Murder By Demand.
Part One.
Is it just me or are the bookshelves in most High Street shops expanding in the area of crime fiction? I think they are, gratifyingly so. But is the increase in historical crime or modern? Ah, there’s the rub! Browse in the section cunningly labeled crime and the titles exhibit a fascination by themselves; often the cover gives no clue - such is the art of the cover design. I cast an intrigued eye over the blurb and the plot is calling to me, while the superlatives used thinly disguise age-old motives such as lust and greed. But when is the book set?
Thus I have to ‘sample’ several pages until I find reference to lab reports and computers and such before I emit a sigh and replace the book, unpurchased, on the shelf. Don’t get me wrong - I enjoy a good, modern crime or thriller. I have many on my bookshelves. But time is limited and for this site (and my own slight preference) I must read historical murder and mayhem. But this extended examination shows several trends. There is an increase in public interest in crime writing. The popularity of such TV programmes, such as C.S.I. <insert location here>, has boosted sales but the unwritten implication is that it isn’t the crime, the motive or even the detective’s efforts, that is of interest but the science and forensic detail that attracts. Use of computer graphics and special effects enhances this.
Despite the viewers interest in ‘nuts ‘n’ bolts’ forensics, the modern crime writer is taking a leaf out of the historical crime writers notebook and putting more effort into the personalities of victim, detective and criminal. The lab reports and computer traces are still there but the reader is also informed of the killer’s thought processes, the detectives troubled past (it’s always troubled - a sign of our times, perhaps?) and the victim’s history which led them to the altar of crime detection in action. But the modern crime writer still has to involve the technical aspect of detection. The idea of a crime being solved without recourse to laboratories to provide evidence still makes writers of modern crime shudder and hide behind a copy of Pathologist Monthly!
Another trend is the cover art being more ‘art’ than illustration of content. I got a copy of Curtain: Poirot’s Last Case which had a cover showing a red and black photograph of the emergency exit of a stage theatre. Nice (but obvious) reference to the title but not of the content. Cover art might be influenced by the author but (as far as I am aware) tends to be dominated by the publisher’s choice. After all, they are in the business of selling novels. The current fashion, it seems, is to make the cover eye-catching but not informative, much like pretentious adverts for perfume or cars which say nothing of the product itself.
So, crime fiction is on the up and publishers have tumbled to the mass market appeal of the medium. Now all we have to do is attract the general publics attention to the fascinating appeal of history - and it’s crime - without scaring them away with nasty concepts like education, research and period accuracy.
To Be Continued...
