Reading Report

                         Writing is an art, but it is also a craft and as I read, I often take a book apart to find the various devises and plot points. I often take deep dives into various sub-genres where I find fascinating similarities between books that, on the surface, might seem different. Right now, I’m exploring crime fiction set in remote and isolated locations, which believe it or not, has an illustrious history.

                    One of the earliest examples was Agatha Christie’s And then there were none, which is set on a remote island off the coast of Britain. As some guests arrive for what they believe, is a weekend party at a millionaire’s house at which they begin to be murdered one by one. Ever since, the novels in this genre share some interesting features, which place constraints on the writer.

         First, they are all closed-circuit mysteries. There are only a limited number of suspects, and the location makes it impossible for an outsider to commit the murders. Soon enough, the characters realize that the murderer is one of them, which increases the omnipresent atmosphere of paranoia.

          The characters have history. In Agatha Christie’s book, the characters were all strangers to each other, who had been invited to a weekend getaway by someone they thought they knew. In today’s novels, however, the main characters usually know each other either as old friends or colleagues, who have decided to take a trip together. Their past, however, makes their relationships complicated, and has set in motion the chain of events that will lead to murder.

         The remote location is a crucial feature. It may be an island like in Agatha Christie’s book, or a mountain top ski chalet in Switzerland as in Ruth Ware’s novel One by One, or some other isolated place. The members of the group are usually dropped off at the beginning of the book, which leaves them at each other’s mercy.

         There is almost always a storm. Writers tend to use bad weather to cut off the location further and increase tension. Boats from the mainland are unable to arrive as scheduled, trains or ski lifts no longer operate, and nobody can drive, leaving the characters without any chance of rescue. Often the writers also ensure that the location no longer has any means of contacting anyone on the outside.

       The writers have to cut off cell phone coverage. This was less of an issue in the past. Either the location had no electricity or telephone from the outset, or all power lines went down in the storm. Problem solved. Today, this is a bit more complicated, but the the authors use the storms to destroy either the cell phone coverage or the power, which leaves characters to cope with the murderer on their own.  At this point, the writers need to find a way to bring the story to a climax and this is where things often get problematic for me as a reader.

      Ending these types of novels, is difficult. Even the great Agatha Christie ran into a bit of a problem when finishing “And then there were none” and the problem persists today. Very often the ending seems an afterthought, or a vestigial tail as the author tries to wrap things up without exceeding a certain word count. My reaction to the ending is often a skeptical “really?”

       Overall, however, the rest of these novels more than make up for the slight downside. The ones I enjoy, provide well described settings, interesting characters and detailed plotting which always makes me excited to find a new novel in the genre. Would I like to write one myself? So far, I’m not sure I could.