Group Dynamics: Amateur Sleuths in Detective Fiction

Miss Marple isn't the only amateur detective who unravels mysteries. In fact, fictional amateurs have increasingly been banding together to solve crimes. Some are rookies, some are recruits, some are thrown together by circumstance, some are ladies with cats. The popularity of "murder clubs" is evident on best seller lists and TV programs. You might call the phenomenon "a murder of crows." In this course we will explore the meaning of "amateur detective" as well as the literary dynamics of fictional group crime solving. Novels on our reading list include The Queens of Crime by Marie Benedict,The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman,Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn, Earthly Delights by Kerry Greenwood, and Mistress of the Art of Death by Ariana Franklin. Class members should read The Queens of Crime before the first class meeting.