Likes and Dislikes in Crime Fiction: 6 of the Best and 6 of the Worst

Norm in a recent post at Crime Scraps, Critical Perspicacity: Six Things listed six things he looks for in crime fiction and six things he doesn't like.  This got me thinking and here's the result.

Six things I look for in crime fiction:

Originality - this can come from many things, including sometimes, just simply the author's voice.  Cue Yrsa Sigurðardóttir for that last one; although Last Rituals had plenty of originality for me, it's the author's voice that drew me in the most.

Suspense - without it there's little point in turning the pages.  Before the festive break, I dumped a book on page 124 because by then, if it had ever tried to have any suspense, it had run out of steam.  I had even forgotten why I was reading about the main character.  Tom Bale's Skin and Bones made up for this; I loved the way he dropped in just one little fact occasionally.  This led to the thought "What's this all about?" and a whole new series of page turning that would have got me a star badge for nimble fingers when I was at school.

Character - I look for characters that are realistic and in a key learning point in 2008 I discovered that in the right hands they don't always have to be sympathetic.  Cue Andrew Wilson's The Lying Tongue for that one.

Intelligence - I prefer intelligent thought in a story and no spoon-feeding or trowel- thwack-delivered clues.  I may not be Miss Marple, but I'm not a Nancy-no-Brain either.

Humour - I always maintain that we find some humour in something, almost every day of our lives.  Thus, even in the darkest of crime or thriller novels, it's good to see some humour somewhere.  As long as it's not misplaced.

Learning something new - This could be due to setting e.g. another country or specific workplace, or historical period.  Tell me something I don't know from everyday life and I love it.  (But, dear author, be careful not to go to town on all that research you so lovingly prepared in detail.)

Six things I don't like in crime fiction:

Hype - I am not the only one for whom excessive hype is an offputter.  Tell me why I might enjoy the book, what I will find in it.  But please don't dictate to me that it's "absolutely brilliant" and "the best read of 200x".  I prefer a respectful invite to the party and not a forced eavesdropping on the over-fed and over-watered partygoers as they wend their way home in their own fog of hype.

Misleading blurbs - This is a viral problem where an author is on book two plus.  The blurb will relate to an earlier book and not the one in hand, which is yet to be reviewed.  Respected author so-and-so will say the book is superb, but it's not the one you're looking at, it's one from two years go.  Publishers let themselves off the hook with leading comments such as "Praise for author X Y".  As you can tell, I am not often misled by these blurbs, just continually annoyed by them.

The rubbish synopsis - I read one novel last year where the publisher's synopsis lost all sense of chronology in the plot and actually gave away the ending.  I read one book recently where the synposis was not entirely accurate...

Over-use of research - especially on some technical matter.  Something that reads like a technical journal or a set of NHS patient's notes does not necessarily add to authenticity.  It can slow the plot and bore the reader.

The gorefest - Some authors seem to relish the gore factor but I don't think it's needed.  Enough information to relay circumstance and impact is enough for this reader; I am happy for the author to leave the rest to my own imagination.  I find detail of every slice and dice unnecessary and disturbing and I wonder about the author...  But I don't read this type of book anymore.  If I can avoid it.

The "Do lesbians write the most horrific crime fiction?" debate - I thought this one was dead by now, but it rears its ugly head at the Harrogate Crime Writing Festival in 2009 with a whole panel session devoted to the topic.  Is there an EU quota that I don't know about being milked for every last drop or euro?  Boring.  And I make no apologies for saying so.

Finally, I have some things in common with Norm.  These were the dozen that came to my mind first, but I also agree with his list which you can see here.

Comments

[Richard Goutal]

On the issue of over-use of research: Did this all start with Tom Clancy? I confess I read several of the originals, like Red Storm Rising. But at the time it came under "Learn something new."

I'm reading a favorite thriller author now. It's a book he wrote back in 1996. And I was thinking "too much tech trivia." And the really silly thing is when he takes time to explain tech stuff that is now in the "doh" category (and maybe it was then too). Does he think most readers have no idea that an LAN is a local area network? The explanation is totally unrelated to the story. Don't most mystery readers know what NCIS is? What the fingerprint classification system is? Does it require two paragraphs?

I am going to be forgiving of this older book, though, because his book Paranoia was my favorite read in 2008.

[cfr]

Many thanks Norm, Maxine and Janet.
When travelling home on the train today, I thought of another bugbear of mine: bad proofreading. Even some of the major publishers have some terrible errors that should have been spotted. But perhaps I am turning into grumpy old woman - not a good thing to start the year on...
I took a book to read on the train and forgot my reading glasses...

[Maxine]

Good post, as ever, CFR. Agree very much with your well-put-together, thoughtful list.

[Janet Rudolph]

I love your categories. Will definitely share with our readers at Mystery Readers Journal. Great site.

[Norm]

Thanks for the mention and we do agree on all these points.

[crimeficreader]

Thanks Barbara. I believe "show don't tell" is also a good rule for reviewing a book. If we go to a cheese counter we may be offered a little cube to taste and can make up our own minds. Then we are allowed to be discerning in our tastes, as we would prefer. The cheese in a large pre-packaged slab on special offer at the end of aisle in a supermarket - a place of promo - is packed and at the buyers' risk; we can't even smell it. We know the result of that one; same with books if you ask me. Many bought and many wasted and not enjoyed because of hype and silly promo expressions.

Let 2009 be the year of getting down and dirty and REAL! Readers need to have effective feedback too.

Will be in touch with you on the Crime Carnival, BF. Last year was a bad year for me, but 09 may have an opening and I hope to find and fill it!

All the best,
R

[Barbara]

Nicely done! Interesting that many of your dislikes are the work of publishers - and, I guess, fans, if they're responsible for asking the same silly question over and over, and perhaps as well for hype. I wonder if "show don't tell" isn't a good rule for reviewing a book as well as for writing them?