The Unreliable Guide to... The Mystery of Murder

The Unreliable Guide loves a good murder. I’m not alone in this - whether it’s bloody true crime horror in Belanglo State Forest or cosy crime and crumpets in the Cotswolds, watching or reading about murders is our go-to form of entertainment. One sniff of a serial killer and a newspaper/movie/TV show will sell like an icy pole in midsummer. Chuck a talented yet dysfunctional detective somewhere interesting and we will watch a dozen series of them shouting at their long-suffering sidekick before finding the clue that finally reveals the identity of the murderer. But why do we find murder so fascinating? Does it make us bad people? Never fear, The Unreliable Guide is here to give you the lowdown on our lust for blood.

Murder and Shiraz

I think it was the comedienne Judith Lucy who confessed that her favourite night in consists of murder and shiraz. I agree, a glass or two of shiraz accompanied by a true crime doco, or a murder mystery binge, makes for a great winter’s night in

(FYI, there is actually a McLaren Vale shiraz called The Murder!). But why do we find murder a relaxing entertainment? Psychologists suggests it stems from our most primitive instincts for survival. We want to know the ‘who’, ‘what’, ‘when’ and ‘where’ of crime so we can protect ourselves from the baddies. That makes sense, but I also think we enjoy the thrill. Crime as entertainment is a vicarious danger; we experience the excitement of survival without any real threat.

On a darker level, watching the bad guys is a way to observe the darkest side of human nature. We explore the worst that humans are capable of without actually breaking any laws or having to face any moral or physical consequences. Pour me another glass!

Whodunnit

In 1892, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s enigmatic Sherlock Holmes first declared, “The game is afoot,” and we’ve been fascinated by the mental challenge of solving crimes ever since. Holmes was also a huge inspiration for the Queen of Crime, Agatha Christie, who is still the best-selling novelist of all time (and that includes J.K. Rowling). The whodunnit is nothing new, but these kinds of classic, detective-led murder mysteries are currently making a massive comeback. Kenneth Branagh’s 2017 adaptation of Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express was a huge box office success - despite the fact he was a rubbish Poirot with a face like a muffin.

Murder mysteries regularly top the list of best-selling novels and TV shows. It’s not hard to understand why. A good murder mystery has twists and turns that keep us guessing. We love playing detective, looking out for the clues, figuring out the plot. Philosopher Alan Harris Goldman asserts, “Like the detective hero, the reader must pay close attention to even seemingly insignificant details.” Murder mysteries activate our minds because we are involved - we are given clues and expected to interpret them. Then, when we finally solve the mystery, we get a rush of satisfaction at our cleverness. We are empowered because we feel as if we’ve played a role in bringing justice to the world. In my book, that deserves a drink.

Finally, The Unreliable Guide suggests it’s the chaos of our real world that has encouraged this trend in murder mysteries. They acknowledge today’s violence and offer a solution - a heroic Holmes, Poirot, Marple, Miss Fisher, Vera, etc. who will bring order to our chaos. They will make sense of all the clues we’ve been gathering, reveal the bad guy and make sure he’s locked up. Writer David Evans suggests crime shows are ultimately “fairy tales for adults” because good always wins over evil in the end. And who doesn’t want that?