LOCKDOWN’S TURNED US ALL TO CRIME!
But don’t worry… only the fictional kind, writes novelist VAL MCDERMID as she introduces four debut authors ahead of the return of the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival next month
ON THE page and on screen, murder and mayhem have been our staple diet over the past yearand-a-half of lockdown. We’ve revisited old favourites, finally got round to devouring that To-Be-Read list, and looked around hungrily for fresh flesh to satisfy our appetites.
Since 2003, the Theakston Old Peculier CrimeWriting Festival has been a trusted source of that fresh flesh. With the New Blood panel, we’ve been presenting readers with a quartet of debut authors that I reckon are the pick of each year’s crop.
And after last year’s digital event, this year we’re fortunate enough to be returning to a live panel in front of an audience. I know I’m not alone in my exhilaration at the thought of it. I can promise an introduction to four very different writers whose books have held me tightly in their grip from start to finish.
This year of reading in seclusion has made me think about what we look for in a crime novel.Why do we love this genre so much? What does it give us that we can’t find anywhere else?
For a start, story. For a crime novel to succeed, there has to be a tale that twists and turns in unexpected ways and holds our attention. But without characters we invest in, that story is an empty shell.We don’t have to love the characters. We can despise them, laugh at them, despair of them or downright loathe them. But we have to care about their fate.
A car driving over a cliff isn’t exciting until we know who’s in the car – or on the beach below – and the outcome has our hearts in our mouths, feverishly turning the next page. These thrills and suspenseful moments are exciting and scary, but they allow us the frisson of an adrenaline surge without the heart-stopping anxiety of a really terrifying experience. It’s like a fairground ride – we scream in terror as the roller coaster plunges, but we know, deep down, we’re safe. There’s comfort too. We know appalling things happen in real life. We know justice is not always done. But in these novels, no matter how disturbing the crimes, there’s a Tony Hill or a Karen Pirie – or a Superintendent Hastings from Line of Duty – to find the answers and sort things out.
And then there’s the challenge to the little grey cells. What really happened here? Who’s responsible and why? During lockdown, so many of us have kept our brains active with jigsaws, with Scrabble, with sudoku, with quizzes.
And with the mysteries at the heart of crime novels. I’ve worked my way through a very tall pile of debut novels this year and I can put my hand on my heart and say these four books each has something special to offer. Fine storytelling, fascinating characters, great scene-setting and a freshness I appreciated more than ever. Whether or not you can make it to Harrogate for the oldest and best crime festival in the UK, strap yourself into your armchair and tuck into these treats.
●Val McDermid’s brand new thriller, 1979, is published by Little, Brown, £20, on August 19