Pissed off. I hate authors who murder their characters. Not if a character is murdered within a story, but when the author is bored, going for a cheap emotional yank, and kills the character for no good reason. I call that murder of a character, and it's one sin I can't forgive in a writer.
One book of four was good, unfortunately I read that one first, so I kept hoping the rest would be worthwhile. Well, no.
I have a few rules for murder mysteries, modern ones anyway. Agatha Christie and her ilk set up these tropes, others made them passe.
1. Rare female murderers, especially for a violent crime. Women rarely commit murder. Instigate it, sure. Poison someone, maybe. So, out of ten police investigated murders in a book series, I'll accept one female murderer. When it's 50/50, it's just lazy and wrong.
2. No killing off the main investigator's love interest, especially not in the last chapter, especially not by the killer him/herself. While the investigator is running to help.
3. Easy on the coincidences. One person finding both bodies - maybe do that once in a whole series. More than that and it's just a bit silly. Likewise too many other matters of chance, instead of steady investigation.
4. Easy on the number of murders. One motivated murder always followed by more to cover up the first - no. Especially if the first murder could more likely be considered manslaughter or even accidental. Mass murderers are another not-that-common a thing.
5. No murderer committing suicide at the end, just to keep everything neat with a last moment confession.
6. No amateurs. Unless it's a once in a lifetime thing. Keep it to the person responsible for brining murderers to light, building a case.
7. No cheating by withholding vital factual information until the last pages. Or, not as a regular habit.
8. If you want to write a travelogue, or a series of character studies, write a novel without a murder.
I could do more, but these are the ones relevant to the recent series. I did not finish the last one, and I care not a bit how it resolves. Damn that author.
14 comments:
I don't suppose you'll fess up.
I'm not so harsh with my rules; less critical. Mostly I look for richness in vocabulary and smartly written dialogue with a good balance between dialogue, setting, action and elaboration.
Phil,
This is the just for murder mysteries. I love Chandler and Wodehouse prose with great passion. I have much lower standards for a mystery.
It's the Shetland series from Ann Cleeves that I mentioned reading a few weeks ago. Red Bones was fine, the other three broke way too many of these rules.
how do you feel about that great love of mine, dorothy sayers?
pc,
Love her, but she gets grandfathered in as well. It's like Citizen Kane, which looks derivative, but only because everyone else copied it.
when you read Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh and to an extent Dorothy Sayers you begin to think...hang on, there is a familiar pattern here.....
quite disappointing
Try Carol O'Connell, especially her Mallory series. I too was seriously cheesed off by Ms. Cleeves.
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I like recurring characters, but it's probably just laziness on my part. And I don't mind a sidekick, but it's just a little annoying when the main character has a love interest throughout a couple of books, then they marry, then the spouse gets killed, then within a book or two, another love interest who gets killed off...makes you think that the author doesn't know where they're going...
I will look up O'connell, thanks.
Class,
It's more forgivable to be a lazy reader, than for a professional writer to be lazy. I'm on record as being a rather cowardly reader. I should challenge myself more.
Instead, I am plotting my own murder mystery, in the world of the attempted novel of years ago.
I do like how the Comissario Montalbano stories handle murder, as police, in Sicily. The best one isn't even a murder, but a faked kidnapping as revenge.
Zhoen, I'm commenting here again because it is pertinent. Have you read any of Donna Leon's books? She is an American who has lived in Italy for many, many years. Her murder mysteries are layered with social commentary, and her Commisario Brunetti and his family are as interesting to read about as the plots are. She is a highly intelligent writer with a merciless eye for the "customs" of her adopted country. I don't know why it took me so long to think of her for you!
Joan,
Oh, no problem, I actually love delayed comments.
D just finished one of hers, after getting some of the televised version. I did not ike the show, and he;s suggested I won't like the book. He knows my taste exceptionally well. Thanks for the thoughtfulness.
Oh well, maybe you'll enjoy the Mallory series then. I love all things Italian-- even the Italian ex-husband couldn't put me off!
Have you read Camileri's Montalbano? I've only read one of the books, but I do love the Italian tv series.
I've read at least one. It was an enjoyable read. This is where I really miss the States or the UK and their wonderful Public Library systems. If I could read the series for free, I would!
The French have libraries too, but I don't like to read translations.
Haven't run into the TV series yet although I think a series may have aired on one of the British TV channels last year. I'll watch out for it-- thanks!
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