March First Monday Crime, part 2

On the issue of misogyny, Erin Kelly was quick to declare that she objects to strong female protagonists inevitably being described as `feisty’.  Matt Arlidge has a strong female lead in Helen Grace and as such readers often think M. J. Arlidge is a woman! In his book `Pop Goes the Weasel’ a prostitute is taking her revenge, in a reversal of the traditional prostitute-as-easy-victim. He described her as a female Jack the Ripper. Daniel Cole cited J.K. Rowling as his favourite writer, which surprised a few people in the audience, but he then talked about her Cormoran Strike novels, which made more sense, maybe, than Harry Potter. Would she be accused of misogyny, I wondered, for having chosen Robert Galbraith as her pseudonym?

Erin was asked about her novelisation of the ‘Broadchurch’ TV series. She said that when the first episode was shown, her sister sent her a text: `This is just the sort of thing you write!’ She said she wrote the book because she was on maternity leave and out of contract and she wanted to write a book without having to think up a story. This turned out to be a bit of a mixed blessing, rather like the courtroom scenes in `He Said, She Said’, which were very difficult to write.

Matt comes at crime writing from a strong background as a screen writer in `Eastenders’, ‘Silent Witness’ and `Monarch of the Glen’ among others. He loves the power of TV and the joys of collaboration, as opposed to the more lonely life of the writer, although he feels TV is a much more cynical world and he finds the publishing one much `nicer’! There was much amusement about the casting of Emilia Fox as the pathologist in `Silent Witness’ and how her crisp vowels are a joy to listen to as she discusses dead bodies. Another instance of a woman defining the success of a series, perhaps.

Julia Crouch started off as an actress and due to her voice training didn’t need the microphone! She loved directing, but found it too demanding and the pay was `rubbish’, so she gave it up `to be a good mum’.

How do you find a good writer to read? was the next topic under discussion. Largely through word of mouth, is the answer. The crime reading community is a very passionate and loyal one and crime fiction, it was agreed, is among the best writing, because you need to keep the pace going at the same time as having something to say. `Great Expectations’ is really a thriller, it was argued and I would agree. Writing crime fiction is a good way to write a State of the Nation novel. It unpicks the gloss and examines sexual mores and attitudes to marriage, such as in Julia’s book. Other themes in `My Husband's Wife' are social cleansing and housing problems.

Matt did a lot of research about women’s prisons for `Hide and Seek' and was shocked by the number of women with mental health problems who end up in prison, to the great detriment of their children and wider families.

Erin began with an image, when she started `He Said, She Said'. The idea of it suddenly going dark in the middle of the day. And then someone hears a scream. However, when she researched sexual assault, she discovered that you’re far more likely to freeze than to fight, so she took out the scream and began her research on eclipses.

Daniel seemed less concerned by social issues in `Ragdoll', but did say that it was important to ground crime fiction in the details of everyday life that readers can relate to, eg someone worrying about their Tesco Club vouchers. However, having worked as a paramedic, RSPCA officer and for the RNLI, he clearly has a well developed social conscience in real life.

For some each book is a mountain, whether it’s your twenty-something one like Val McDermid or your second, although Daniel said he’s completed book two already. Matt said he wants to create `narrative crack’ and he pitched 7 novels at once in the series to Penguin! The only sour note seems to be that Peter James has allegedly copyrighted DS (Roy) Grace, so Matt frequently hears from Peter’s solicitors in relation to his own DI (Helen) Grace.

And that brings me to the end of a stimulating evening (I had a train to catch back to Cambridge) and this blog. Emily Glenister at DHH Literary agency asked the best question at the close of play. All great crime writers are passionate readers, so what were the (fab) four reading at the moment? The answers ranged from a book yet to be published (June ’17), `Persons Unknown’ by Susie Steiner to recent debuts, like ‘Himself’ by Jess Kidd and `Good Me, Bad Me’ by Ali Land through to the old classic, Stephen King’s `Carrie’, his first novel, published in 1974. Good books don’t date.