True Crime vs. Murder Mysteries: Two Sides of the Same Coin, or Mutually Exclusive?

These past fewer years person been bully for fans of transgression fabrication and nonfiction. Lots of caller names and voices are being published successful the execution enigma satellite and podcast world, with tv and movies pursuing suit. However, arsenic a enigma reader, I’ve shied distant from a batch of the existent crime. Initially, it was due to the fact that I associated the genre with serial killers, which I conscionable don’t similar successful immoderate format, fabrication oregon nonfiction, but I admit that the genre has truly expanded successful galore directions these days.

Interestingly, I asked Book Rioters this question and got these responses backmost to back:

Ashley Holstrom: “I work existent transgression but americium not a large enigma fan! Not that I don’t similar mysteries, but they’re not what I gravitate toward. I mightiness beryllium your outlier here.”

CJ Connor: “I’m the different mode around. Love mysteries but don’t similar existent crime. Again could beryllium an outlier. (Incidentally, Connor’s cozy Board to Death comes retired adjacent twelvemonth and I can’t wait!)”

I hadn’t thought overmuch astir existent transgression versus execution mysteries until I was having a akin speech implicit and implicit again this year. I’d notation that I emotion mysteries but not truthful overmuch crime. People responded typically agreeing with maine oregon saying that they preferred existent crime. I decided to inquire readers and writers astir what draws them to 1 genre implicit the different oregon both. I recovered immoderate absorbing overlaps successful responses.

I conducted a survey and interviewed respective authors that I know. The survey responses weren’t conclusive, but the reasons that radical were drawn to 1 genre implicit different were fascinating.

Kathleen Glasgow, co-author of The Agathas arsenic good arsenic YA fiction, said successful an interrogation earlier this twelvemonth that she was drawn to existent crime. With those books, she wondered “why bash radical bash atrocious things? And however bash they bash them? And wherefore did they support doing them?” However, she besides reads mysteries, though tends towards thriller/crime fiction: mysteries with an edge.

Valerie Burns, a writer of respective cozy enigma bid including the caller bid Baker Street  Mysteries, said portion she tended not to work existent crime, “sometimes I ticker True Crime connected the ID Channel. I get ideas astir forensics, constabulary procedures, etc. that tin assistance successful my fabrication writing. However, I usually lone ticker a tiny magnitude of it.”

Another responsive said, “I don’t really bask suspense but I find transgression and transgression instrumentality interesting.”  

Janis Thornton, writer of existent transgression books similar Too Good a Girl and different execution mysteries, said: “I americium a large instrumentality of decades-old, little-known and long-forgotten historical existent transgression stories (primarily involving murder). I emotion past and mystery, and that fuels my passionateness for digging up these stories, researching them, and retelling them successful my ain voice.” 

Ellen Byron, writer of respective cozy mysteries including the caller Vintage Cookbook series, said, “I decidedly work transgression fabrication these days, mostly due to the fact that I’m trying to support up with my friends who constitute it! But I americium fascinated by older existent transgression mysteries.”

Thornton said astir mysteries, “I emotion speechmaking stories that gully maine in, get maine progressive successful a mysterious situation, and necessitate maine to wage attraction truthful I tin lick the enigma earlier the writer tells me.”

One responsive who liked some genres besides agreed: “It’s astir the puzzle of quality nature. In existent transgression you truly tin delve into the world of it. With execution mysteries you spot however overmuch we recognize it and tin recreate it connected paper.”

Justice, Justice, Justice

For galore enigma writers, they appreciated the restitution that mysteries provide. At the end, you usually learned whodunnit. Burns said it best: “JUSTICE PREVAILS successful the end. That’s not ever existent successful existent life.” With existent crime, the perpetrator whitethorn not adjacent beryllium found, overmuch little brought to justness for their crimes.

Olivia Blacke, writer of the forthcoming Vinyl Resting Place, explains, “In a cozy, the idiosyncratic who’s killed is usually a beauteous atrocious person. In the end, it’s going to beryllium wrapped up neatly, the slayer is gonna get caught. The slayer mightiness person adjacent had the champion intentions; the slayer tin sometimes beryllium a amended idiosyncratic than the victim.”

One responsive who prefers mysteries wrote, “I americium acrophobic astir the anticipation of harming the radical progressive successful the existent events, conscionable to make a story.”

Thornton besides explained, “But successful my view, the 2 genres aren’t truly related. One is brutal, heartbreaking reality; the different is make-believe and allows readers to bask the communicative without feeling blameworthy astir it.”

Blacke summed it up: “if you don’t privation to beryllium confronted with getting up successful the mediate of the nighttime and checking your locks 3 times, past you astir apt don’t privation to beryllium speechmaking existent crime.”

The Parlor Room

Now that I person brought unneurotic each the suspects (opinions), I volition fto you cognize what I deliberation I tin infer from these queries. While by nary means a technological study, I deliberation that execution enigma readers thin to similar the genre only, but there’s a decent showing of folks who volition work both. Interestingly, authors don’t bounds themselves to 1 genre implicit another. I deliberation determination are respective reasons, including that authors privation to enactment existent successful transgression arsenic good arsenic speechmaking their colleagues’ books. Or they conscionable bask it!

Blacke summed it up best: “I deliberation it has to bash with wherefore idiosyncratic is reading. If they’re the benignant of idiosyncratic who volition conscionable flip done Netflix and go, ‘Okay, this looks interesting.’ And conscionable ticker it. That’s however I americium successful bookstores, I conscionable like, ‘Oh, that’s a beauteous cover’ and commencement flipping done it. The adjacent happening you know, I’m speechmaking this publication that I’ve ne'er heard about. And there’s immoderate radical that privation [to cognize circumstantial things similar whether] the canine makes it done to the end. They don’t person to deliberation astir blood.” 

Whatever the crushed you work existent transgression and/or mystery, it is legitimate. Enjoy your books and don’t fto anyone yuck connected your yum!

For folks who privation cozy mysteries, here’s 1 Rioter’s list of cozies that instrumentality spot successful libraries! For fans of existent crime, here’s immoderate suggestions of true transgression audiobooks to cheque out!