The Case of the Missing Mystery

A friend of mine is writing a thesis titled "The Shifting Trends in Women's Mysteries in the Last Eighty Years" and she sent me some questions. I'm going to answer them one at a time here on the blog over the next few weeks.

1. What would you like to see more of in today's mysteries?

I want to see more mystery.

I noticed at 2 writers conferences this past month that the term "crime writer" is becoming more prevalent than "mystery writer." A lot of books I've come across the last five years have a body on page one, a straightforward (bordering on boring) investigation, and a solution in the last chapter. They're crime novels, yes, but they don't have much mystery in them. No intriguing clues, no seemingly impossible puzzles. Not even very much in the way of mysterious settings or moods. Danger, perhaps, but too often predictable danger.

I've been told (as an explanation) that these are character-driven novels. I'm not sure what that means, other than that I seem to have to plow through usually too many scenes about the main character's love/sex life or cats or drinking problems or financial woes or dysfunctional family sagas between scant paragraphs pertaining to the crime story.

Think back to all the times Sherlock Holmes or Hercule Poirot found an apparently inconsequential clue: for instance, rye grain in a deadman's pocket. The police ignore it. Yet, that kind of clue is so intriguing that I'll keep turning pages to find out how it fits in.

I've actually heard authors scoff at putting what I think of as "mystery" back into mystery novels. The feeling seems to be that the genre has now matured and that grown-ups don't want silly clues like that in their books. Grown-ups only want violence and sex and gritty reality.

Bunk. Reality neither stimulates my brain nor entertains me. I read to escape reality. If that means I'm not mature, I don't ever want to be.

Peace,
Elena (still a "mystery" writer)

CROSSOVERS MADE EASY

The hot buzzword at the last mystery conference I attended was "crossover."

Let me first explain that the mystery genre has for years been dissected into increasingly more minuscule sub-genres by publishers and book distributors. Their logic was, if you group mysteries by like attributes--say, all those that have tough private eyes versus all those in which cute old ladies outsmart local constables between sips of tea--then readers who like private eye books won't accidently be subjected to old ladies or cats or ghosts or, heaven forbid, souffle recipes.

Lately, though, some smart marketing cookie noticed that readers aren't accidently buying books they might not like, and since people not buying books is a bad thing, the concept of "crossover" was born. A "crossover" mystery novel is one with elements of two or more sub-genres, published in hopes that it will appeal to a broader slice of the market, and therefore sell more books. Publishers and distributors salivate at this notion, just like Pavlov puppies.

If you're a yet unpublished writer, or perhaps a not-published-in-way-too-long writer, you may want to consider converting your current project into a crossover novel. Here's how:

Let's say you're writing a book in which a body is found in the library. Said body has been done in by a "blunt object" (that bust of Great Uncle George would be ideal). A cat is present. Aforementioned little old lady with blue hair solves the crime after having a lavish tea with crumpets, cakes and cress sandwiches, all described in great detail.

First, "library" is not an acceptable gumshoe novel location. Still, readers do like books. Warehouse" is acceptable (has an "On The Waterfront" feel, doesn't it?), so change "library" to "book warehouse." As a personal favor to me, please insert a well-executed forklift chase to take out their stock of bad female-in-jeopardy thrillers.

Instead of Uncle George's bust, the blunt object should be something that calls to mind mean urban streets. A stoplight would do, or a stale soft pretzel, or the fender of an SUV, especially if the SUV is still attached.

Since black is the clothing color of choice for P.I.s and spies, all cats should be black with markings reminiscent of tattoos. Tough-looking tattoos, mind you, that say things like "Born to Shed." Body piercings for cats, however, might be considered bad taste.

I don't think the blue-haired old lady is a problem. One only needs to research what turns your standard little old lady into a psycho. The paper boy missing the porch every day? The bowling alley running out of donuts at Senior League? The Feds cracking down on Canadian pharmacies with the lowest nitroglycerin prices? Stuff like that. Oh, and make her blue hair match her Harley.

Food is the biggest challenge. No self-respecting P.I. would touch a crumpet. Still, at a minimum, I think chocolate needs to be mentioned, perhaps as a slippery coating poured on a mountain road to make the murderer's Jag spin out.

Think about it.

Elena, who was writing crossovers before it was fashionable. For my next, what do you think of the title GANG WAR GHOSTS IN THE CAT'S SOUFFLE?