21 September 2017
Golden Age Mysteries, Female Version
by Janice Law
There were for sure, but I am not surprised that while Chandler & Co are still household words in the mystery community, Dorothy Hughes, Helen Eustis, Margaret Millar and the like are strictly specialist fare. Consider my own experience some thirty years after their heyday. My first novel, The Big Payoff, was an Edgar nominee and went into a second printing. But when my agent approached the big paperback mystery house of the day, the answer was negative. And why? Because they already had their female mystery author in Amanda Cross. One to a customer, apparently!
Things must have been even harder back in the day, and so a lot of fine work, even work that resulted in famous films like Vera Caspary’s Laura, was neglected and good authors subtly squeezed out of the mystery canon. Fortunately, thanks to the enterprise of editor Sarah Weinman, who, as she wrote, recently realized “...that the most compelling and creative American crime fiction was being written and published by women,” and decided to look into the women who preceded the best sellers of today (and paved the way for a great many more of us).
The result is the two volumes of Women Crime Writers, Eight Suspense Novels of the 1940’s & 50’s, (The Library of America). I’ve acquired the first and have the second volume on order. As my ninth graders used to say, I can recommend them to anyone.
The 1940’s work overlaps the later Chandler novels and at least one of them, Dorothy Hughes’ In a Lonely Place is set in California. The novels have dodgy characters, blackmail, a lonely detective, even a serial killer – a lineup not too different from their male counterparts, but I’m happy to report also some differences. We’ve only been getting one side of the story, folks.
The settings, for one thing, are varied. There’s a posh women’s college, the sort of closed academic world destined to be utilized by P.D. James and reach its commercial apotheosis in J. K. Rowling's Hogwarts. There is a smart-talking amateur detective right out of Chandler but, wait, she’s not the glamor girl on campus, it’s her chunky friend in the flannel shirt.
Some other familiar characters appear in Hughes’ In a Lonely Place and for a while it looks as if we’re getting that familiar dichotomy of the nice domestic wife and the free-living theatrical type. It perhaps won’t spoil the plot to reveal that these two women turn out to be the best of friends.
Both Laura and The Blank Wall have complicated women who are not necessarily what they seem at first glance. Caspary’s Laura has tricky plotting, giving the heroine not only her very own Svengali, a man almost overly eager to help the police, as well as a portrait lovely enough to snare the heart of a straight-laced inspector. If you are weary of conventional femme fatales, this one’s for you.
The protagonist of The Blank Wall ( filmed most recently with Tilda Swindon) is probably in the prototypically female position: head of a wartime household. With her husband in the service, Lucia Holley has her teenaged son and daughter to worry about, as well as her elderly father. Financially comfortable, seemingly content with a domestic role, her worries are focused on her far-away husband and on teenage rebellion before her daughter’s unsuitable boyfriend winds up dead in their boat house. A refusal to call the police sets Lucia on a slide from domestic security to unsavory company.
These are four writers who deserve to be remembered and more, republished, and I am happy to conclude with the information that Dorothy Hughes’ The Expendable Man, another really bold and imaginative novel, is available in paper from the New York Review of Books.
05 July 2017
Not a Butterfly Collection
For the past two years I have been working on a nonfiction book. Not related to mystery, alas. It is more about my day job as a government information librarian.
WHEN WOMEN DIDN'T COUNT (published by Praeger last week) is a book about how women have appeared and disappeared in federal statistics over the past 200 years.
The feds collect statistics on a lot of different subjects, so my book covers a lot of topics as well. But I'll just give you some examples from the four chapters related to our favorite topic, crime.
- The government's first survey on stalking and harassment had to be redone when it was discovered that it had accidentally included data about spam email and calls from bill collectors.
- Congress passed the Mann Act in 1910 to forbid transporting females across state lines for immoral purposes. It was intended to combat "white slavery," i.e. forcing women into prostitution, but it was often used against adulterers instead. The Supreme Court quickly ruled that women who traveled willingly could be convicted of "conspiring" to transport themselves.
- The 1880 Census lists all the crimes for which women were in prison. There are plenty of predictable offenses, plus a few that might get you writers out there pondering. For example:
- The National Institute of Mental Health started collecting data on domestic violence in 1968 and concluded that it was a problem of "epidemic proportion," but they didn't mention this news to anyone until a decade later when Representative Barbara Mikulski started holding hearings on the subject. Exasperated, the Congresswoman declared: "Well, this isn't a butterfly collection, ladies and gentlemen, that people gather for their own private enjoyment. This is public dollars to get public information to help the American people."
- The 1970 report Crimes of Violence explained the concept of "victim precipitation," meaning that the victim sometimes "contributes to the commission of the offense." Examples included when "a wife has masochistic needs that are satisfied by her assaultive husband," or when "a female engages in heavy petting and, at the last moment, begins to resist the man's advances." The report concluded that 4% of rapes fell into that category.
The passage below, in which she quotes from an unnamed "worker specially qualified to speak on the subject" is worth quoting in full:
The belief you mention in the general immorality of saleswomen is certainly widespread, but I have found nothing to prove it well grounded. In the course of some investigations into the methods by which department stores seek to secure and retain the trade of the professionally immoral women, a trade which, as you probably know, is considered exceptionally valuable, I came on something which may throw some light on the existence of the belief. Mr. _____, who was first a department store manager in several large stores, and then himself established a millinery business, said he had found the best way of gaining and holding this trade was by having a forewomen who was "in" with such women, which of course meant that she herself led an immoral life, thus being able to meet them in the way of friendship, and to gain their trust in a natural manner.
03 July 2017
Fade to Black...
by Steve Liskow
Sex scenes are really hard to write well.
Every book sets its own standards for how explicit or how subtle, and sometimes you figure it out by doing it wrong. If it's too graphic, it verges on porn, and if it's too discreet, it feels prudish or even silly. Obviously, noir or hard-boiled stories allow more process than a cozy or traditional, but even then, you have a little...er, wiggle room.
Remember the Frank Zappa song "What's the Ugliest Part of Your Body?" The punch line is "I think it's your mind." Well, sex scenes really aren't about the choreography of who does what to whom and how much how often as much as they're about the emotions your characters experience.
If you're just putting tab A into slot B and folding appendage C over corner D, you're writing porn. Janet Evanovich discussed Stephanie Plum's frolics with a fair amount of detail, but also with large doses of humor. If you add humor, which chick lit romance writers--Jennifer Crusie, Jayne Anne Krentz, and Rachel Gibson, to name a few--do, it's much better. I admit, I read chick lit for the terrific dialogue. Yeah, sounds like when we were in college and claimed we read Playboy for the interviews, doesn't it?
Dennis Lehane's novels featuring Patrick Kenzie and Angie Gennaro never describe their activities in much detail, but have any readers ever doubted for a second that they had a very hot sex life? Don Winslow, on the other hand, has a scene in California Fire and Life (one of my favorite crime novels) with Jack Wade and Letty Del Rio that tells you everything you never wanted to know...and it's perfect. These two have blamed themselves for ruining their relationship and splitting up years before, and now they discover how miserable they've been ever since. The scene is in Jack's head, and, graphic as it gets, it's so vulnerable it hurts to read it.
It's all about context, and sometimes you aren't the best judge. My first few books had some fairly explicit scenes, but I've moved away from that...until this one. In the WIP, Chris and Meg have their first really serious fight over a case and are trying to handle a situation they both botched in their previous marriages. Eventually, there's a hot make-up/apology sex scene. That scene didn't appear in my first draft, but my revising showed me it had to be there. In alternate drafts, it has become more and more graphic, and I've tried it from both Meg's and Chris's POV. I've even put it in and taken it out several times. I've tried it as a flashback, too, and it still doesn't satisfy me.
One more revision and it will go to beta readers. I'm already looking forward to their opinions and may even include three separate drafts of that scene: Meg's, Chris's, and none.
Who ever knew that sex could be so hard?
11 December 2016
The Gift of the Maggid
by Leigh Lundin
She goes on to mention
“… those irritating people who say, ‘Really? You were actually surprised by the ending of The Sixth Sense? Not me. I figured it out halfway through the opening credits.’ I can't stand those people.”Uh-oh. I’m one of those people. I even, er, violated at least one of her stories that way. Well, I don’t say it out loud, but you know– the mind leaps ahead – What would I do? – and sometimes hits upon the right result. Do other readers see it the same way? If we manage to figure out where the plot’s headed, then we might see a little self-satisfied glimmer reflected and mumble, “Genius!” And if we can’t, then we take pleasure the author fairly fooled us.
The Girl from Iphigenia
Fact: Once upon a time in a small New England town, a middle-aged woman worked in the data entry department for a shoe company. The story surrounding Edna was that her domineering mother had never allowed her to date, but made her devote herself to caring for her parents and an unmarried aunt. Beyond bringing in an income, it’s possible Edna’s pedestrian workday had become an escape into normalcy. Why do I mention this? Let's talk about Her Infinite Variety.
Last week, I touched upon a trio of the author’s series characters included in two of the book’s eleven stories– Iphigenia Woodhouse, her irascible professor mother, and ‘Little Harriet’ Russo, the assistant who becomes their foot detective. I hinted at the complex relationship: “Little Harriet plays an Archie Goodwin to Iphigenia, and the formidable Iphigenia plays an Archie to her mother, the professor.”
But there’s a fourth character, the ever-patient Detective Barry Glass, inamorato of the divine Miss Iphigenia, known as That Man by her mother with considerable bile and venom. If she hasn’t already done so, I hope Bonnie publishes a collection of her Woodhouse stories so we might learn if Iphigenia and That Man Glass ever manage to slip into something more comfortable, i.e, the hay mow, the woods, or the bedsheets.
Bonnie’s article yesterday and Leah Abrams’ children’s religious studies gave me the idea for today’s offbeat title. A ‘maggid’ was an often wandering Slavic Jewish storyteller and teacher popular in the 17th and 18th centuries. |
The author gives us a sample of another series character, Leah Abrams. Family is important to Leah, her husband Sam and daughters Sarah and Rachel. You notice the Biblical names and may rightly assume quiet piety is important within their home.
Leah, with a PhD in communications, constantly researches material for scholarly volumes, which might or might not see the light of day. In these cosies, we see a parody of those books in self-help courses.
To study workplace psychology, Leah takes interesting office jobs such as temping for a psychic hotline company and counseling for a fancy rehab center. Wherever she works, she stumbles upon murders. Naturally, her friend, Lieutenant Brock, ably facilitates her in finding the perpetrators.
The Rest
B. K. Stevens provides seven additional stand-alone tales, including a Mary Higgins Clark winner, ‘The Listener’. All the clues are there for the astute reader.
I’ve still a couple of stories to go, but I admire the collection. For a smart Christmas or Chanukah gift, you’d be hard pressed to shop for better than Her Infinite Variety, or indeed any of the books from our SleuthSayers members.
Many of our friends and followers have books on the shelves and the on-line marketplace for the holidays. (Elizabeth, does that include you?) Rather than accidentally omit one of my SleuthSayers colleagues, I invite you to add your titles in the comments.
Happy reading!
01 September 2016
The Mass Murderer or the Holy Man?
by Eve Fisher
Black Elk Peak |
Gen. William S. Harney, a/k/a "Woman Killer" |
"Here's what the Nebraska State Historical Society has to say about Harney's actions (known as the "Harney Massacre") at an Indian village in 1855 at Blue Water Creek, south of the Black Hills: "While engaged in a delaying parley with Chief Little Thunder" Harney's troops "circled undetected" toward the village, "where the infantry opened fire and forced the Indians toward mounted soldiers, who inflicted terrible casualties. 86 Indians were killed, 70 women and children were captured, and their tipis were looted and burned."" (See Constant Commoner blog for 8/14/16.)
Black Elk (l) |
"And while I stood there [on Black Elk Peak] I saw more than I can tell and understood more than I saw; for I was seeing in a sacred manner the shapes of all things in the spirit, and the shape of all shapes as they must live together like one being. And I saw that the sacred hoop of my people was one of many hoops that made one circle, wide as daylight and as starlight, and in the center grew one mighty flowering tree to shelter all the children of one mother and one father. And I saw that it was holy."
Basil Brave Heart |
"It weighed on my heart. You know, we Oglalas still live near this sacred peak. We see it all the time. Knowing as we do General Harney’s history with our people, it has always bothered me. Then a young man came to visit me (Myron Wayne Pourier); he is a direct descendant of Black Elk, and he said he wanted to see the name changed. I said: I don’t want to do it unless I have the Black Elk family’s full support. He said: You have it.
"That must have really raised the stakes?
"It really did. He said: In fact, I have Grandpa Black Elk’s pipe. I said: Well, let’s smoke it. Let’s say a prayer and ask Tunkasila, the Great Spirit, and all the Christology that I embrace, and then will come the effort that we’re going to put into it – but the outcome is up to Tunkasila, the Great Spirit.
"So prayer was there at the beginning?
"Definitely, at the beginning. We filled the pipe and we smoked it."
(Read more at http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2016/08/15/black-elk-peak-answer-many-prayers-basil-brave-heart-165456)
NOTE: Lou Yost, the executive secretary for the board, said he was unaware of who in the four-person office told Thune's office that the issue would wait until next year. "Who told him that it wasn't going to be addressed until next year? As far as I know, we haven't had any correspondence, and we're a pretty small office," he said. (see USA Today)
(All I can say is that most Lakota know a great deal about Black Elk, and they know that Harney was a butcher, so to them it's sort of like if Israel changed the name of a mountain from Mendele Peak to Moshe Peak. Great rejoicing.)
16 May 2016
Things That Go Bump or Scream in The Night
by Jan Grape
First, this really sweet faced nurse cleaned me up and dressed me and I got to flirt with my dad. One look at him and I understood why mom married him. Tall, good looking, dark hair and blue eyes. Next I flirted with the boy baby next to me in the nursery. Must admit I've been making eyes with boys ever since. We did sleep a little while. Mom went to asleep pretty soon after I arrived. I think that giant guy gave her some kind of knock out drops. Those bright lights and those darn nurses kept bothering me every few minutes. It all led to me having trouble going to sleep some sixty-seventeen years later.
The other night I was reading, Michael Connelly's latest book, The Crossing, featuring Harry Bosch and his half-brother Mickey Haller. A wonderful read by the way. If you like that sort of thing. Any way I heard this loud male voice say, "Get Out." or "You Get Out of Here." I wasn't sure of exactly what he said, it was something along those lines. Okay it's 2:30am and the house is really quiet that time of night. No television noise. The AC isn't running at that minute. I did notice the time.
Normally, I wouldn't exactly get scared. My little town is almost like a village and it's probably as safe as anyone can be. But, I do live here alone. And we do have full time police force. In fact, the police station is right up the street from me. A mile or less.
The loud male voice just hit me wrong that time of the night. I only heard that one remark. he didn't repeat it nor did I hear a response. I'm smart enough not to look out my windows or turn on the porch light to SEE what might be going on out in the street in front of my house. I didn't remember hearing any cars screeching or banging together, however I was involved in my book. And this book isn't like a Stephen King. If I'd been reading a King book I would have turned off my light, gone to bed and covered up my head. You know, just in case something was out there and could GET me.
I did pick up my phone and dial 911. The dispatcher said, "911 what's your emergency." I said, "It's not exactly an emergency. I want to report hearing a man's voice outside my home, yelling to someone." He asked for my phone number, I'm on my only phone, a cell phone. Then he asked to verify my address. And I started to give him my name about the time he was asking for it. He asked me again to detail what I had heard and assured me the police were rolling this way. I told him I was a 77 year old woman, widowed and lived alone. That this voice at this time of the night had scared me. He said "Did you look out?" I said, "No. I'm all locked up inside and didn't look out because if someone is out there I don't want them to see me. They might not be happy about that."
He kept me on the phone for a couple of minutes, I assumed until the police arrived. There wasn't a siren and I didn't even hear a car, but in a couple more minutes I heard someone walk up my front porch steps. Then someone said, "Mrs. Grape" and knock on the door. I said, "who is it." Then realized it must be police because they called my name. I got up, turned on the porch light and could see a police officer there. It was a very pretty female police officer. I opened the door.
My goodness, she was young, wearing an officer's uniform. Shorter than my five, three, she looked to be about five two and maybe a little more. Loaded down with belt and gun and all kinds of equipment that likely brought her weight up to maybe 110 lbs. She said, "I'm with the police." I said, " Come in." She stuck out her hand, shook mine firmly, and I said, my name is Jan. She said her name was Sara.
Police officer Sara said, "I walked up and down the street out here. I didn't see anything and all the houses around here looked dark. Have you heard anything else?"
I said, "No, only a dog barking."
She said she saw and heard a dog. Said it was an Alaskan Husky. She said she wasn't too fond of big dogs. And she asked again to tell her what I heard.
I repeated it all again. This loud male voice and at 2:30 in the morning. I didn't know if a couple of guys were arguing or what? I didn't know if it was in front of my house or down the street. How noise travels this time of night. I said, "I didn't know if a couple of guys were arguing and could maybe start shooting one another."
The dog started barking again and that's when I realized that a man shouting, "Get Out." or "Get outta here" was probably yelling at that dog. Maybe the dog was in his yard and he was trying to chase him away. AND boy, did I feel dumb.
But Sara said, "I'm glad you called. It could have been something dangerous and you and I are both glad it wasn't. Don't ever hesitate to call. I'm going to sit in the patrol car down here a little ways for a few minutes and be absolutely sure there's nothing to worry about.
I thanked her and apologized a couple more times. I asked her name again to be sure I had it right.
She said, "It's Sara."
I said, "I can remember that."
And then she said, "Just ask for the girl. I'm the only girl in the department. I get a little teasing about that."
I said, okay. I also made a mental note to tell her soon she should never put up with the guys just calling her a girl. She had to pass the same qualifying as the "boys" did.
I also didn't tell her that I write mysteries and that my imagination often goes wild especially with things that go bump or scream in the night.
11 February 2016
Vera
by Janice Law
Oh, it’s fine for a George Gently to show white hair and a bit of a paunch. Kurt Wallander was done in by dementia not low ratings, and Inspector Lewis, with a bit of makeup and hair dye, looks to go on until he's older than his one time mentor Inspector Morse.
Not so the women of mystery, who need youth or glamor and preferably both. Except for Hetty Wainthropp, I don’t think anyone has picked up Miss Marple’s cardigan. So it has been a pleasure to discover Vera Stanhope, the crusty, plain spoken DCI from Newcastle, who is the featured detective in Vera. The series from ITV is now several seasons old but is just now showing up on my set.
This DCI is middle aged and dumpy. Her wardrobe can best be described as functional. She has a peculiar and distinctive voice and calls everyone, even prime suspects, either Love or Pet. If she’s got emotional trauma in her past, secret addictions, or unlikely obsessions, she keeps them private. Brenda Bethyn plays her as a grown up lady and all the better for that.
Based on the novels of Ann Cleeves, who is also responsible for that taciturn depressive, Jimmy Perez of Shetland, Vera uses a nice blend of up to date tech – the cry for CCTV footage goes out several times in every episode – with a good sense of human nature to solve her cases.
Accompanied by her young and handsome DS Joe Ashworth (David Leon), Vera is often abrasive but never heartless, being particularly sympathetic to younger offenders. She’s no softie, but she’s a good listener who, unlike her able young sergeant, can draw on a vast experience of human oddities and frailties. She’s been around long enough so that nothing too much surprises DCI Stanhope. Nice to see age is worth something!
The TV show encouraged me to sample Cleeves’ Silent Voices, part of a Vera Stanhope series. I was not disappointed. Like the Shetland novels, Silent Voices is well written with an intricate plot, an abundance of red herrings and misdirection, and a fine sense of landscape and atmosphere – like me, the author is clearly a countrywoman.
But Vera is a much more interesting, rough-edged, and generally sparky character than the hero of the Shetland series, and these traits are emphasized in the novel more than on the screen. Vera occasionally succumbs to envy and she has a nice line in snarky thoughts. She gets cranky with her staff and over works Joe, her conscientious sergeant, who is her closest companion as well as assistant.
At the same time, the DCI never falls into self pity, although she is a lonely person. She is quick to apologize and also to praise. This is a well rounded character, with a good deal of sympathy for the people who get entangled in crime and violence, as well as a tremendous excitement about her job. Like Sherlock Holmes, she can’t wait for the game to be afoot.
There are differences between screen and print versions of the character. Clearly a novel is much better at presenting the inner thoughts of the characters and the intellectual process of detection. But it is also interesting that, as with Elizabeth George’s Barbara Havers, Vera has been tidied up a bit for TV. She is chunky but not really fat, and Brenda Bethyn is only a decent haircut and a nicer wardrobe away from being totally presentable.
Not so Vera of the novel, who is depicted not only as homely but as terminally undesirable, a convention I find unfortunate. If only the svelte and pretty were attractive, there would be no population problem anywhere, and it strikes me that Vera’s blank romantic life is simply the female variant of the suffering detectives are supposed to endure.
But maybe not forever. In the last TV episode, a would-be admirer appeared. Vera turned him down – but left the door open. Now a plain faced, overweight female detective of a certain age with a bona fide admirer would really break a number of stereotypes.
I hope the script writers will go for it!
17 March 2015
The St. Patrick’s Day Crime Blotter, and a Whole Lot of Blarney***
Everybody knows the famous—infamous—St. Valentine’s Day Massacre of 1929. So one might think St. Patrick got short shrift. I mean in a world where “my massacre is bigger than your massacre” is important stuff, one might think St. Paddy and St. Val would come to blows over who has the better holiday and, of course, who has a more impressive spot on the crime blotter.
After all, See’s Candy makes marshmallow-shaped hearts for Valentine’s Day, but what do they do for St. Patrick’s Day? A handful of chocolates in green boxes and green tinfoil and chocolate “potatoes”. Major slight. Which reminds me of the line from the Ernst Lubitsch classic To Be or Not to Be, where Colonel Ehrhardt (Sig Ruman) says, “They named a brandy after Napoleon, they made a herring out of Bismarck, and the Fuhrer is going to end up as a piece of cheese!”
Well, the chocolate potato is like the cheese, especially compared to marshmallow hearts. Where the herring fits in I’m not quite sure.
So, let’s take a little quiz:
Alex, I’ll take St. Paddy’s Day deaths for $100, please.
Who was the first St. Patrick’s Day death?
Uh, that’s a tough one, let me think. St. Patrick.
Right you are. That’s why the holiday is observed on the date of his death, March 17th.
Now, let’s see. It seems St. Val’s Day is in the lead what with the Massacre named after him, and seven murders from shotgun, pistol and Tommy gun blasts, the latter most likely emerging from Stradivarius violin cases.
The St. Patrick’s Day Massacre
But for some reason St. Patrick’s Day gets the short shrift on this Massacre, which occurred before the more famous St. Val’s. So you see, it’s sort of like Betamax vs. VHS, and maybe the “best” massacre is forgotten. But, as we now know, St. Val ain’t got nothin’ on St. Pat in the Crime Blotter Department.
Oh, and Happy St. Patrick’s Day everyone. Please pass the green beer.
* * *
30 November 2014
The First Female Detective
31 August 2014
An Homage To Poe
Since the anthology was compiled in 2012, I assumed the editor also had access to Google. I therefore was somewhat skeptical of his claim that he couldn’t verify the author’s birth and death. He also claims, “Andrew Forrester was a pseudonym employed by an important early writer whose real name is lost.” I looked up Andrew Forrester on Wikipedia. His actual identity was unknown until recently when a story of his, “A Child Found Dead: Murder or No Murder?” was discovered, reprinted, and published as “The Road Murder” under the name J. Redding Ware (1832-1909). He was a writer, novelist, and playwright, and created one of the first female detectives. He was apparently one of those writers whose works didn’t survive into the twentieth century, for I couldn’t find any of his books on the Project Gutenberg site. I did find on Google Play a book of stories, The Female Detective, that he edited.
In the second part, he decodes the message, which is written in criminal slang, to determine the criminal duo’s next move. With charts inviting the reader to try his or her hand at what, for John, is a simple code, the decoding takes up most of the story. Since I don’t normally like puzzle stories because I’m not very good at solving puzzles, I didn’t accept the invitation.
29 June 2014
Guilt and Vengeance
“How Did I Get Away With Killing One Of The Biggest Lawyers In The State? It was Easy” is a long title that identifies the 17-year-old narrator as the killer, leaving only as a surprise the motive. She is 14-years-old when the prominent lawyer Bubba (her name for him), the husband of her mother’s employer, rapes her. After the first encounter, they began a consensual relationship that lasts three years. Her mother constantly nags her about what she is doing with the man whose father is a segregationist. That he is a segregationist doesn’t matter to the teenage narrator because she thought, “he loved me. That meant something to me.” She knew nothing about civil rights; what she wanted was “somebody to tell me I was pretty, and he was telling me that all the time.” After three years, fed up with her mother’s constant nagging, with the help of the lawyer, she has her committed to an insane asylum. Three months later, she sees her in court when the mother’s lawyer challenges the commitment. To her surprise, her mother is really insane.
Vapid was my reaction when I finished the story. It was difficult for me to objectively analyze it because of my anger at Alice Walker for the way she treated male characters, black and white, in The Color Purple, the first novel of hers I read a few years ago. I read two more novels and realized that she is a very good novelist. Not all her male characters are monsters, but I can’t shake my anger. So, I didn’t trust my reaction to the story.
Isabel Allende, a Chilean writer has written numerous novels and received several awards. “An Act of Vengeance” is the first and only story of hers I’ve read. Like Walker’s story, it is about rape, guilt, and vengeance. During a violent time in a South American country, as his last mission, guerrilla Tadeo Cespedes comes to her village, kills her father, and rapes the 15-year-old Dulce Rosa Orellano. For 30 years, she thinks only of revenging the death of her father, who had sacrificed his life to save her.
After 30 years, Tadeo, a powerful and important man in the new government, haunted by the image of the 15-year-old beauty he raped, returns to the village to find her.
The story is dissatisfying because of the predictable twist and easily guessed ending.
I enjoyed the stories, but, unlike the Naguib story, which left me with the desire to reread, they did not invite rereading.
02 March 2014
Women in Mystery History
by Leigh Lundin
As part of Women’s History Month, this is also Women in Literature Month, and of particular interest to our genre, Women in Mystery Month as well. Today, you’ll find a bit of history and mystery.
Who’s Counting?
I was surprised when I initially joined Sisters-in-Crime to hear women were largely underrepresented in the mystery genre. I say surprised because I read more women authors than men with a strong liking for British women writers. I grew up with Agatha Christie and loved Dorothy Sayers. In my Criminal Brief and SleuthSayers articles, I often refer to Lindsey Davis, who writes the Falco series. I read all of Ellis Peters’ Brother Cadfael books and although Elizabeth Peters isn’t English, I very much enjoy her Ramses series.
Here at home, I’ve read something by each of our Criminal Brief and SleuthSayers women authors and enjoyed them all. I’m so pleased we have such talent in house! We could not have done better! Moreover, it may not be obvious to the outside world, but to my knowledge, all of us male SleuthSayers are fans of Liz, Jan, Fran, Eve, and Janice.
My teacher friend Deborah is a major consumer of romance thrillers and she argued S-in-C was wrong. According to the RWA, if one includes crossover romances or romance novels ‘with mystery elements’, then female crime writers considerably outnumber male authors!
Mystery Elements
The definition of the difference is that in ‘pure’ mysteries, the central focus of the novel is a crime and its solution. In romance with mystery elements, a crime is a plot device to move the central relationship.
I sampled a few of the top authors in this latter genre and one thing drove me crazy. You’ll often hear arguments about ‘women in peril’. Such gnashing of teeth is futile because guys like being heroic and women like heroic guys. (It’s a case of being simultaneously correct and politically incorrect.) But in romance thrillers, the heroine more often than not places herself in deadly peril. Yaaargh.
In one such case, a hired killer stalks a female photographer. A guy ('the romantic interest') is hired to keep her safe, but she finds inventive ways to throw herself into the path of danger. In an effort to flee her protector, she magically ‘hot wires’ their only transportation and abruptly drives the vehicle into a ditch. At that moment, I was hoping the killer would succeed.
In another series, the hybristophiliac heroine starts out in pursuit of another hit man but, convinced he’s a sensitive, misunderstood soul who just happens to kill people, she falls in love and cultivates a 'relationship'. (In case of nausea, air-sickness bags are located in the seat pocket in front of you.) Some of you begin to understand why I prefer pure mystery and crime.
American Mystery History
Almost everyone is aware of that mistress of suspense, Mary Roberts Rinehart, who published her first mystery in 1908, more than a dozen years before Agatha Christie. You can’t be a fan of classic crime or classic movies without encountering that great lady. But I draw your attention to two far earlier mystery novelists.
Metta Victoria Fuller Victor |
Although she wrote poetry and edited a cultural periodical, The Cosmopolitan Art Journal, she became best known for 'dime novels' in the sense of modern day paperbacks, including moralistic dramas and westerns. Her 1862 abolitionist 'romance' novel, Maum Guinea and Her Plantation 'Children' or Holiday-Week on a Louisiana Plantation: a Slave Romance, became her best known, even drawing the attention of President Lincoln. Her supportive husband, author and publisher Orville James Victor, brought her works to the American public.
Anna Katharine Green |
She’s known for a number of firsts, such as the first series detective, the first spinster detective, the first girl detective, and I suggest another first. She created the prototype for that terribly popular (and popularly terrible) television show, Charlie’s Angels.
The detective in this case is Miss Violet Strange, a society deb, who not only has intricate access to haut monde, but is brainy as well. Her agency ‘employer’ appreciates that about her and sends her on tasks where she’s usually over-appreciated and underestimated. Those oh-so-thin seventies 'jiggle' television plots could have learned much from her.
So guys, if one weekend you find yourself without a woman, then grab a woman author. Enjoy one of those bits of history, but especially consider Eve, Fran, Jan, Liz, and Janice. You’ll be glad you did.
22 December 2013
When Good Teachers Go Bad
by Leigh Lundin
Last week, I wrote about the attorney who argued his client was too rich for prison, and this week’s article began with a similar theme until it morphed into something else.
Kristin L.S. Beck is an athletics trainer who had sex with at least one minor. Although the victim is a child, the Commonwealth of Virginia does not consider an adult engaging in sex with a juvenile 15 years or older a felony. The 30-year-old was charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor, a misdemeanor, and is not required to register as a sexual offender.
Beck’s lawyer argued for no sentence at all, claiming his client was the victim and added she voluntarily forfeited her license as an athletic trainer working with students.
“I'm not sure jail time would achieve anything,” he said.
The judge compromised, giving her six months behind bars, but he chastised her for betraying the public trust.
What we think we know
As I mulled over the article, it seemed to me I’d been reading a lot about women teachers having sex with minors. Curious, I googled.
One of the first sites I turned up listed thirty-some teachers. Naturally, Florida is one of the worst offenders. Only three were male, one out of eleven. I googled again, recognizing such names as too-pretty-for-prison Debra LaFave who prosecutors and judges in two Florida counties let walk. And Mary Kay Letourneau, the teacher who bedded one of her sixth-grade students and, after being given a pass by the judge couldn’t stay away from him, and following re-arrest and time in the clink, eventually married him. And Pamela Smart who persuaded her 15-year-old paramour to murder her husband.
Wait. I know teachers. For some reason, I’ve dated an inordinate number of educators and many more are friends, including my writing buddies. Every one I know is dedicated, hard-working, and concerned about their students. It has to be every vulnerable teacher’s nightmare to be falsely accused. But, as every teacher knows, there are always a few bad apples.
What’s going on here?
Something else is happening. One writer bemoans that dozens of women teachers are being accused of sexual acts. As it turns out, the writer was wrong: not dozens, but hundreds. Names poured out of my screen. Hardly digging at all, in less than an hour I turned up more than 400 cases:
Kelly A••• | Christina G•••••••• | Alexa N•••••• |
Tabitha A•••• | Donna Carr G••••••• | Amie Lou N•••• |
Susan Christina A••••••• | Kelly Ann G••••• | Linda N•• |
Shelley A•••• | Jennalin G•••••-C•••• | Cheryl N••••• |
Toni A••••• | Lindsay G•••••-Y•••• | Angela Sue N•• |
Brianne A••••• | Ellen G••••••• | Kristine N••• |
Tina Marie A•••• | Jacquelyn Faith G••••••• | Rebecca N•••••• |
Barbara A••••••• | Sandra ‘Beth’ G••••• | Christine N•••• |
Ethel A••••••• | Rachelle G•••••• | Amy N•••• |
Melissa A••••••• | Robin G••••••••• | Amy N•••••••• |
Melissa Ann A••••••• | Stephanie G•••••••••• | Carrie O’C••••• |
Bethany A••••••• | Jennifer M. G••• | Kristi Dance O•••• |
Jamie A•••••••• | Lisa G•••• | Christina O••••• |
Melissa A••••• | Helen G•••••• | Jody O•••••• |
Amanda A•••• | Brandy Lynn G••••••• | Brenda O•••••• |
Kari Jo A••••••• | Christel C. G•••••• | Laura P••• |
Sherri Lynn B•••• | Marla G••••••-H•••••• | Angela P••••• |
Brenda B•••••••••• | Lisa G••••••• | Janet P••••• |
Leslie B•••• | Jamie Nicole H••• | Cameo P•••• |
Erica B•••• | Summer Michelle H••••• | Karen P••••• |
Pamela B••••• | Emily Suzanne H••••••• | April P••••••••• |
Melissa B••• | Katherine J. H••••• | Alison P••• |
Nicole Andrea B••••••• | Emma Jean H•••• | Naomi P•••• |
Bella B•••••• | Dr. Allison H••••••• | Carrie P•••••• |
Janelle B•••••• | Georgianne H•••••• | Kelsey P••••••• |
Ashley Jo B•••• | Stephanie Diane H••••• | Candace R. P••••• |
Amy B••• | Holly H•••••• | Linda P•••••• |
Kristin L. S. B••• | Cathy H••••••••• | Kaci P•••••••• |
Rebecca B••••• | Kristal Renee H•••• | Nicole P•••••••• |
Allanah B•••••-W•••• | Maria Guzman H•••••••• | Nicola P••••••• |
Shannon B••• | Shannon H•••••• | Michelle P•••••• |
Anna B•••••••••• | Wendy L. H•••••• | Julie P•••••••• |
Sandra L. B•••••• | Katherine H•••• | Stephanie R••••• |
Janelle Marie B••• | Rachel Ann H•••• | Shebana R••••• |
Joy B••••••••• | Symantha H•••• | Beth R•••••• |
Michelle B•••••• | Deanna H•••••• | Makayla Dawn R•••••• |
Deanna B••• | Becci H••• | Lauren R•••••• |
Rebecca B••••• | Crissy H•••• | Danielle R••• |
Rebecca B••••••• | Adrianne H•••••• | Deborah R••••• |
Sandra B•••••• | Meredith H••••• | Courtney Sue R•••••• |
Loni B••••••• | Abigail H••••••• | Jennifer R••• |
Valynne B••••• | Sarah H••••• | Claire R••••••• |
Courtney B••••• | Rachel L. H••• | Kristy C. R••••• |
Rebecca Ann B••••••• | Diana H••• | Karen R•••••• |
Kristyn B••••• | Kanesa H•••••• | Liza-Anne R•••••• |
Keri Ann B••••• | Stacy H•••••• | Rebecca R••••••••-S•••••• |
Cheryl B•••••• | Cynthia H•••••• | Trina R••••• |
Mariella B•••••• | Emily Elizabeth H•••••• | Valerie R•••••• |
Sherry B••••• | Amy Lynn H••••• | Pamela R••••• T••••• |
Sarah B•••••• | Christine H•••• | Marcie L. R••••••• |
Alini B•••• | Janet H••••• | Sharon R••••••••• |
Christy Anne B•••• | Ellen H••• | Erica R•••••• |
Rosanna Encinas B•••• | Heather I••••• | Kellie R••• |
Laura-Anne B••••••• | Amy Bass J•••••• | Tamara R•••• |
Rita B••• | Hope J••••• | Amira S•’D• |
Sheree B••••••• | Nicole J•••••• | Maria S••• |
Whitney Dow B••• | Urszula J•••••••• | Megan S•••••••• |
Ashley B•••••• | Courtney J•••••• | Kristy S••••••-T••••••• |
Rachel B••••••• | Amber S. J••••••• | Donna Lou S•••••• |
Stephanie B••••••• | Sarah J••• | Lynn S••••••• |
Kimberly B•••• | Christine Marie J••••••• | Christine S••••••• |
Lucinda Rodriguez C••••••• | Kasey J••••• | Stacy S•••••• |
Christine C•••• | Hope J•••• | Jennifer S•••••• |
Wendy C••••• | Marie J•••••• | Dawn Marie S••••••••••••••• |
Diana C••••• | Danielle J•••• | Wendie A. S••••••••• |
Christina C•••••• | Sarah J•••• | April S•••••• |
Gwen C•••••• | Christine J••••• | Heather S•••••• |
Katheryn L. C•••••• | Meredith K••• | Beth S••••••• |
Harriett Louise C••••• | Elisa K••••••• | Bethany S••••••• |
Amy Kathleen C••••• | Denise K••••• | Leah S•••••• |
Katie C•••••••• | Rebecca Lee K••••• | Michelle S••••••• |
Melissa C•••• | Jodi A. K•••••• | Natasha S•••• |
Beth Ann C•••••• | Heather K•••••• | Joan Marie S••••• |
Heather C••••••• | Tammy K•• | Pamela S•••• |
Whitney C••••• | Irene K••• | Christy Lee S•••• |
Michelle Rose C•••• | Mariane K•••••• | Sheral Lee S•••• |
Jodi C••••• | Kirsten K••••• | Melissa S••• |
Jennifer C•••• | Haven K•••••••••• | Samantha S•••••• |
Lisa Lynette C•••• | Jodi K•••••••••• | Amanda S••••• |
Susan C••••••• | Anne K•••• | Mary Jo S•••• |
Tammy C•••••• | Melissa Diana K••• | Christine S••••• |
Stephanie C••• | Abby K••••• | Ashley S•••••• |
Angela Christine C••••• | Kym K••••• | Yvette S•••••• |
Brittni C•••••• | Nicole K••••••• | Stephanie Ann S•••• |
Angela Renee C•••• | Michelle K••• | Angela S••••••• |
Andrea C•••••• | Debra Beasley L•F••• | JoAnn S••••••• |
Amanda Leigh C••••• | Adrienne L••••••• | Erin Baynard S•••••• |
Kellie Ann C••••••• | Margaret L••••••• | Meghan Allison S•••••• |
Julie Gay C••••• | Shanice L•••••• | Jenifer S•••••• |
Lauren C••••••• | Melissa L••••••• | Elizabeth S••• |
Megan C•••••• | Lisa L••••• | Sara S••••• |
Kimberly C•••• | Christina L••••• | Lakina S••••• |
Tara Lynn C•••• | Heather L•• B•••••••• | Kristen S••••••• |
Elyse C••••••• | Autumn L••••••• | Beulah Nicole G••••••• S••••• |
Kahtanna C••• | Mary Kay L••••••••• | Abbie Jane S•••••• |
Kelly Lynn D•••••• | Vicky Lynn L••••••• | Traci T••• |
Heather D••••••••• | Jill L•••• | Jennifer T•••••••• |
Gay D•••••••-S•••••• | Amy Gail L••••• | Michele T••••• |
Kathia Maria D•••• | Angela Simmons L••••• | Katherine T•• |
Margaret •• B•••••••• | Jennifer Dawn L••••• | Tanya T••••••••• |
Teri K. D•••• | Elizabeth Claire L•••••• | Erin T••••• |
Melissa Michelle D••• | Nicole L••• | Heather T•••••• |
Melinda D••••• | Chantella L••••• | Lauren T••• |
Diane D•M••••••-S••••• | Julia L••• | Deborah Lee T••••• |
Jennifer D•••••• | Kimberly L•••• | Rebekah T••• |
Megan D••••• | Jennifer M•••••• | Sarah L. T•••••• |
Melinda D•••••• | Jennifer M•••• | Gay Lyn T••••• |
Julie A. D•••• | Kesha D. M••••• | Pamela Joan Rogers T••••• |
Erica D•P••• | Kristen M•••••• | Jennifer T•••• |
Nadia D••• | Lisa Robyn M•••••••• | Erica U••••••• |
Cara D••••• | Amber M••••••• | Michelle V••M•••• |
Stefanie D•••••••• | Christy M••••• | Rachelle V••••••• |
Pamela D••••-M•••• | Katryna M••••• | Sheila V•••••• |
Dorothy Elizabeth D•••• | Elisa M••••••••• | Jamie W•••• |
Jennifer D•••••• | Andrea M••••••• | Jaymee W•••••• |
Stephanie D••••• | Tina M•••• | Danielle W•••• |
Tara D••••••• | Lindsay M•••••• | Stephanie Jo W•••••• |
Christine D••• | Cindy M•••• | Allenna W••• |
Andrea E•••• | Melissa Kellie M•B•• | Donna W•••••••• |
Susan E••• | Christine M•C••••• | Amanda W•••••• |
Amy E•••• | Carrie M•C••••••• | Gina Marie W•••••• |
Christine E••••• | Cristina M•C••• | April W••••• |
Rhianna E•••• | Melissa Dawn M•C••• | Kelly McKenzy W••••• |
Amy Rita E•••••••• | Michelle M•C•••••• | Melissa W•••• |
Celeste E•••••• | Amy M•E•••••• | Crystal W•••• |
Teresa E•••••••• | Lynnette M•I••••• | Dawn W••••• |
Jennifer E••••••• | Regina M•K•• | Kathy W•••• |
Darcie E•••• | Alexandra Elizabeth M•L••• | Shelley W•••• |
Michelle F••••• | Erin M•L••• | Jennifer W•••••• |
Diana Leigh F•••••• | Amberlee Evonne M••••• | Heather W•••••• |
Rachel L. F•••••• | Elizabeth M••••••••• | Amber Renea W••••••••• |
Laura Lynn F•••••• | Amy N. M••••• | Christy A. W••••• |
Marcy R. F••••• | Kelly K. M••••• | Kacy W••••• |
Carol F•••••••• | Julie Ann M•••• | Tawni W•••••••• |
Stephanie F••••••• | Michelle M••••• | Robin W••••• |
Ashley F••••• | Cris M••••• | Emma W••• |
Lisa F••••• | Emily M••••• | Jessica Bailey W••••••• |
Ronda F••• | Alison M•••••• | Toni Lynn W•••• |
Andrea F•• | Melissa M••• | Kimme A. W•••• |
Chandra F••••• | Elizabeth M••• | Amy Y•••••••• |
Natalie F••••••• | Antonia M••••-J••••• | Shannon Y•••• |
Lynne F•••••• | Franca M••••-J••••• | Melanie K. Y•••• |
Kenzi F••••• | Allison M•••••••• | Heather Lynne Z•• |
Gail E. G•••• | Karolyn N•••• | Michelle Z•••••••• |
Zenna G•••••• | Sheryl A. N••••••• | Maria Z••••• |
Some of the above cases have yet to go to trial while charges in others have been dropped.
A person is not judged guilty until determined by a court of law.
This is a sizable sampling, not a comprehensive list, but I'm making a point. Columnists casually speak of 'dozens', but there appear to be hundreds, perhaps thousands plus many unreported.
I could be wrong, but I don’t for a moment believe predation by female teachers (and aides, coaches, PTA members, etc.) outnumbers male’s by eleven to one. Slate writer William Saletan attempts to extrapolate from general rape statistics. Contrary to an US Department of Education survey that says in 2004 that 43% of complaints were against women, he claims assaults by male teachers outnumber female by 25-to-1 and echoes popular opinion that female aggressors are “less vile.” He intimates that male ‘victims’ are almost grown up and can better tolerate harassment.
He appears to miss the point that many Americans don’t regard sex with a female teacher a crime. Thanks to reluctance of victims and their families, fewer female teachers are accused, fewer yet are charged, fewer are prosecuted, and still fewer are given jail or prison sentences and required to register as sexual offenders. It’s a bit like that tree falling in a forest: If a teacher is let off, is it a crime?
As a 2007 NPR segment pointed out, fewer women teachers face criminal penalties. The day after Debra LaFave was allowed to walk, a male teacher was given twenty years for the equivalent crime. Elsewhere, a former Miss Texas contestant had her case dismissed without trial. The grand jury found the relationship ‘endearing and flirtatious.’
What’s a crime in one state may not be a crime in another. If the age of consent is 15 or 16, then a felony may not have been committed. Worsening the problem, laws that acknowledge women can be capable of sexual assault have been slow to catch up.
One teacher said an internet search she conducted suggested she wasn’t engaging in a crime. Often, boys and even their families refuse to cooperate with authorities. The British National Association of Women Teachers has said that teachers who have sex with pupils over the age of consent should not be placed on sex offender registers.
The Association went on to say statutory rape laws were out of date. They weren’t alone. In comments following some of the articles I researched, many readers suggested the age of consent should be lowered to 14. Fourteen! Perhaps not coincidentally, this age cropped up most often in case searches (varying from ages 9 to 17).
Former US Secretary of Education and former Houston School Superintendent Roderick Paige taught us thousands of ways to manipulate school statistics. We don’t know how many teachers are simply dismissed rather than prosecuted, which makes a shambles of statistics maintained by Departments of Education. We don’t know how often a woman is allowed to plead to a misdemeanor or non-sex crime, whereas her male counterpart may be charged with statutory rape, sexual assault, or creative charges like false imprisonment.
The adage ‘Women get months, men get years’ isn’t quite accurate, but New Jersey courts convict a sizeable majority of men but less than half of women, and they sentence men to terms 50% longer than that of women. Nancy Grace says, “Why is it when a man rapes a little girl, he goes to jail, but when a woman rapes a boy, she had a breakdown?”
While I’m surprised by mounting evidence, I am willing to adjust my stereotype. I once consulted for Sinai Hospital outside Baltimore where they gathered reams of statistics. According to one curious number, domestic battery by women outnumbered assaults by men. (While more wives assaulted husbands, men tended to inflict more harm because of sheer physical strength.)
I mentioned this to a psychiatrist friend in New York and later to another in Virginia. Both confirmed that finding. The Virginia doctor said she believed the reason was that women didn’t feel constraints, whereas sensible males have been taught to never hit a woman. The reverse is not taught.
With that little bit of knowledge, I could understand more or less equal numbers, but without hard statistics it’s difficult to judge. As mentioned the other day in comments of a SleuthSayers article, our society doesn’t trust men. At the same time, we take greater steps to protect our daughters than our sons. Because women teachers are trusted, is it possible some see an opportunity? Or, more kindly, does emotion and sensation slip under their guard?
This phenomenon isn't a fluke and we can’t blame incidents on ‘trashy women’. These are women with bachelors degrees, sometimes masters and doctorates, as in the case of Dr. Allison Hargrave, seducer of a troubled 13-year-old girl. These women are articulate, smart, poised community figures. Many have won awards. They held such promise.
And now?
Like many men, it’s much easier for me to sympathize with women, but can’t we find a better way to deal with this situation?
Why does one teacher receive a 25- or 30-year sentence while branded a pedophile and another's given no sentence at all? I’ve suggested before in a different context, we need to balance sentencing. First, we must decide whether an act constitutes a crime and at what level: Misdemeanor? Felony? Or simply bad judgment? And once that's determined, we need to be fair, sensible, and consistent.
The too-pretty-for-prison defense has to vanish as do overly harsh sentences. Educator-of-the-Year Ethel Anderson wasn’t pretty and she wasn’t white. She received 38 years for her relationship with a 12-year-old. Hundreds of others received a virtual slap on the wrist if they were reprimanded at all.
Society clearly has both a problem and a vested interest. We entrust our children to our teachers, people we want to care about and train our children. How do we solve this problem?