C: EVERYTHING CRIME, A - Z

Credibility

Time to talk about suspending your disbelief when it comes to mystery novels. This is especially the case when reading (or writing) cozy mysteries. After all, how many murders would you believe an amateur sleuth would experience in their lifetime? One? Maybe two? C’mon, your average baker, knitter, zookeeper, chef, novelist, midwife, nun, shopkeeper, hotel owner, postmistress, etc., etc. would never stumble over body after body after body in real life.

For instance, Jessica Fletcher of Murder, She Wrote fame has solved a boatload of murders. I wouldn’t want to be a resident of Cabot Cove—your odds of being a murder victim is off the charts! Later in the series, the setting moved to different locations to spare the whole town’s population from being wiped out. At that point, I wouldn’t want to be one of Jessica’s relatives—you’re more than likely gonna be accused of murder and hope Jessica comes to the rescue. If you put all that aside, it’s a fun show (and books).

Which brings us to Castle. Not exactly a cozy (the hero is a crime writer who rides along with the police detectives), but it definitely fits in this category. My friend, Lee Lofland (the driving force behind the Writers’ Police Academy) reviewed the show each week on his Graveyard Shift blog. The reviews are in two parts—fan versus expert. Melanie Atkins (she reviews the romance aspect of the show) gives her review from a fan’s perspective. She enjoys the show and talks about all the fun parts she enjoyed.

Then Lee Lofland (he reviews the police procedure) gives his review on the same show from an expert’s view (he’s a retired cop). He’s not enamored of the show’s evidentiary and procedural aspects. Lee will bash the coroner’s diagnosis (for instance-she couldn’t know at the scene that the victim was killed by three 9mm hollow-point rounds). He hates the nonsensical babble that spurts forth from the coroner’s mouth which he allows is the writers’ fault, not the actress’s. And he will point out inconsistencies and errors in the scripts (for instance, that one phone call you get is not a constitutional right. You’ll get to make it at the officer’s convenience).

As Lee says “believable make believe is the key to great fiction…”

The point is that a reader needs to believe these situations could happen and just go with it to fully enjoy the mysteries (novels or shows). However, writers should do their due diligence to be as accurate as they can.