Literary Skulduggery from Shetland, courtesy of poet Chris Tait

 

When is a crime novel not a crime novel and why might it matter?

 by guest contributor Les Cowan, author of the David Hidalgo crime / thriller series
 

 

There is little doubt in the modern world that crime undoubtedly pays. Or at least in the world of fiction it does. Crime is by far the biggest genre, apparently bigger than all the others put together and the bookshops (when they're open) seem to be stuffed with crime series, clever sleuths and dark deeds.

But what is a crime book? The overwhelming formula is pretty well defined. First a murder, second a professional detective and third an investigation with a satisfactory conclusion.

The fact that my David Hidalgo series is on the crime shelves might lead you to suspect more or less the same but here you may be surprised - though I hope not disappointed. David Hidalgo is not a policeman, like Rebus, not a gifted amateur like Miss Marple and not a private investigator like Philip Marlowe. In fact he is not a crime professional in any role. On the other hand neither is he a stranger to the world of dark deeds.

David Hidalgo is an anglo-Spanish evangelical pastor, newly returned to Edinburgh after a personal tragedy in Spain where he had lived most of his life, working mainly in drug and alcohol rehab (Book I, Benefit of the Doubt). So in fact he is very concerned with good and evil, right and wrong and the troubled nature of the human condition. 

But now his main goals are to lie low, try to hold things together, look after a small, unexciting congregation and keep from jumping off the Forth Road Bridge. Then the grand-daughter of a church member gets involved with drugs and goes missing. Granny turns to David thinking he’ll know what to do. Subsequent adventures face him with further issues that again force him to decide whether to walk on by or do what he can to make the world a slightly better place.

I’m often asked what interested me in the crime / thriller genre and specifically the religious protagonist. As far as the writing is concerned, my degree was English and finally getting into print has been the achievement of a life goal. Since crime does indeed sell (if not actually pay) that seemed to be a natural direction. Having worked in the criminal justice system I also did know something about it. 

As regards the religious protagonist however, that’s not quite so clear. I have been in and around church my whole life and know that world very well but beyond that, I’m interested in some big questions that the crime / thriller format allows us to explore but not in the usual way.

Firstly, while the “investigation” is a necessary plot driver and clues need to be found and solved, in general, in a David Hidalgo novel, we mostly know who the bad guys are from very early on. The issue for me is not merely the “whodunit”, but the much more interesting questions of why and what impact that has on perpetrators, victims, bystanders and our society as a whole.

Crime, by definition, is a deliberate breach of the rules and norms that govern society. Since these exist for our mutual safety and comfort, what happens when they are broken? Why would someone do such a thing and how does that feel for victims? I remember having a bike stolen and feeling distraught for days as if the thief had intruded on my very being and autonomy. So what’s it going to be like if you are promised a job in the West and find yourself tricked into forced prostitution. Or sexually assaulted by the parish priest you trusted who is now out of prison and bent on revenge? Or if your two adult sons become obsessed with a heretic thrown out of the Edinburgh Mosque for extremism and get caught up in a terror plot?

So, one of my major interests is exploring how we navigate through this muddled, troubled world where things are often not as they ought to be and wrongs need to be set right but often aren’t, sometimes for understandable reasons but also often because of corruption, neglect or indifference. 

And who better to explore these sorts of issues than a man of principle with firm beliefs, values and a strong moral compass but outside of the fields where he would be involved simply because of his job. David - like you and I - has to choose to do something. He may stand up every Sunday and talk about right and wrong but when push comes to shove is that just talk or is he willing to take a risk and get involves. In that, he is a sort of everyman. His dilemma asks what we would be willing to do in his shoes.

Of course I have no interest in proselytising with regard to David’s specific beliefs. He and I may agree on some things and differ on others. The point is that we do agree that good and evil exist and that failure to act is a collaboration with wrongdoing.

So are the David Hidalgo novels actually crime books then or not? Well, yes and no. Not in terms of the basic murder / investigation formula but very much yes in terms of exploring how the existence of crime affects us all. 

Besides that, I naturally hope readers will enjoy the plots, the characters, the clues and the solutions...let me know what you think.

The David Hidalgo series (so far) consists of:

•    Benefit of the Doubt

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B072VR57FC/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_tkin_p1_i1

•    All that Glitters 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07DWZ6FSS/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_tkin_p1_i2

•    Sins of the Fathers  

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07LD77FCX/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_tkin_p1_i0

•    Blood Bothers (23rd Oct 2020)

Go to www.worldofdavidhidalgo.com for reviews and further details.