This week I’m visiting the Sleuthsayers blog, with a blogpost about why murder mysteries are so popular in times of chaos and upheaval. Here’s the opener.
Why Do We Read Murder Mysteries?
By Anne R. Allen
I once met an aspiring writer who been forced to move in with Mom after a year of rejections and other catastrophes. He dealt with his humiliating situation by criticizing his mother to anybody who would listen.
One of her greatest sins? She spent every evening reading mystery novels and watching BBC murder mysteries.
“It freaks me out that she’s so bloodthirsty,” he said. “Why does she want to focus on death every night?” He added “They’re so unrealistic. How can there be any people left in Midsomer with all those murders every week?”
I hear this kind of negativity from readers, too. “Why do you want to write about murder and death? That seems like such a downer. Why don’t you write about something more comforting and uplifting?”
But here’s the thing: mysteries are uplifting. The classic mystery doesn’t focus on death, but what caused it. A mysterious murder causes chaos, but the sleuth finds out whodunnit, brings the culprit to justice, and order is restored. That gives us comfort, especially in times of stress.
Time reported that during the pandemic, booksellers had a hard time keeping Agatha Christie’s novels in stock. People were consuming them like tranquilizers.
To read the rest of my post, visit the Sleuthsayers blog.
What about you, scriveners? Do you read murder mysteries? Why do you like them?
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ARCs are available for Anne’s New Mystery!!
Okay, I’ve been a cybermoron this month and didn’t let you know there are free digital ARCs of my new mystery The Hour of the Moth.
The free ebooks are available at BookFunnel. Contact me at annerallen.allen@gmail.com, or leave your info in a comment, and I’ll send a code that will let you download the ebook to your device. Of course this is because my publisher and I would be ecstatic to get a few honest reviews, but a review is not required.
FREE EBOOK!
Contact Anne for a review copy of her new mystery, or leave a comment
NPR fans, there are Easter Eggs in this story just for you!
When Camilla Randall allows a neighboring business to hold a “Moth Hour” storytelling event in the courtyard of her beachy California bookstore, she finds an inconvenient corpse left in the audience after the event. The deceased, a storyteller famous for his appearances on NPR, turns out to have a shady past — and a lot of enemies. Unfortunately, Camilla’s boyfriend Ronzo is one of them.
Ebook and paper book also available at Amazon. Paper book also available at Barnes and Noble
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featured image–Young Lady Reading by Mary Cassatt (1878)
Crime fiction, like horror fiction, brings comfort in punishing the guilty and reinstating the status quo.
Besides, the best murder mysteries are puzzles challenging the reader to solve them alongside the protagonist. Interactive fiction at its best.
Hector–“Interactive fiction.” I never thought of mysteries that way, but you’re right. A good puzzle is interactive.
Anne, whatever happened to the complaining young writer? Did Mom kill him? 😉
Writing mysteries is one way to mete out justice that rarely happens in real life. Giving bad guys their just deserts is a major reason why I write crime fiction.
On a long plane trip yesterday, I read The Hour of the Moth. What a fun ride. Thanks for making the time fly by!
BTW, I wrote a 5-star review for Amazon and Goodreads but they haven’t shown up yet.
Debbie–I think the guy gave up writing, poor dear. A writing career is not for wimps. I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed The Hour of the Moth. And thanks so much for writing a review. You know how important that is to an author!
I don’t read often although I do watch that genre of movie. I don’t think there is anything horrific or creepy about them though. That guy wants real creepy, read or watch torture porn like Saw.
Alex–That guy did talk about Midsomer Murders as if it was something like Saw. He lumped them all together. Very weird. I hate that kind of horror story. Anything with a lot of stage blood, and I’m diving for the remote.
Why do we read murder mysteries? Because they’re the best kind of fiction! 😊They combine the analytical problem-solving part of the brain with the emotional connection to the characters. What could be better?
Kay–You’re right! Mysteries stimulate many parts of the brain. So they make us smarter! 🙂
Hi Anne,
I love this reasoning — makes all sorts of sense to me. And it’s definitely one of the any reasons I read, but I get that satisfaction from pretty much any fiction. The argument could be made that any book involves a mystery to be solved & chaos to be put in order.
CS–Some other forms of fiction do that. But not all. I decided a while ago to stop reading the kind of fiction where everything falls apart at the end. The message of some litfic writers seems to be “life sux and then you die.” The last time I saw a production of King Lear I decided I’d never put myself through that again. But I realize that’s not everybody’s taste.
Anne, I would love to review The Hour of the Moth. I”ll email you my email address.
VM–The link should be in your inbox. 🙂
I agree with the solace that reading mysteries provides – something fixed and resolved, criminal brought to justice! Feeding our ability to continue to hope. For me Nora Roberts’ romance novels do the same, giving me hope of a love possibility for two Adults with history who are willing to take a chance on each other. My husband and I did and the books remind and affirm in me our choice 58 years ago.
Lola–Romances give readers hope that humans can get over themselves enough to bond with each other, and that can be really uplifting. I know many Nora Roberts fans who turn to her whenever they need to escape the horrors of today’s world. This is why romances need to have that HEA ending (or at least “happy for now.”)
Ah, Anne, perfect timing. Steve and I were discussing which book we should read next. I was proposing a book about children caught up in Hitler’s war. He said it was good depressing and we needed to avoid heavy, sad stories. After reading your blog, I have some arguments to convince him. Better, yet, please send me the link for your new book. I guarantee we’ll write a review.
Judythe–I think this is not a time to read depressing books. We need to keep our spirits up in spite of the assaults on our freedom and way of life. I don’t read WW2 books anymore. Too close to home, maybe? I’ll send you a link to the ebook.
Fantastic post Anne. It’s all so true. You summed it up perfectly when you said, “The classic mystery doesn’t focus on death, but what caused it.” As a grieving widow, these shows keep me busy following the clues. It’s the romance movies and stories that are much more painful to watch or read.
My go-to when I want to watch something to ‘escape’ are police procedurals, who-done-its, and Dateline, lol. These types of stories keep me focused and trying to figure out who is the culprit. They keep my mind occupied-watching, I like to call it. Just as a great mystery will have me turning the pages. It’s fascination really. Human nature makes us curious. <3
Debby–You’re so right. Mysteries can help us through grief better than other genres. After my Mom died, I binged on Midsomer Murders and old Agatha Christies. I kept trying to read women’s fiction, but it only made me sad. And my mind would wander. The puzzle of a good mystery keeps us glued, because we have to see all the clues. I haven’t gone back to the women’s fiction I used to love. Maybe I will, but so far, I’ve stayed a convert to mysteries.
Aha, so it’s not just me. 🙂