At this year’s AWP Conference, I attended a session on how crime fiction can be used to address social problems. And while I never thought of that before, I’ve done that very thing through both Stephanie Hart and Mitchell Street.
How it Works
Crime fiction, perhaps more than other genres or sub genres of literature, holds up a mirror to the society around it, highlighting its assets and its ills. Some writers don’t think about it in that way. Instead, we focus on a good story. But crime fiction can easily do both.
Think about Devil in a Blue Dress, by Walter Mosley. The story focuses on Ezekiel “Easy” Rawlins, a black man in Los Angeles who had just lost his job in an airplane factory. Rawlins is hired to find a white woman last seen in the black nightclub. Besides the gripping plot, the novel also explores issues of race, class and violence, in ways that a simple news report could not. Crime fiction also delves into themes of justice, morality, and power dynamics. Mosley deftly addressed systemic injustices, corruption, and inequalities that exist in society through his storytelling.
Challenging the Status Quo
As crime writers, we create and tell the stories of our characters, who themselves may be marginalized. By featuring protagonists from various backgrounds and experiences, authors humanize marginalized groups and challenge preconceived notions. Through nuanced storytelling, crime fiction encourages readers to rethink their beliefs and perceptions, fostering empathy and understanding.
Both Stephanie Hart and Mitchell Street, two of my creations, are people of color, and both are in law enforcement/ crime detection. As a woman, Hart often confronts sexism and marginalization in her job. Mind you, anyone who encounters Hart learns the hard way not to do underestimate her! But as any novel or short story featuring her unfolds, she can highlight inequalities that she or the people she is working with contend and offer different solutions or perspectives than a majority culture character might.
Sharing the Voices of the Invisible
Too often, crime victims are themselves the invisible: the poor, sex workers, the homeless, or those with mental illness. Further, many crimes in popular fiction occur in high crime areas populated by the underrepresented. To the extent that detectives and others solving crimes learn the stories of these victims and bring their suffering to light, they are sharing their voices with the greater society. Newer themes such as pollution, deforestation, addiction to new drugs and climate change—are often addressed now in crime fiction. This is particularly where the impacts of these problems is significantly tougher on those without a voice.
Examples of books that highlight issues other than race and class include Triple Crossing. In this book, Sebastian Rotella probes immigration along with cartels, and the challenges of the southern US border. And in The Ninth Day, my friend Jamie Freveletti spotlights drug cartels and bio-terrorism, and it’s disproportionate impact on the poor and disenfranchised.
Stephanie Hart and Mitchell Street
In my Stephanie Hart and Mitchel Street novels, I don’t hesitate to highlight the poor or disenfranchised. With Street—a man drawn inexorably to the underbelly of society—those without a voice are the people he’s often most comfortable with. Further, he doesn’t hesitate to stand up for friends and associates who can’t fight back. And in the upcoming Hard Look Back, Hart tackles child endangerment. Both Hart and Street are fully aware of their own unique perspectives on society, and with the challenges Port Angel provides them, they have ample opportunity to hold up the mirror in ways only crime fiction can.
