by Christina Hoag

Sleuths, cops, private eyes, and spies. Crime fiction is the second most popular genre of books after romance. Why are we drawn to these stories that plumb the dark recesses of human nature?

I’ve often pondered that question. Genre fiction tends toward the formulaic. When we pick up a mystery or thriller, we know the basic gist. There’s a major crime, generally a murder, and the protagonist nabs the killer. So why do we read on when we know the outcome? Here are my thoughts.

Crime stories promise adventures that few of us will experience in real life, but we can vicariously live through our protagonists. We see ourselves in these hero figures, who are braver and quicker-thinking than us. They represent who we’d like to be, and we can participate in the action risk-free.

Mysteries and thrillers mostly present black-and-white moral choices. The hero and the antagonist are clearly distinguishable. Since most novels end with the villain’s punishment, there’s a sense of justice served that appeals to our desire for fairness. We feel satisfied knowing that the bad guy will get his just desserts because that’s how life should be. In real life, when someone we perceive as guilty gets away with it, it leaves a resentment of a tilted scale. In fiction, we know the scale will be balanced and the loose ends tied into a neat bow. That’s comforting.

Crime stories also engage and challenge our intellect through clues, puzzles and plot twists. We guess where the plot along with our detective. We learn new things by delving into the different worlds characters pull us into.

Then there’s the criminal. We’re fascinated by the bad guys. Most people are law-abiding citizens. However, we may often harbor a secret desire to rob a bank or murder someone, especially if we perceive that we have been wronged and feel helpless to right that wrong. We’re intrigued, then, by perpetrators who do commit serious crimes. How do they summon the courage to harm someone, live with themselves afterward, risk going to prison?

We are also hooked by how they commit their crime and cover their tracks. The more clever they are, the more respect we have for them, and for our sleuth.

Last but not least, mysteries and thrillers provide escapism. We can leave our own messy worlds for a while to enter a universe where we know things will work out. Perhaps that gives us confidence that our own struggles will work out, as well.

About Christina Hoag

A former journalist, Christina Hoag is the author of noir novels Skin of Tattoos, Girl on the Brink and Law of the Jungle. Her latest work is I Am the Famous Carlos: The Story of the Jackal, the World’s First Celebrity Terrorist.

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