To murder another is one of the worst crimes imaginable and it is no wonder that fiction writers have long been fascinated with the dastardly deed. Murder is dark, gruesome and gritty, unless of course you put the word ‘mystery’ after it; in which case it becomes small English villages, stately homes and solved before it interrupts tea. A ‘Murder Mystery’ has become shorthand for the old-fashioned, chintzy side of the crime spectrum, crime à la Agatha Christie's, M C Beaton, Arthur Conan Doyle or, Janet Evanovich for example. Where light-heartedness, romance and even the odd bit of genuine comedy (I’m looking at you Blotto) threads the drama.

But is this expectation of a less ‘realistic’ affair undermining the credibility of these author’s creations?  The exploits of Poirot and Sherlock Holmes are some of the most enduring private detectives to grace the page and  Stephanie Plum and Agatha Raisin are more than equal to their modern day roles as amateur sleuths in increasingly sticky situations. Often the lighter stories seem to focus more on these amateurs, whereas the grittier realism tends toward law enforcement officials (Hamish Macbeth, PC Peter Grant and Constable Mike Bradley being obvious exceptions that spring to mind.) Sometimes I feel authors are in danger of substituting gore for great story telling, pain for puzzles and science for cerebral aptitude. The Hollywood style sensationalism draws readers in but can the action scenes with their lust for blood distract from the satisfaction of a genuine whodunit?

Which do you prefer, realism or humour? Happy endings or dark alleys? Perhaps I’m old fashioned in that I want my mystery with a little more searching for clues and a little less gratuitous gore.  We are very lucky we can have both, such as Phillip Kerr's fantastic Berlin Noir series or the unstoppable Jack Reacher , even so they fail to leave me with that uplifting feeling I get when Stephanie Plum survives another adventure with her life and dignity (mostly) intact.

- The Muser