I am the very least confrontational person and I have a abhorrence of physical violence so I find it rather surprising when I look at my bedside table and see the books that are there tbr … to be read. There are two Rebus stories by Ian Rankin, numbers 16 and 17 I think, nearly at the end, an Anthony Horowitz book: Murder is the Word and a John Grisham thriller.
Crime and detective fiction is one of the most popular genres. Why is that? Does the reader, me included, know and feel that anything even vaguely unpleasant is being contained safely within the covers of the book?
I have truly loved Susan Hill’s detective fiction in the Simon Serrailler books and Elly Griffiths writing the Ruth Galloway stories. There is plenty of human interest there plus humour and a small dose of romance but all this is set against a background of darkness, of threat and of evil. I cannot bear horror films and I’m not a fan of the gothic but books that pit good against evil, with the outcome being virtually always the right one (!) are such a very good read. With the millions of books that are sold in this genre, I am obviously not alone.