One reason I love certain crime fiction is because the hero is in a stable/happy family. I get to enjoy not only the exciting and adrenalin pumping part of the book but also vicariously experience the quiet happiness of the detective returning daily to the love, trust & warmth of his family.
Many crime fiction these days both on screen and in books show the hero's family life as messed up ...be it his/her parents or his own family. The hero's personal life too is messed up with affairs, divorces, drinking and God knows what else. I do understand that the fictional hero's life is filled with misery because misery is a 'bestseller' while happiness is 'too boring to read about' and happiness simply doesn't sell!
Perhaps modern writers believe that Dystopian is 'fashionable' or 'misery & evil are stylish'???
Still, some of my favorite authors have created stable families for their heros and yet, their books are both enjoyable and bestsellers!
(a)Working in the field that I do i.e.mental health,(b)having parents who quarreled bitterly all the time (c)seeing more unhappy and dysfunctional families than the opposite, I find it such a relaxing pleasure to see a 'normal' family in fiction...be it in books or on the screen.
The book I finished today, (Feb 28th 2016) i.e. Lieberman's Law inspired me to write this piece in which I have compiled all the books I have read where the detectives have stable families. Reading the description of family life of the detectives in the books gave me quiet pleasure!
I felt truly satisfied reading the book Lieberman's law and one main reason for this satisfaction is the family life of Lieberman. He does have his share of family problems...though a lot lesser than the other fictional detectives or even most real people. The family part of the book rings true, the crime solving is satisfying and the end of this book was like the conclusion of a delicious meal!
The delightful and enjoyable crime fiction with normal/stable/happy families are given below. By normal, I mean that these families are not 'too' dysfunctional; they are families with strong bonds and values.
The books in this Lieberman series
The Case of the Man Who Died Laughing, 2010.
The Case of the Deadly Butter Chicken, 2012.
The Case of the Love Commandos, 2013
There were 4 books by James Hadley Chase where I loved a couple who featured to different extents in the books. The books are:
The double shuffle
There's always a price tag
An ear to the ground
Tell it to the birds
Of all , I really enjoyed Steve Harmas and his wife in Double shuffle. It was exciting and I loved this couple's relationship!
I also enjoyed the fiery wife of Tom Lepski another police officer created by James Hadley Chase in another series of books.
A lot of books by Alistair Maclean had normal happy families and that really increased my enjoyment of the book. I would like to add here that family was not the main part of the Maclean books; yet, I enjoyed even the brief mention of family members & family life of the protagonists. Some of which I can recall are:
Force ten from Navarone (there is not much family stuff, only a very brief mention of Andrea's new wife).
Ice station zebra(brothers)
The Satan bug
Circus
Seawitch
I am not asking crime fiction writers to create 'happy' families but to create at least, reasonably down-to-earth, realistic families. For example, I enjoy reading the family life of Kurt Wallander (series) by Henning Mankell though his is not an 'ideal' or a 'happy' family.
I wonder why the new crime fiction writers don't emulate the 'stable families' which feature in books of of the old writers'?
I don't know if I am the only one who thinks this, but since the last 2 decades writers seemed to think that their books will sell only if the crime is extremely bizarre, or cruel, or twisted. I am sick of the pedophilia, the bizarre mental illnesses of the criminals, the needless torture of the victims in the recent books.
Perry Mason books written from 1930 to 1970s sold in the millions though the plots were straightforward and the villains were not unnecessarily complex like the present day ones! I wish the writers would go back to writing more believable crimes instead of the convoluted stuff they come up with at present.
Writers from the east (India, for example)seem to write fairly straightforward crime fiction; I don't know if it's because they lack the ability to be complex like the American and European writers or it's their choice. For my limited attention span & processing ability, I prefer a simple, straightforward crime, which moves along fast!
A lot of American crime fiction especially on screen, display the main protagonist's entangled sexual and romantic relationships with multiple partners. They also show several weaknesses or vices of not just the 'bad' guys but of the 'good' guys too. Though its attention-grabbing and thrilling, the immorality/moral ambiguity of all the characters is now putting me off! I am referring to shows such as House of lies, House of cards, True detective season 2, etc.
I am either aging or mellowing down but I now seek simpler stuff with clarity regarding morals...I want as much black & white and as little grey as possible!
A lot of classics I have read are simple and not as morally ambiguous as current day crime fiction. Maybe that is one of the reasons why classics are eternal. I believe there are a lot of people like me, who want poetic justice, want good guys to win and bad guys to lose, want something good they can believe in...like a strong supportive family, loving spouses, reliable parents and so on. These things add to the 'feel good' quality of a book which in turn has a tremendous positive influence on the reader's mood. Ultimately it is the mood the reader is left with, after reading a book, which determines if the reader will try the same author again.
Let me add here that on some days when I am in some 'odd' moods, I prefer the morbid, the sad and maybe even dystopian fiction(like Child 44). But mostly, I prefer my crime fiction with less morbidity, more action and some humour.
Here is a link to others like me, who wonder why fictional detectives are so miserable!
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1522709-dark-dysfunctional-detectives
Many crime fiction these days both on screen and in books show the hero's family life as messed up ...be it his/her parents or his own family. The hero's personal life too is messed up with affairs, divorces, drinking and God knows what else. I do understand that the fictional hero's life is filled with misery because misery is a 'bestseller' while happiness is 'too boring to read about' and happiness simply doesn't sell!
Perhaps modern writers believe that Dystopian is 'fashionable' or 'misery & evil are stylish'???
Still, some of my favorite authors have created stable families for their heros and yet, their books are both enjoyable and bestsellers!
(a)Working in the field that I do i.e.mental health,(b)having parents who quarreled bitterly all the time (c)seeing more unhappy and dysfunctional families than the opposite, I find it such a relaxing pleasure to see a 'normal' family in fiction...be it in books or on the screen.
The book I finished today, (Feb 28th 2016) i.e. Lieberman's Law inspired me to write this piece in which I have compiled all the books I have read where the detectives have stable families. Reading the description of family life of the detectives in the books gave me quiet pleasure!
I felt truly satisfied reading the book Lieberman's law and one main reason for this satisfaction is the family life of Lieberman. He does have his share of family problems...though a lot lesser than the other fictional detectives or even most real people. The family part of the book rings true, the crime solving is satisfying and the end of this book was like the conclusion of a delicious meal!
The delightful and enjoyable crime fiction with normal/stable/happy families are given below. By normal, I mean that these families are not 'too' dysfunctional; they are families with strong bonds and values.
The books in this Lieberman series
- Abe Lieberman series
- Lieberman's Folly (1990)
- Lieberman's Choice (1993)
- Lieberman's Day (1994)
- Lieberman's Thief (1995)
- Lieberman's Law (1996)
- The Big Silence (2000)
- Not Quite Kosher (2002)
- The Last Dark Place (2004)
- Terror Town (2006)
- The Dead Don't Lie (2007)
- The series below is also by the same author Kaminsky. It is set in the USSR/Russia. I loved all the families mentioned in this series.
- Inspector Rostnikov series
- Rostnikov's Corpse (1981)
(also published as Death of a Dissident) - Black Knight in Red Square (1983)
- Red Chameleon (1985)
- A Fine Red Rain (1987)
- A Cold Red Sunrise (1988)
- The Man Who Walked Like a Bear (1990)
- Rostnikov's Vacation (1991)
- Death of a Russian Priest (1992)
- Hard Currency (1995)
- Blood and Rubles (1996)
- Tarnished Icons (1997)
- The Dog Who Bit a Policeman (1998)
- Fall of a Cosmonaut (2000)
- Murder on the Trans-Siberian Express (2001)
- People Who Walk in Darkness (2008)
- A Whisper to the Living (2010
I adored the humorous Archy Mcnally and loved reading about his family and his girl friend in the series by Lawrence Sanders.
- McNally's Secret (1992)
- McNally's Luck (1992)
- McNally's Risk (1993)
- McNally's Caper (1994)
- McNally's Trial (1995)
- McNally's Puzzle (1996)
- McNally's Gamble (1997)
- McNally's Dilemma (1999)
This series was continued by another author after Lawrence Sanders death, i.e. Vincent Lardo but I dint read as I dint like his style of writing. Vincent lardo's books are not listed here.
I liked another series by Lawrence Sanders i.e. the Delaney series based in New York city listed below.
I liked another series by Lawrence Sanders i.e. the Delaney series based in New York city listed below.
Edward X. Delaney series:
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Vish Puri a private detective in Delhi, created by Tarquin Hall too has a nice family and is fun to read. But I dint find the books unputdownable. I enjoyed reading about Vish Puri's feisty mother who kept trying to butt into is private detective business!
The Vish Puri books are :
The Case of the Missing Servant 2009The Case of the Man Who Died Laughing, 2010.
The Case of the Deadly Butter Chicken, 2012.
The Case of the Love Commandos, 2013
There were 4 books by James Hadley Chase where I loved a couple who featured to different extents in the books. The books are:
The double shuffle
There's always a price tag
An ear to the ground
Tell it to the birds
Of all , I really enjoyed Steve Harmas and his wife in Double shuffle. It was exciting and I loved this couple's relationship!
I also enjoyed the fiery wife of Tom Lepski another police officer created by James Hadley Chase in another series of books.
A lot of books by Alistair Maclean had normal happy families and that really increased my enjoyment of the book. I would like to add here that family was not the main part of the Maclean books; yet, I enjoyed even the brief mention of family members & family life of the protagonists. Some of which I can recall are:
Force ten from Navarone (there is not much family stuff, only a very brief mention of Andrea's new wife).
Ice station zebra(brothers)
The Satan bug
Circus
Seawitch
I am not asking crime fiction writers to create 'happy' families but to create at least, reasonably down-to-earth, realistic families. For example, I enjoy reading the family life of Kurt Wallander (series) by Henning Mankell though his is not an 'ideal' or a 'happy' family.
I wonder why the new crime fiction writers don't emulate the 'stable families' which feature in books of of the old writers'?
I don't know if I am the only one who thinks this, but since the last 2 decades writers seemed to think that their books will sell only if the crime is extremely bizarre, or cruel, or twisted. I am sick of the pedophilia, the bizarre mental illnesses of the criminals, the needless torture of the victims in the recent books.
Perry Mason books written from 1930 to 1970s sold in the millions though the plots were straightforward and the villains were not unnecessarily complex like the present day ones! I wish the writers would go back to writing more believable crimes instead of the convoluted stuff they come up with at present.
Writers from the east (India, for example)seem to write fairly straightforward crime fiction; I don't know if it's because they lack the ability to be complex like the American and European writers or it's their choice. For my limited attention span & processing ability, I prefer a simple, straightforward crime, which moves along fast!
A lot of American crime fiction especially on screen, display the main protagonist's entangled sexual and romantic relationships with multiple partners. They also show several weaknesses or vices of not just the 'bad' guys but of the 'good' guys too. Though its attention-grabbing and thrilling, the immorality/moral ambiguity of all the characters is now putting me off! I am referring to shows such as House of lies, House of cards, True detective season 2, etc.
I am either aging or mellowing down but I now seek simpler stuff with clarity regarding morals...I want as much black & white and as little grey as possible!
A lot of classics I have read are simple and not as morally ambiguous as current day crime fiction. Maybe that is one of the reasons why classics are eternal. I believe there are a lot of people like me, who want poetic justice, want good guys to win and bad guys to lose, want something good they can believe in...like a strong supportive family, loving spouses, reliable parents and so on. These things add to the 'feel good' quality of a book which in turn has a tremendous positive influence on the reader's mood. Ultimately it is the mood the reader is left with, after reading a book, which determines if the reader will try the same author again.
Let me add here that on some days when I am in some 'odd' moods, I prefer the morbid, the sad and maybe even dystopian fiction(like Child 44). But mostly, I prefer my crime fiction with less morbidity, more action and some humour.
Here is a link to others like me, who wonder why fictional detectives are so miserable!
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1522709-dark-dysfunctional-detectives
Mysteries & Crime Thrillers discussion
General > Dark, dysfunctional detectives
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Of the happy families on TV, I adore The Republic of Doyle series. If you are interested in seeing this, go to CBC TV and check this out. It has 6 seasons and about 10 episodes in each season. It is an amazingly feel-good series. If you want dystopian stuff, this series is not for you.
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In 2018, I discovered the term 'cozy mysteries' and realize that that is the right term to describe what I feel when I read these books or see the show mentioned above.
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Infidelity to me is still wrong and I am always uncomfortable when the 'hero' or chief protagonist/detective is 'sleeping around' when married or in a relationship. Infidelity however seems to be common in many books and shows now. The sexual mores have changed SO MUCH now but I am stuck in a previously accepted state of morality! It is difficult to find a crime fiction book written these days with the 'olden mores' around the sex issue. In my opinion, the only books with the olden sexual mores for the chief protagonist seem to be books which are written by eastern writers, by women or those crime fiction with simpler plots.
************************************
Of the happy families on TV, I adore The Republic of Doyle series. If you are interested in seeing this, go to CBC TV and check this out. It has 6 seasons and about 10 episodes in each season. It is an amazingly feel-good series. If you want dystopian stuff, this series is not for you.
************
In 2018, I discovered the term 'cozy mysteries' and realize that that is the right term to describe what I feel when I read these books or see the show mentioned above.
************************
Infidelity to me is still wrong and I am always uncomfortable when the 'hero' or chief protagonist/detective is 'sleeping around' when married or in a relationship. Infidelity however seems to be common in many books and shows now. The sexual mores have changed SO MUCH now but I am stuck in a previously accepted state of morality! It is difficult to find a crime fiction book written these days with the 'olden mores' around the sex issue. In my opinion, the only books with the olden sexual mores for the chief protagonist seem to be books which are written by eastern writers, by women or those crime fiction with simpler plots.
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