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The Drood Review Mystery's Second Century A forum on the future of the genre Original essays Our thoughts Follow-ups This site is copyright (c) 2000-3 by The Drood Review. The Drood Review
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Jeanne M. Jacobson Might happen: Gender-free respect for authors. Room for improvement here? Note the 18 to 2 split in Best American Mystery Stories 1999 (Houghton-Mifflin) with only Joyce Carol Oates and L.L. Thrasher in. (Stories by Mary Higgins Clark, Dorothy Salisbury Davis, Mickey Friedman, Jane Haddam, Joan Hess, and Judith Kelman are mentioned on an "other distinguished" list.) Don’t bet on it: Discovery of a safe, simple, inexpensive cure for tobacco addiction, leading to universal adoption by hitherto chain-smoking mystery authors, whose books will no longer reek from the fumes emitted by their protagonists. Dream on: As unsung heroes, brilliant, modest, eagle-eyed copy editors will provide grammar and spelling support for language-challenged authors and leave the prose of the more knowledgeable alone, even on a first novel. The number of clangers in reviewers’ uncorrected proofs will diminish, and proof copies of Elizabeth Gunn’s Triple Play will be sought after as the prime example, for all time, of quantity and quality in clanger-dumb: "gentle mutilation is akin to rape," "putting it where the sun would never sign on it," and — my favorite, as a flower enthusiast — "running head long past the house, destroying to you lips." Cosmic hope: No Barnes & Noble takeover. Thoughtful smaller presses thrive. Favorite mysteries don’t go out of print. Hopeful predictions: The world becomes a better place. Solid mystery authors still fight the good fight, but wannamakeabuck authors and presses cease hyping splash and slash (pop issues luridly linked with cruelty for sensation’s sake). Educators cut down on testing and use the time saved to let students read for enjoyment, including well-chosen mysteries. With history accumulating, even more authors stake out historical periods for vivid, well-researched mysteries. We elect another president who has a clue. |