What is it about Crime Fiction?

Why do you like to read crime fiction? Is it the suspense of wondering if the perpetrator will get caught? Can you see yourself in the same situation? Is it vicarious living through the characters?

I read crime fiction because I love the suspense it brings. I also read it because I believe we all have criminal tendencies somewhere inside of us.

Have you ever thought 'You know, the bank does not need all that money. There are lots of people who have money there who never earned it. They don't work as hard as I do for what I get and they get by without effort while I work hard every day. Why shouldn't I have a bigger piece of the pie?'

If you haven't I would say you are in the minority. The truth is the majority of us all consider committing a crime at some time in our lives. I know I have on many occasions. But of course the majority of us do not follow through with the idea. Most of us have morals and more importantly a tremendous fear of jail.

Prison time?

Oh just shoot me instead!

Yet we can all pick up a crime novel and read about criminals and the law enforcement officers who hunt them without any real solid risk to our involvement. Sure. There are crimes happening and the hunt is on but are we really involved? Will we be put in jail for reading?

As far as I know, we will not. I don't think any country supports that law just yet.

But you never know.

The point is that we love to go on a thrill ride with characters who have a lot to lose and a lot at stake. I know I do. We want our own lives to go as smoothly as possible. Yet in fiction we want to see characters put through the ringer. It's called identification. When we identify with a character it's like making a new friend. And who couldn't use more friends?

In the end I believe every person has the potential to be a criminal or at least think like one. Have you ever stolen a pen from work? Have ever been really clever and stolen it with full intentions and then told others you never meant to do that? Have you went even farther and acted shocked to discover the stolen object and burst into a mad frenzy of tears of shame?

We read about criminals and crime because a little part of us thinks that certain crime at times can be justified. A black and white world is wonderful to dream about but our world just is not that simple. Some laws are crazy to us and for good reason. However to break that law and be caught officially makes you a criminal. And we all are potential lawbreakers when it comes to certain laws.

However since most of us are not going to go as far as breaking the law we do enjoy reading about people who do. Oh yes. Even the nastiest murderers are fun to read about or they would not sell. If nothing else seeing them go down at the end is enjoyable as well. Those times when they do go down.

Are we all criminals?

On the record absolutely not.

Off the record, I think we all have a bit of mischief in us. Thank God for crime fiction. It saves a lot of money and time.

More time to read!!