In my last blog I talked about what novel writers can learn from screenwriters. Well, it hit a nerve with all writers and I got many comments. One comment referred to Broadchurch, the television series I mentioned as an example of good screen writing. The reader who commented agreed that the series was excellent but stopped watching it after three episodes because it was so dark. (Thanks, Mark Hunter!)
This started me thinking about other TV series as well as mystery novels that fit into that “dark” category. And they are legion. Let me name a few you might be familiar with: Happy Valley, Hinterland, The Killing, The Missing, Dexter, The Escape Artist. Then there are those I haven’t seen, mainly being turned off by the title: Killer Couples, Murder on the Social Network, Married Single Dead, Slasher, I am Not a Serial Killer. (Really?)
So what is about today’s mysteries (many of these series were books first) that compels authors to write such grisly, black, and freaky-scary scenarios? I believe that the transition from book to film has demanded heightened “grimness” for dramatic effect. When a book becomes a movie, the dark elements are often played up. And the villains are getting meaner and nastier all the time.
Don’t get me wrong. The villains in novels can be just as rotten. However, when you actually see the character in the flesh, so to speak, the villainy is enhanced. Take a series called Happy Valley, a British psychological cop thriller. Excellent series. The villain, however, left such a lasting impression with me, that I have difficulty watching the actor in any other series. Believe it or not, he’s the priest in Grantchester and I now find him hard to believe (as a good guy) after seeing him in Happy Valley.
But back to point. There are still many series and books that have all the great attributes of a good mystery, both book and film, and are not as dark. See if you agree: Inspector Lewis, Sherlock, Endeavour, The Bletchley Circle, Foyle’s War, Bosch, Midsomer Murders (okay, a little fluffy here.) The Wallender mysteries and Elizabeth George’s Inspector Lynley. Agatha Christie’s stories are also in this category. 
To be a good mystery, must it make you throw up, weep, shake in your boots, or cause insomnia? Or should it make you ponder, riddle-solve, and give you ingenious plot and character ideas for your next book?
I welcome your thoughts and ideas.
Great post! Just talking today about the rise of noir in modern mysteries/crime fiction.
Thanks, Sharon. Hope you are well and . . . writing!
With mysteries as with anything else, I still prefer some fun, and humor–when it fits with the story, of course. (I still can’t account for how much I love The Walking Dead, one of the least fun TV shows in history.) Given a choice, I lean toward something clever, twisty, fun and at times funny … “Sherlock” being a great TV example. I really loved the early Stephanie Plum novels: Not necessarily as clever and set in a world that can be very dark, but also laugh out loud funny.
Having said that, I do also enjoy dark stories–as long as they’re well done.
Me too, on all points. Sherlock is easy to laugh at. Happy Valley, not so much.
I’d like to say it’s a fad, but genres are merging and morphing. Mysteries and horror are doing that at present. Some of your examples fit either category. Personally, I like what Mark mentioned: clever, twisty and fun. For instance, I like the Rose Gardner Mystery Series (by Denise Swank). However, I have a client whose agent specifically asked her to write “dark, dark and twisty.” So, yes, this seems to be the trend… for now anyway. Although writers need to fit the public’s (and publisher’s) desires, it is smart to realize there are niches, with lots of readers, ready for something else as well.
Thanks, Sandra. Readers as well as writers do fit into niches. I personally like dark and twisty myself.
It’s imeaprtive that more people make this exact point.