why write and read crime fiction

[Dianne Day]

I've just been thinking about this, as it happens. And though nobody is reading my blog here I thought I'd post my thoughts so that I don't lose them. I believe since cave man days we humans have been telling stories as a way of explaining our world to ourselves and each other. At the present time, worldwide, we seem to be trying to evolve out of living in a society where one tribe must continually be at war with another -- though some of us have gotten farther with that than others -- and so, we are concerned, we NEED to, understand violence. Its causes and consequences. So, we tell these stories as a way of moving forward in gaining that understanding.

If anyone does happen to read this, I welcome comments.

[Sandra Ruttan]

Well, I posted this eons ago on DorothyL (as in 18 months ago or so... and the recent question made me wonder if I still had my answer on file anywhere)

Great question. I think for me, there are several reasons. I'm not just interested in the crime and the victim and the chase, but also the impact that crime has on society as a whole. I'm interested in how one act can be like dropping a rock in the water and cast a thousand ripples out to shatter the calm in all directions.

In a way, it goes to the heart of some of my issues with the education system and modern parenting. After working with children for years, both in homes, in schools and in private centers, the one consistent thing I see that's having a devastating impact on our society is the lack of personal responsibility. Nothing is anyone's fault anymore. I worked with a child in one center where the rule was that children couldn't be asked to apologize. Since we couldn't make them feel sorry, we weren't to ask them to apologize to anyone for anything they did. And so new generations are being conditioned to not only do whatever they want, but not concern themselves with the impact to others because there are no repercussions.

I guess after a few specific experiences of working with future psychos who've already been diagnosed with severe personality disorders I felt like reading about justice. Wandered over to the mystery section, pulled a book off the shelf, glanced at the back, bought the book and have been addicted to Ian Rankin ever since. It's all his fault.

I don't necessarily need a resolution, a captured killer in the end. I'm more interested in the posing of questions, in analyzing an issue and seeing the impact of the crime on the protagonist and people connected to the victim. Brilliant TV to me is The Wire. Absolutely loved Laura Lippman's To The Power of Three. Fundamentally, I like books that make me think about issues and crime fiction has relevance. Its sort of a window into the soul of society. Whether we like to think about it or not, we all pay higher insurance premiums because of theft or have to take certain security precautions because of fraud and we walk just a little bit quicker when we're alone on the street at night. Crime affects us all, even if we aren't the direct victim.

And I must say that the more crime books I read, the more I appreciate reading a great story. There are some great authors in the crime genre who consistently deliver gripping stories about characters I can connect with and they keep me coming back for more.