The other day on Facebook, author Robin Burcell, left, posed an interesting question: “Has your favorite genre shifted over the years?”
This is what we do on Facebook when we don’t want to admit we have been pulled into the vortex of a great time waster – we ask important questioins. (Sorry, Robin, but I do the same thing…and I love it!)
All kidding aside, I find the question very intriguing, and timely.
Mysteries have indeed changed from the time I began to read them – when I was about 9 or 10; from the 1980s when I rediscovered mysteries to now; and from the time I began to review them, about 18 years ago.
The genre has undergone a huge metamorphosis that continues to evolve each year. It has to in order to survive in the 21st century when reading habits are in flux, reading devices are on the rise and the economy is driving more people to the library.
For me, the changes in the mystery genre have only improved it and I believe the genre will become even stronger in the years to come.
The mystery genre now has more voices than it ever has. Thank providence for women authors such as Sue Grafton, Sara Paretsky and Marcia Muller who showed us that detectives can come in all shapes, sizes, genders and races. I can’t imagine what the genre would be like unless those authors had been pioneers.
The plots are more involved. For example, look back at Lawrence Block’s novels before the mid-1980s – they were good, they’ve always been good – but the length was about half of what today’s mysteries generally are. (By the way, if you haven’t discovered Block’s regular column in Mystery Scene, now’s the time.)
We have more international voices. Who would have thought that Scandinavian mysteries would become so important? Or that stories set in myriad African countries would make an impact with U.S. readers? Or that Iceland could give us at least two superb authors — Arnaldur Indridason and Yrsa Sigurdardottir.
I used to avoid historical mysteries; now they are among my favorites. With the Internet and other resources, it’s easier for authors to do indepth research. The best historicals show us where we’ve been but also are a mirror to today. Ace Atkins has proved himself to be a real historian. His new novel Infamous looks at “Machine Gun” Kelly, one of the gangsters of the Great Depression but it also is about fame, power and the press. The WWI stresses that show in Charles Todd’s series are just as relevant today.
Change has been quite good for the mystery genre – but especially for its readers.
