Well, according to Dr. Samuel Johnson, no man ever wrote who did not write for money. There are those among us who claim that the detective story is a form of escapist literature. Lovers of the genre will deny this, and they are right to do so, for the detective story addict is not content to sit back and enjoy what is called "a cosy read.
A problem has been set before him, and the true addict obtains pleasure from doing his best to solve it. When the Detection Club was formed in London, England, very strict rules were laid down for the members to follow. The first and greatest commandment was that every clue to the identity of the criminal must be placed fairly before the reader.
This provided for a true and just battle of wits between reader and author, and this, I think, is one of the main reasons people prefer those detective stories that keep to the rules. Here perhaps, it may be a good thing to repeat an observation that others have stressed. To the uninitiated, all classes of mystery fiction are apt to be classed as "thrillers," but to the intelligentsia the rough-and-ready story of breakneck adventure, car chase, mysterious master criminal, sex, blood-thirstiness and highly colored heroics is but the bastard brother of the classic whodunit and is not to the taste of the true detective aficionado.
Put simply, mysteries allow us to believe that we could all be the Miss Marple who outsmarts the arrogant detective from Scotland Yard, though we have less formal experience and neither look nor dress the part.
Mysteries may be a lot of things—escapist fun, guilty pleasures—but they are certainly not pointless. Features Strategy Opinions Concepts. Hello from the other side of the screen.
We're Unfiltered. Category Strategy Features Opinions Concepts. Ashley Kindergan. Douglas not, I understand, quite typical of Mrs. This I had found also a source of annoyance in the case of Mr.
Stout, who, however, has created, after a fashion, Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin and has made some attempt at characterization of the people that figure in the crimes; but Mrs.
Christie, in proportion as she is more expert and concentrates more narrowly on the puzzle, has to eliminate human interest completely, or rather fill in the picture with what seems to me a distasteful parody of it. In this new novel she has to provide herself with puppets who will be good for three stages of suspense: you must first wonder who is going to be murdered, you must then wonder who is committing the murders, and you must finally be unable to foresee which of two men the heroine will marry.
It is all like a sleight-of-hand trick, in which the magician diverts your attention from the awkward or irrelevant movements that conceal the manipulation of the cards, and it may mildly amuse and amaze you, as such a sleight-of-hand performance may.
But here the patter is a constant bore and the properties lack the elegance of playing cards. Hammett did have the advantage of real experience as a Pinkerton detective, and he recharged the old formula of Sherlock Holmes with a certain cold underworld brutality which gave readers a new shudder in the days when it was fashionable to be interested in gangsters; but, beyond this, he lacked the ability to bring the story to imaginative life.
As a writer—despite the praise of him one has heard—he is surely almost as far below Rex Stout as Rex Stout is below James M.
What, then, is the spell of the detective story that has been felt by T. This is important. It's not a book about personal angst, or light romance not that they can't make good books. But murderers are the people we fear most, and thus all of us can relate to the emotions in crime books.
Great point, Melodie! I'll add that to my talk this afternoon at the library. If we can picture a worst case scenario having a positive resolution, we can quiet our fears!
Oops something goofing with my signin Brenda--Middle grade mysteries are great! I know that Nancy Drew made my own childhood much more exciting. They teach kids self-sufficiency and the importance of paying attention. And yes, the UK would be a very good market. Congrats on your success! I am teaching a class on creative writing, and I would love to use your quote about mysteries and roller coasters.
I think you capture the essence of why we love these stories, especially in a pandemic. It's nice to have control! Do I have your permission if I give you credit? Thank you! That seems like such a downer.
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