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Are Women More Inclined to Write Compelling Crime Stories?

Like most other writers, from those who pour themselves into a secret journal every night to those who publish their works for the masses, I was an avid reader before I ever put my own pen to the page. I have read countless thriller and mystery books and have many authors in that genre who I consider to be my mentors and my inspiration. In my efforts to learn more about the craft for which I am so passionate, I recently came upon an article published in The Guardian (a British newspaper) concerning the proliferation of female writers and readers who are drawn to the crime story. As I have written before on this blog, I have believed, based on my own experience, that the crime/thriller genre was dominated by men, both in terms of the writers and the main characters. So, I was surprised when The Guardian article painted a much different picture.

More than half of the crime novels written in Great Britain are authored by women. And, a survey conducted in 2006 in that same country showed that around half of female readers consider crime thriller to be their favorite fiction genre. Several female authors who were interviewed for the article had interesting perspectives to share with readers. Tana French believes that women make good crime writers because they "are made aware of the constant threat of violence in a way that men are not . . . From childhood we know that there are people out there for whom [our sex] is enough to transform us from a person into prey." One of Britian’s best-selling crime writers, Val McDermid, added that, "Women are far more in tune with violence than men. As a result of 24-hour news, we are more aware than ever before of the atrocities that are happening to women all over the world, and, to make sense of what is going on, we turn to art and fiction."

I believe that both of these perspectives are fascinating and certainly with merit. I have no doubt that my writing has been impacted by the lens through which I am forced to view crime as a woman. In my new novel, Compulsion, protagonist Emily Stone is keenly aware of who is susceptible to criminal activity and always has a great sense of her surroundings. The insights shared in The Guardian article affirm what I already knew … women make wonderful crime writers and characters!

I hope you will purchase Compulsion and let me know if you see any merit to the argument that women and crime stories make for a great partnership.

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Comment by B.R.Stateham on April 28, 2009 at 4:01pm: You are kidding, of course, on the assumption the Crime Fiction is dominated by men. It hasn't been for years. If you look at the total number of editors, publishers, agents and authors who are female in the detective/mystery genre, you'll soon see that the female mind is far more prevalent.

Now . . . does the feminine side of the gender write a more compelling story? More compelling . . . no. Equally compelling? Yes.

The fact is there are far more women writers in this genre than there are men--and far more women editors who make the decisions on what is published. So by default, women seem to dominate the field.

But a good story is a good story. It has nothing to do with gender.