Fiction readers love mystery and romance. Putting the two together, as romantic suspense authors like Nora Roberts do, is a way to the top of the bestseller lists. With two themes to weave into the story, it's not hard for a skilled writer to keep the reader in thrall. It's fun to wonder if the romantic lead is the hero or the villain. The best stories keep the tension going until the end, which is hard to do without sacrificing the integrity of plot and characters.
This is a new segment in the mass-produced romances that used to be called 'bodice rippers'. The main theme, which shows up practically on page one, is the strong attraction between a beautiful young girl and a generic male character. The recent twist is to have the inevitable misunderstanding complicated by a mystery. It does make things more interesting than the old boy-meets-girl, girl-runs-away plot.
However, novelists like Nora Roberts offer a lot more to their readers. Roberts has set a high standard with believable characters in real-life dilemmas. Her dialogue is intriguing and the struggles of her characters absorbing. There are no throw-away scenes that advance the plot or fulfill a formula.
Roberts moved from straight romance novels to mysteries, writing under the name J. D. Robb. Her New York police detective's relationship with her husband is the key theme, although crime moves the plot along.
Combining romance and mystery is nothing new for popular novelists. Dorothy L. Sayers set her immortal hero, Peter Whimsey, a difficult path to domestic bliss when she had him fall for a woman charged with murdering her lover. Peter's Helen is full of remorse for bad life choices and also fiercely independent, so Peter can't just ride in on his white horse and sweep her away. First of all he has to find the real murderer, just to get her out of goal where he can pursue her properly.
Another fine writer with a romantic figure as main character is Martha Grimes, whose handsome inspector Richard Jury falls in love often in the course of his investigations. Unfortunately, his fair ladies are either doomed, so full of self-doubt that they can barely function, or too diffident to cast the lures that would give Jury a clue. Some readers find this state of affairs annoying, but others are addicted to the man's complexity and eagerly await each new installment in the series.
Dick Francis wrote thrillers based on steeplechase racing in England. One character is a private investigator, but others are architects, pilots, stud farm owners, and the like. These heroes encounter terrifying bad guys, but many fall in love in the midst of murder and mayhem. Sometimes the ins and out of love follow a character through more than one novel.
There's no need for readers to sacrifice their love of good writing when they look for mystery and romance. Many fine writers create memorable characters. It is not unusual to have a bestseller show up in the cinema and on television, . Millions of readers carry these men and women around in their heads and their hearts, little wisps of fantasy that liven up everyday doldrums.
This is a new segment in the mass-produced romances that used to be called 'bodice rippers'. The main theme, which shows up practically on page one, is the strong attraction between a beautiful young girl and a generic male character. The recent twist is to have the inevitable misunderstanding complicated by a mystery. It does make things more interesting than the old boy-meets-girl, girl-runs-away plot.
However, novelists like Nora Roberts offer a lot more to their readers. Roberts has set a high standard with believable characters in real-life dilemmas. Her dialogue is intriguing and the struggles of her characters absorbing. There are no throw-away scenes that advance the plot or fulfill a formula.
Roberts moved from straight romance novels to mysteries, writing under the name J. D. Robb. Her New York police detective's relationship with her husband is the key theme, although crime moves the plot along.
Combining romance and mystery is nothing new for popular novelists. Dorothy L. Sayers set her immortal hero, Peter Whimsey, a difficult path to domestic bliss when she had him fall for a woman charged with murdering her lover. Peter's Helen is full of remorse for bad life choices and also fiercely independent, so Peter can't just ride in on his white horse and sweep her away. First of all he has to find the real murderer, just to get her out of goal where he can pursue her properly.
Another fine writer with a romantic figure as main character is Martha Grimes, whose handsome inspector Richard Jury falls in love often in the course of his investigations. Unfortunately, his fair ladies are either doomed, so full of self-doubt that they can barely function, or too diffident to cast the lures that would give Jury a clue. Some readers find this state of affairs annoying, but others are addicted to the man's complexity and eagerly await each new installment in the series.
Dick Francis wrote thrillers based on steeplechase racing in England. One character is a private investigator, but others are architects, pilots, stud farm owners, and the like. These heroes encounter terrifying bad guys, but many fall in love in the midst of murder and mayhem. Sometimes the ins and out of love follow a character through more than one novel.
There's no need for readers to sacrifice their love of good writing when they look for mystery and romance. Many fine writers create memorable characters. It is not unusual to have a bestseller show up in the cinema and on television, . Millions of readers carry these men and women around in their heads and their hearts, little wisps of fantasy that liven up everyday doldrums.
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