There is a real talent to getting the setting right in a mystery. And really, there’s no single “right” way. But a setting can help define your characters and how they relate to what’s going on around them. It helps your reader “see” where the story is taking place.
I love Stephanie Plum, out and about in Trenton, NJ, having messy adventures, solving the whodunit as she goes along, and losing a car most times around. I’ve been known to laugh out loud, even as my brain cells are trying to process the clues laid down by Ms. Evanovich.
But I’m just as intrigued by the stripped-down lifestyle of Jack Reacher in a Lee Child’s novel. A stark farmhouse set in the midst of fields, a NYC apartment – it’s gritty, it’s tough, and the laughs are few and far between. But it suits Reacher to a tee – Mr. Child knows his hero understands the underbelly of man’s (and woman’s) motivations, and his settings reflect that.
However, I also love to wander the early twenty-century English villages and countryside of Agatha Christie mysteries – as great on a re-read as they were the first time around years ago. The details of life, the struggles, the joys and the search for the truth – for me, all surround the central mystery and add to the enjoyment of trying to figure it out. And it doesn’t matter if it’s Hercule Poirot, Miss Marple or Tommy and Tuppence Beresford, the mysteries are fun to try to unravel.
Like horses? Carolyn Banks’ novels with Robin and Jeet Vaughan are surrounded by equines as Robin solves the mysteries of who did the killing…and there’s always a smile or two as you canter along on the wonderful rhythm of Ms. Banks’ writing.
Want more horses? Tami Hoag gives readers some ugly crimes in the “beautiful people” and moneyed set of the Wellington winter horse circuit. From lonely canals with predatory alligators to private clubs with predatory men.
So…what’s your favorite mystery setting – the big city, a lonely farm setting, a Victorian mansion, a dressage barn or a childhood neighborhood? Whatever it is, enjoy the mysterious mood set by your favorite mystery author.
Libby McKinmer
Romance with an edge
www.libbymckinmer.com
libby@libbymckinmer.com
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5 comments:
Hey Libby,
I loved your web site, and I love mysteries. The setting is important. It draws you closer to your character by being a part of their surroundings. I also love Stephanie Plum. She is hilarious. I am such a Ranger fan; he can whisper babe in my ear any day.
Thanks
Lynda
And sometimes it's fun to make what looks everyday into something very sinister, with the right twist!
Morgan Mandel
http://morganmandel.blogspot.com
The setting is always important to me--I want readers to where my characters are, what is surrounding them. Setting can be as important as character.
For me, it is being transported to the special place and feeling like I am in the story. All the ones you mentioned do that very well.
Lovely article and thanks for helping me find some new horse-related mysteries. Dick Francis is also a great mystery and thriller writer with manor houses, racing stables and racecourses as the backdrop.
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