Solving the writer's knowledge

[cimorene]

Every time you find a mystery from before the 1980s or so that features a serial killer, it turns into a special type of "solving the writer" where you are guessing whether the writer is aware how serial killers work, and the earlier the story, the less likely that they are. An episode of Morse comes to mind, but I'm reading a Mrs Bradley mystery now that has me on the edge of my seat for signs that anyone in the story is even slightly aware of serial killer patterns. 😂 So far the only sign they might be is that some of the characters say that serial killing means a maniac or crazy person, without further elaboration.

Comments

[princessofgeeks]

Ah, history.

See also, "how much realism is required for believability?"

[cimorene]

I would say that if it's set in the 1980s I have no trouble believing that the cops have never heard of serial killers and how they work, which was the case in the episode of Morse that was so funny. But if the serial killer's overall behavior ends up being a mixture of serial killer and... not... AND the cops have never heard of how serial killers work... then I'm probably going to assume the problem is the author.

The interesting thing is trying to figure out which one you're dealing with!

Although, of course, every multiple murder that looks like a serial killer isn't one!

But when you consider that The ABC Murders was published in 1936, and the beginnings of the FBI's serial killer profiling according to the books on which the tv show Mindhunters is based were in the late 70s to early 80s, there's little excuse for the Morse episode "Driven to Distraction" in 1990.

[princessofgeeks]

Yeah, TV writers are sometimes SO DUMB.

Recent things I noted: I bounced off The Sandbaggers because the character development went in a way I hated, but their geography and politics and world events were very accurate! Relief!

Contrast with White Collar, which made facepalmingly stupid mistakes about same whenever they tried to do anything international. Of course it was a Much Less Serious Show, but still.

[owl]

Oooh, which one?

[cimorene]

Um, it was... Three Quick and Five Dead.