‘Oh, yes, it is.’
On the surface, crime and comedy may not seem to be natural bedfellow genres. However, many people read for escapism from the real world, and a few laugh out loud moments are much appreciated. A large number of crime authors are very successful at including humour within their pages. It may be very blatant; if you purchase one of Richard Osman’s ‘Thursday Murder Club’ books, you are expecting to be entertained by the outrageous adventures of the most extraordinary characters. Whereas looking at the two authors I have focused on in my newsletter in the previous months, Peter Lovesey and Agatha Christie, the comedy can also be more subtle. Lovesey’s Peter Diamond’s dry humour and wit, mixed with his abrasive nature, mean he is involved in plenty of funny exchanges, when sometimes we are laughing at him rather than with him. Christie’s Inspector Slack can bring amusement with a raised eyebrow and an indignant expression.
Of course, the humour has to evolve naturally; an author can’t shoehorn jokes into their writing. It can come from the situation – like in the second book of my Detective Tom Robertson series, Deadly Justice, when Tom takes Penny to see Teddy’s amateur dramatics production. Or from the character – Inspector Fiona Marshall isn’t always trying to be funny, but her cutting remarks and takedown of other characters offer a light-hearted distraction from the gruesome business of murder. She is a strong woman, with even stronger beliefs, and her behaviour is the gift that keeps on giving for humorous exchanges. DC Teddy Bearing doesn’t mind being the butt of all the jokes, and rides along with them in a happy state of self-deprecation. DC Adam Blake is seemingly unaware that his sometimes thoughtless behaviour often makes him appear like the MIT clown and DS Greg Hawthorn’s ability to bluff himself out of situations and concoct a cunning plan offers more opportunities for the reader to see the funny side as it all unravels. Over it all, Tom himself has a gentle humour that Fiona isn’t quite sure how to deal with. He is always willing to offer a smile and understands the need to laugh with others on the team to keep spirits up.
In real-life crime, there is often dark humour among the police, and all the emergency services, with the officers using it as a kind of defence mechanism to deal with what they see. As an author, it is a skill not to trivialise the horrific crimes that are unfolding on the pages, from assaults and abductions to murders and serial killers. I was delighted with this comment in a review of Wrath of Revenge:
“What truly elevates Wrath of Revenge is its tone: serious when it needs to be, but never grim for the sake of it. The humour is subtle and well-placed, giving the novel a “feel-good” quality without undermining the stakes.”
On the subject of comedy, there seems to be no better author to feature this month than J.D. Kirk. He is someone I much admire, partly for the speed at which he writes, but also because he started out as an indi author and has even written a course ‘Bootstrapping’ to help others follow in his footsteps. I am sure many of you have read his Logan series and all the spin-offs that have come from it. I made a conscious decision not to have any swearing in my books, only references to cursing, but Kirk is an author who is not afraid to have his characters use an abrasive style of humour, often laden with expletives, particularly where Hoon is concerned. There is plenty of banter between all the well-chosen and developed characters, and many laugh out loud moments. A great series to get stuck into if you haven’t already and are okay with the profanities. As you can see from my bookcase below, I have enjoyed them all. But once again, as with my Diamond books, I am missing one. So, now two books to search for.
Body in the Thames
I continue to work on Book 4 of this series; it is easy to forget how much there is still to do after the first draft. I am going through it from each character’s point of view now, which allows me to follow the threads and make sure there are no plot holes. I read somewhere that the first draft is about getting the story down, and the second is where the humour is added. That is certainly true of this book. There are serious crimes, but the brusque Inspector Fiona Marshall is softly wound up by both Tom and DCI Alistair McLeod, DS Greg Hawthorn’s ex-wife meets his new girlfriend, and the hapless DC Adam Blake has dating issues which get him into trouble.