By watching these BBC and ITV murder mysteries, I'm finding that I really do not like stupid murders. Meaning, when it's finally explained, it makes no sense. Or the explanation is, "I didn't mean to do it." Revealed by a person who's never once acted like they could be at fault.
One that really got to me was In The Dark. A detective inspector is pregnant by one of two fellow cops, and no repercussions for her. No disciplinary hearing. Nothing. Okay...maybe it's different in England; I can get past that. But then one of those cops is killed...and it's done in a way that, even from the beginning, I'm thinking, "Are you kidding me?"
The set-up -- he's at a bus shelter on a lonely road and a car smashes into it. First of all, the car's not going that fast. Second of all, the shelter would have taken the brunt of the impact. He'd have been hurt, but killed? Stretching things. Then it turns out it was deliberate? How could the killer know he'd die from this? It's far more likely that he'd survive. Didn't even begin to buy it.
Now I just finished the first two seasons of Shetland, and while I liked its characters and atmosphere and scenery, again, there was a murder set-up in the last episode that wouldn't necessarily kill the victim -- a car crash. Off a cliff, sure, so it's possible he'd have died, even though it's only about 40 feet down to the bottom, but it's a new car with seat belts and airbags and people have walked away from worse wrecks. If he'd been killed and put in the car and the killer hope it would look like a wreck, that I could believe, but not just him being run off the road.
That sort of nonsense bothers me. Agatha Christie could get convoluted in her murder setups, but they made sense in the end. Same for Earl Stanley Gardner. Now it's all about twists and turns and sleight of hand explanations...and maybe I'm too picky but I like the end to be believable.
I think I did that with The Vanishing of Owen Taylor. Lots of twists and turns, but Jake's not a detective or a cop; he's just a guy trying to get to the bottom of his uncle's disappearance...so he makes mistakes and wrong assumptions and does some stupid things before he finally figures it out. At least, I hope I succeeded in making it believable.
Who knows...maybe I'm not as clever as I think.
One that really got to me was In The Dark. A detective inspector is pregnant by one of two fellow cops, and no repercussions for her. No disciplinary hearing. Nothing. Okay...maybe it's different in England; I can get past that. But then one of those cops is killed...and it's done in a way that, even from the beginning, I'm thinking, "Are you kidding me?"
The set-up -- he's at a bus shelter on a lonely road and a car smashes into it. First of all, the car's not going that fast. Second of all, the shelter would have taken the brunt of the impact. He'd have been hurt, but killed? Stretching things. Then it turns out it was deliberate? How could the killer know he'd die from this? It's far more likely that he'd survive. Didn't even begin to buy it.
Now I just finished the first two seasons of Shetland, and while I liked its characters and atmosphere and scenery, again, there was a murder set-up in the last episode that wouldn't necessarily kill the victim -- a car crash. Off a cliff, sure, so it's possible he'd have died, even though it's only about 40 feet down to the bottom, but it's a new car with seat belts and airbags and people have walked away from worse wrecks. If he'd been killed and put in the car and the killer hope it would look like a wreck, that I could believe, but not just him being run off the road.
That sort of nonsense bothers me. Agatha Christie could get convoluted in her murder setups, but they made sense in the end. Same for Earl Stanley Gardner. Now it's all about twists and turns and sleight of hand explanations...and maybe I'm too picky but I like the end to be believable.
I think I did that with The Vanishing of Owen Taylor. Lots of twists and turns, but Jake's not a detective or a cop; he's just a guy trying to get to the bottom of his uncle's disappearance...so he makes mistakes and wrong assumptions and does some stupid things before he finally figures it out. At least, I hope I succeeded in making it believable.
Who knows...maybe I'm not as clever as I think.
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