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Gauri Vij profile imageGauri Vij
Why I’m obsessed with crime fiction

An unresolved desire to be detective fuels the imagination and keeps this writer discovering new investigators and stories most murderous

Was it the Secret Seven or the Five Find-Outers that started it all? Or was it Miss Marple or Hercule Poirot, both from the imagination of Agatha Christie that fueled it? It definitely wasn’t Sherlock Holmes. But I can honestly state that it was Adam Dalgliesh who nailed it. I often think about why I seek to bury myself in murders set in the English countryside (mostly), solved by clever women and men. Okay, to be honest, while I admire the women investigators, it’s the men who occupy my imagination.

Swooning over Adam Dalgliesh

Each time I slow-read a P D James novel with Dalgliesh at the centre, I feel more in love with the intensely private Detective Chief Inspector (later Commander). He’s cerebral and is a poet (swoon!). But he’s also methodical, slowly peeling away at the investigation and has a deep understanding of human foibles and frailties. Neil Nyren, editor-at-large for CrimeReads says that James gave Dalgliesh the qualities she most admired in either men or women—“compassion without sentimentality, generosity, courage, intelligence, and independence” (A Certain Justice)—but some of those qualities can cut both ways. His detachment is both his strength and his weakness: “How long could you stay detached, he wondered, before you lost your own soul” (A Mind to Murder). His independence and lack of sentimentality make him prone to personal antipathies and occasional sudden anger, and his “cold sarcasm could be more devastating than another officer’s bawled obscenities” (Devices and Desires). Dalgliesh is far from perfect but he comes very close to it, in my opinion.

From the time I can remember, nothing spelled comfort more than a detective novel. The summer after my father died, I was bored, restless and–not that I was aware of it at the time–deeply sad. Everyone at home seemed glum except my annoying younger sister, a social, friendly creature. Books recommended by an elder sibling became the first refuge, a welcome distraction that continues till date. On days when the chaos of life gets too much, I shut my eyes and for a fleeting moment, I am back in my school library, sitting at a large wooden desk with sunlight streaming in, lost to the world, trying to forget my my awkward adolescence, my dismal marks in math and chemistry and remember feeling happy as a clam reading a good old murder mystery.

Tana French writes bewitchingly about Dublin, its police force and the perils of friendships. Image: The New York Times

Tana French writes bewitchingly about Dublin, its police force and the perils of friendships. Image: The New York Times

When she died  in 1976, Agatha Christie--creator of Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot--was the best-selling novelist in history. Image: Getty

When she died in 1976, Agatha Christie--creator of Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot--was the best-selling novelist in history. Image: Getty

Many of P D James's mystery novels take place against the backdrop of UK bureaucracies like NHS in which she worked for decades starting in the 1940s. Image: Getty

Many of P D James's mystery novels take place against the backdrop of UK bureaucracies like NHS in which she worked for decades starting in the 1940s. Image: Getty

Scotland calling

Mid-career, many moons ago, I encountered Ian Rankin’s John Rebus who is nothing like Dalgliesh but was promptly drawn to his grumpy countenance, his love for IPA, books and music. Aha! Here was a flawed chap, with a dogged, determined air about him. “There are worse forms of prostitution than whoring,” says Rebus in Strip Jack, the fourth of 25 titles (and counting) that he stars as a protagonist. Rebus, a perennial rule-breaker, is as anti-establishment as can be. His relationship with his protégé, Siobhan Clark, is endearing and a colleague and I would argue about the way her name is pronounced, betting alongside about when they would “do the dirty”. They didn’t, much to my relief.

"THERE ARE WORSE FORMS OF PROSTITUTION THAN WHORING"

John Rebus

When Rankin hopped over to India more than decade ago, I fan-girled my way to a distant Mumbai suburb to hear him speak about Rebus. I’m trying hard to recall what Rankin had said, but all I can remember is his obvious affection for Rebus. I feel the same.

Enter Barbara Havers

The combination of Inspector Lynley and Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers–the product of American author Elizabeth George’s imagination–has made me laugh out loud several times. While these novels aren’t without humour, it’s Havers who provides the chuckles. She is not the comic relief though; she’s an impassioned detective looking for justice.

In the best of traditions, Lynley, an aristocrat who chose to be in the police force, and Havers, who hails from a working-class background, form an unlikely partnership. Like Rebus, Havers does not hesitate to break the rules. She pays dearly for her antics in the pursuit for justice with a demotion and lives a recognisably lonely life. Havers acts from her gut, is an equal to Lynley in almost every way, but disadvantaged by her sharp tongue and disdain for authority. My initial crush on the dashing figure cut by Lynley slowly but surely dissolved into a more compelling admiration for Havers. I cannot wait to read what she will do next.

Before becoming a full-time novelist, Ian Rankin worked as a grape picker, swineherd, taxman, alcohol researcher, hi-fi journalist, college secretary and punk musician in a band called the Dancing Pigs

Before becoming a full-time novelist, Ian Rankin worked as a grape picker, swineherd, taxman, alcohol researcher, hi-fi journalist, college secretary and punk musician in a band called the Dancing Pigs

Detective inspector at Scotland Yard. played by Nathaniel Parker  is paired with Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers played Sharon Small in the TV show based on Elizabeth George's novels. Image: IMDb.com 

Detective inspector at Scotland Yard. played by Nathaniel Parker is paired with Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers played Sharon Small in the TV show based on Elizabeth George's novels. Image: IMDb.com 

The most famous detective in fiction, Hercule Poirot has been enacted by several actors over the years but probably recognisably by David Suchet. Image: Fandom.com

The most famous detective in fiction, Hercule Poirot has been enacted by several actors over the years but probably recognisably by David Suchet. Image: Fandom.com

The lure of the Irish

Currently Tana French’s Dublin Murder Squad series has me utterly smitten. Slow-moving but never static, the narrative is vividly descriptive with recurring characters that take centre stage in different novels. Additionally, an introduction to contemporary Ireland has kept me hooked onto French’s police procedural novels. In an interview with The Guardian, French had said, “ I'm fascinated by friendship…I'm not sure it's possible to be a whole, healthy human being without good friends, so I've always been interested in the intensity of friendship and the dangers that can come with that. Great friendships are incredibly powerful, passionate things…” Her books aren’t really about mysteries but about the characters that make up the story. I almost never figure out “who did it,” so engrossed am I into the characters.

Elizabeth George, am American is best known for her detective novels set in England that feature Inspector Lynley and Detective Sargent Barbara Havers. Image: Harvest House Publishers 

Elizabeth George, am American is best known for her detective novels set in England that feature Inspector Lynley and Detective Sargent Barbara Havers. Image: Harvest House Publishers 

Irish-American author Tana French burst upon the writing landscape to great success in 2007 with In The Woods 

Irish-American author Tana French burst upon the writing landscape to great success in 2007 with In The Woods 

Actor Ken Stott plays the irascible detective John Rebus created by Ian Rankin 

Actor Ken Stott plays the irascible detective John Rebus created by Ian Rankin 

In weekly sessions with my psychologist, I often discuss the books and cinema that preoccupy me. “Why do you think you are drawn to crime fiction,” she gently asked me once. I didn’t hesitate to reply, “The detectives and their unwavering sense of justice.” Isn’t that what most of us want anyway? Justice for the crimes committed and punishment for the guilty? Author of the Rowland Sinclair Mystery series, Sulari Gentill, says crime fiction trains us for crises, and all I say is that it’s just prep-work for my second innings as a private detective.

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