Reflecting the world in which we live

[John Dean]

Crime writers offer a reflection of the world in which they live and you can see that in the themes they select as backdrops for their stories.

For instance, if drugs is a big issue in their mind, they will set stories amidst drug dealers, the same with gangland, anti-social behaviour etc etc.

Everything that dominates the real world will be reflected in crime fiction. There are undoubtedly writers making sure that they acknowledge the friction caused by Brexit, for instance.

All those themes, and many more, feature in my work as well. For instance, my family has experience of dementia, a theme which interested me as the backdrop for my novel The Secrets Man.

How would a story read, I thought, if every statement was open to question? If key witnesses had dementia but may still be telling the truth, for all that?

I have always contended that if a writer confuses the reader accidentally, by not giving essential detail, that is bad writing but confusing the reader deliberately can lead to good writing.

You can read the results at

https://www.amazon.co.uk/SECRETS-MAN-gripping-murder-mystery-ebook/...