The Thrilling Allure of Detective Stories: What Keeps Us Hooked

Book blogger Ksenia Lurie explores why today's detective protagonists differ so much from Sherlock Holmes and what drives readers to stay up all night eager to uncover the mystery's resolution.

The Foundational Rules of Detective Fiction (and Five More)

In 1929, Richard Knox—a Catholic priest, author, radio host, and one of the first members of the Detective Club—outlined the essential rules of the genre.

1. True detective stories exclude supernatural or paranormal elements; every event must ultimately have a rational, logical explanation.
2. The culprit must be introduced early in the story, though readers are not allowed insight into their thoughts.
3. The detective cannot be the criminal—though Agatha Christie famously broke this rule in "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd."
4. Fictional poisons and contraptions requiring extra explanation cannot be used to commit crimes.
5. Detectives must rely on logical deduction rather than intuition or luck, and all clues must be available to the reader.
6. Indistinguishable twins or doubles cannot appear without prior warning to the reader.

Who Is the Main Character?

The heart of any detective story is the investigator figure.

The Classic Detective

Edgar Allan Poe is credited with creating the first true detective in literature. Inspired by memoirs of Eugène François Vidocq—a former criminal and pioneer of political and criminal investigation—Poe penned "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" in 1841. Its protagonist, Auguste Dupin, a destitute aristocrat and brilliant thinker, paved the way for iconic detectives like Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot, and Father Brown.

The classic detective is a multifaceted, distinctive individual. Sherlock Holmes, for example, is tall and lean, smokes a pipe, plays the violin, has a hooked nose, and is a skilled chemist who developed his own deductive method.

Hercule Poirot is shorter, with an egg-shaped head and black hair he dyes as he ages. His obsession with order and punctuality aids in solving crimes.

Neither Holmes nor Poirot married; each harbored a long-standing love interest—Holmes with the con artist Irene Adler, Poirot with Countess Vera Rossakoff. They have no close friends, only partners or servants. Readers know nothing about their childhoods, families, or personal struggles, which remain hidden.

In essence, a good detective functions as a plot device.

This principle was used by Arthur Conan Doyle, Agatha Christie, and other classic authors. Doubts, desires, regrets, psychological wounds, and disappointments do not help unravel complex crimes. Holmes and Poirot exist solely to point out the culprit at the story's end.

The Modern Detective

Traditionally, detectives were private investigators or amateurs (like Miss Marple), while professional police officers played minor or comic roles. Detectives were portrayed as knights seeking justice rather than money.

Today’s detective stories are less fairy tale and more grounded. Their heroes are "workhorses": police officers, special task force members, law enforcers. These characters are more fleshed out and vivid: authors explore not only distinctive traits (like a smoking pipe or mustache) but also childhood, personal life, and psychological profiles.

Modern readers are drawn to charismatic, complex heroes who feel like real people living in the present. They possess both strengths and flaws, with ambiguous pasts shaping their personalities.

Three Types of Modern Detectives

The Superhero

Recognizable traits: saves everyone, appears successful but struggles with self-doubt.

Example: Mila Vasquez from Donato Carrisi’s "The Theory of Evil."

Mila works in the missing persons unit nicknamed "Limbo"—a place in medieval Catholic theology for souls who neither deserve hell nor can enter heaven. She’s charming, skilled in psychology, and intuitively reads crime scenes by sensing the killer’s emotions.

Mila is a classic psychological superhero: highly competent and empathetic, yet plagued by low self-esteem. She doubts her worthiness as a mother, employee, and partner. Her body bears scars from self-harm as she copes with trauma. She gave her beloved daughter to her mother’s care, fearing she might negatively affect the child.

She herself is a mystery—pleasant but distant, passionate yet lonely. Readers may quietly fall for her, but she remains guarded.

The Flawed Cop

Recognizable traits: breaks laws to achieve justice, such as breaking into suspects’ homes or fabricating evidence; may have a criminal past but has reformed.

Example: Stefan Corso from Jean-Christophe Grangé’s "Land of the Dead."

French writer and screenwriter Grangé often contrasts two geniuses (like Sherlock Holmes and Moriarty) but blurs the line between criminal and law enforcer. In "Kaiken" and "Land of the Dead," detective Corso and his serial killer adversary share similar traumatic backgrounds: orphaned early, raised in shelters, abused physically and sexually, living on the streets, and addicted to drugs.

Corso’s luck was intervention by police officer Catherine Bompart, who helped him quit drugs, finish high school, and enter the police academy. Yet his past haunts him: he is antisocial and indifferent to laws and rules. Illegal surveillance, breaking into suspects’ homes, and falsifying evidence are routine. His greatest concern is the custody battle for his son against his ex-wife Emilia.

The Hidden Hero

Recognizable traits: initially, readers don’t realize this character is the main hero. Sometimes it’s the author or their alter ego—a favorite postmodern technique.

Example: Lyn Morgan from Franck Thilliez’s "The Last Manuscript."

Thilliez’s novel is one of the most enigmatic modern detective stories, simultaneously an homage to classic authors (the final scene unfolds on the cliffs of Étretat, referencing Maurice Leblanc, Conan Doyle, and Agatha Christie) and a sophisticated literary puzzle—a story within a story.

The narrative begins with a foreword by J.-L. Traskman, who recounts finishing his father Caleb Traskman’s unfinished book, "The Last Manuscript." The novel then follows writer Lyn Morgan, who penned a bestseller of the same name after her daughter Sara disappeared. Lyn embarks on a personal investigation, ultimately confronting the killer alone.

What Drives the Plot?

Classic Detective Plot

A proper detective story centers on a murder. Other crimes like robbery or fraud are less common and less popular. The story usually focuses on a single crime.

The plot unfolds predictably: after the murder, the detective follows leads, interviews witnesses, examines the crime scene, and notes details.

Authors include red herrings to mislead readers and heighten suspense. This creates a sense of competition, though readers rarely solve the crime before the detective does. Typically, the detective gathers all suspects in one place and reveals the murderer while explaining the investigation.

Assistants often play a vital role by asking questions that highlight key clues readers might miss. Classic examples include Dr. Watson in Conan Doyle’s stories and Arthur Hastings in Agatha Christie’s novels.

Modern Detective Plot

Contemporary detective fiction thrives on genre blending and innovative storytelling. Authors compete not only with fellow writers but also with filmmakers and TV series creators. To captivate readers, they adapt and transform classic elements, borrow from other art forms, and invent new techniques.

Five Modern Plot Techniques

1. Cliffhanger

The story halts abruptly when the hero faces a dilemma or uncovers a critical clue, compelling readers to continue. This technique is common in serialized TV shows.

Donato Carrisi’s "The Theory of Evil" uses cliffhangers at the end of each of its 70 chapters, creating a fast-paced, suspenseful narrative that readers devour eagerly.

2. Visual Clues and Documents

Marisha Pessl’s "Night Film" includes newspaper clippings, documents, and photos. Carrisi also employs this in "The Theory of Evil," dividing the book into sections with protocols and phone call transcripts. These elements immerse readers, making them feel as if they hold the evidence themselves.

3. Literary Misdirection

Thilliez’s "The Last Manuscript" is a masterful blend of homage and literary trickery, a novel within a novel. The layered narrative references classic detective tales while weaving an intricate, Möbius strip-like plot where distinctions between reality and fiction blur.

4. Team Investigations

Though Stefan Corso is the lead in "Land of the Dead," his four-person team handles much of the analytical work—interviewing witnesses and sifting through financial records. Sometimes teamwork yields bigger breakthroughs than solo detective work.

5. Courtroom Drama

While classic detective stories end with the culprit’s capture, Grangé extends "Land of the Dead" into a courtroom trial, leaving readers questioning the detective’s judgment and the true fate of the killer.

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