Hi everyone! Today is the first day of a week-long, Amateur Sleuths Group Giveaway sponsored by Henery Press. The giveaway features books from 32 mystery authors, myself included (more on that below).
The topic of amateur sleuths got me thinking: why do readers and authors find the amateur so appealing? As a former lit professor, I couldn’t resist taking a stab at analyzing it. Here’s what I came up with:
- Reader engagement:
- When we’re talking about an amateur investigating a crime, there must be a powerful personal motivation for him/her to get involved in the first place. After all, why disrupt one’s comfortable life as a wedding planner/baker/teacher/knitter/what-have-you, when the police can do the dirty work? When it’s personal, it helps draw the reader in.
- An amateur sleuth is a “regular joe” – an ordinary person without any specialized training in criminal detection. We as readers can identify more readily with such a character, looking on and sympathizing as the protagonist struggles to blend his/her personal life with this crazy investigation s/he has unexpectedly taken on.
- Then there are the opportunities for conflict, suspense, and uncertainty, all crucial elements in a good mystery:
- The amateur is caught unprepared, and struggles to deal with the emotional cost of learning unpleasant truths about those s/he is close to.
- The amateur is likely to encounter resistance from friends, family, and the authorities in the course of investigating.
- As an untrained amateur, our protag might very well make mistakes along the way. Could one of those missteps prove fatal? Bwahaha….
What could be more fun than making life harder for our favorite amateur sleuth, right? *wink*
So now…on to the giveaway!
April BookmarkIT Amateur Sleuth Group Giveaway
April 5-11th
Grand Prize: Kindle Fire and 32 ebooks (shown above)
1st Prize: 32 ebooks
…and there will be FOUR 2nd Prize winners, who will each be awarded 8 ebooks (randomly selected) from those listed above!
How to enter: It’s FREE! Simply click on the giveaway link, enter your info on the entry form online, and you’ll be notified if you win! It’s a great way to try out authors you may not have heard of, and you’ll get future info about releases and sales on new-to-you amateur sleuth mysteries.
So, what do you like about amateur detectives? I’d love to hear from you.
Until next time,
Kathy
Want to read more about amateur sleuths? Check out these posts:
By the way, the Miss Marple post above includes a fun video spoof: Marple, Matrix Style.
