I found an interesting article in the online New York Times this evening, about how the dramatic drop in crime in New York City has caused a backlash of sorts for one segment of the population: mystery writers. These writers, used to having a plethora of crimes in every morning newspaper to draw inspiration from, are finding that a safer New York is, for them at least, a more boring New York.
The article, cleverly tagged “Murder, She Once Wrote,” (written by Gregory Beyer in the May 25th, 2008 New York Times) describes how various crime authors have coped with the phenomenon. Some, citing that their old styles of writing about rampant street violence would no longer ring true for New Yorkers who know better, have changed the focus of their novels from murder to other crimes that are relevant to these times – terrorism, for instance, or real estate fraud. Others have used the fact of a safer New York to add to the shock value when violent death does manage to occur in the gentrified neighborhoods of their books.
Still others haven’t really changed their writing, reasoning that for the people who actually buy and read their books, the New York City of their imaginations is just as dangerous and gritty as it always was. “Most of those books that are set in New York aren’t selling here — they’re selling in Idaho. What the heck do they know?” quipped one publisher in the article. He may have a point – although I have friends who live in New York who I’m certain can attest otherwise (Sarah – I’m looking forward to your comments on this article), to me, a small town Mainer, the Big Apple still seems like a very scary place, if only because it’s so huge. The dramatic drop in murders from 2245 in 1990 to 494 in 2007 notwithstanding, any place that gargantuan can’t be safe, right?
The end of the article has a small send-up of MSW book series author Donald Bain. Apparently while he was in New York as the keynote speaker for the Mystery Writers of America’s meeting in January, he told a nostalgic tale about the old days in the city – nostalgic, that is, if you miss a time when gangsters sent their goons out to make sure your daughter got home safely.
There are many reasons, I’m sure, why New York City is safer now than it was in the early 1990’s, but it was surprising to me that no one in the article mentioned the most obvious reason why this should be so: Murder, She Wrote ended its twelve year run in 1996 and Jessica, having taught criminology at Manhattan U. for five years, presumably left New York and moved back to Maine. Coincidence? I think not.
