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Crime novels

5K views 68 replies 22 participants last post by  Runs like Dog 
#1 ·
I mentioned in one of my first posts here that my wife is an avid reader and that her taste in books has changed over the years from what I would consider "romance" now to almost exclusively contemporary crime novels - Patterson, Cain, Koontz, etc.

As she is a "retired" stay at home mom while I am still working full-time she has ample time to read plus she likes to read in bed for an hour or so before going to sleep each night (a different topic). I am not much of a fiction reader - I read alot for work and if I read at home it is usually something professional or business related. On vacation I will bring some fiction to read.

Anyway, over the years I have been a bit naive (if that is the right description) of what these books are actually about. I recently decided to read her most recent James Patterson novel, one titled "Swimsuit".

Ever since I feel like the wives here who have discovered their husbands porn stash. The opening chapter was about a kidnapped model who is stripped naked, tied to a bedframe, raped and then slowly decapitated with a hunting knife all while being filmed. The following chapters must have had 10 more similar rapes and subsequent killings. I couldn't finish reading it.

This is what passes for mainstream fiction these days?

It has been hard for me to accept that my sweet dear wife is an avid reader of this stuff. I am trying just to let it go, but it continues to bother me on some level.
 
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#2 ·
I am trying just to let it go, but it continues to bother me on some level.
Why exactly does it bother you?

I've read a couple of Patterson's novels, but nothing that graphic.

Some of the Kellerman novels I've read have been a bit more graphic. As have a few of the Dean Koontz books.
 
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#19 ·
I have had several frank discussions with her over the past couple of days about these books. She initially was resistant to talk about it with me especially after I recounted some of the more "memorable" scenes I had read. She said she knew what was in the books so I didn't have to tell her. Eventually some discussion actually happened.

Some of her comments:

"it is just words"
"it is just fantasy"
"why do I care what she reads"
"no, it doesn't affect me"

She says the attraction is not the gore and sadism but the family life of the police and the familiarity of the characters. I made the point that there are dozens of novels depicting family life and that there are serial stories that don't involve the misogyny depicted in these books and so it seemed to me that without the titillation of the violence she wouldn't read them

She feels those books are "boring".
 
#13 ·
OP, i just saw your other thread about this issue. It seems to me that what's really bothering you is the amount of time your wife invests in reading, vs spending quality time with you. I think you'd be better served to look in to that aspect of things vs dissecting a genre of fiction.
 
#16 ·
OP, if you are concerned about her reading pornographic material, I'm baffled as to why this wasn't a concern for you when she was reading romance novels. Is it that the novels contain graphic descriptions of sex that's an issue for you? Or is it the violence that's of concern?

I'm just trying to figure out why romance novels were okay but crime fiction isn't.
 
#17 ·
Do you watch television and movies? Much of it is about crime and crime fighting, complete with graphic rape scenes, murder scenes, etc., and they are very popular or they wouldn't be in their 10th seasons with multiple spin-offs.

Game of Thrones has all of that and even more gore and it's very popular. Dexter ran for 8 seasons? and was about a normal, everyday, job-holding serial killer who chops up his victims and throws them into the sea.

I don't read those particular authors because they're too formulaic and dull, but I like clever mysteries quite a lot. My favorite author is Sara Paretsky. Ladies, look her up! She writes about smart female detective who investigates financial crimes, but finds and gets into a lot more trouble. It's about detecting (and people), not so overtly graphic, and doesn't follow a formula that monkeys could copy.
 
#32 ·
Order a badge and set of handcuffs and next time she's reading in bed, flash your badge, tell her you're going to have to interrogate her for a murder, and cuff her to the bedpost
 
#33 · (Edited)
RQ,

Rape fantasy's are not uncommon for women, it is part of that "Wanting to be taken" and a doorway to the "inner $lut".

I think it ranks up there with 3 ways for men and such.

I admire your courage for even mentioning it on TAM, because you are asking for an anal exam, but that's another fetish.

Anyway it excites her at her core, it may be showing up now because she may be a little bored with you, this could have been any number of things that she is preoccupied with like a video game or reality tv shows we are talking about here.

Seriously I don't think the content itself is overtly dangerous because as I said many women harbor this loss of control fantasy, but as she gets older and things are not as exciting it may be a borderline issue that affects her libido.

But I think the first place to look is ageing, the sameness of the relationship and life in general.

Let me hasten to add this does not mean you are doing anything wrong, people change and go through things, sometimes it sucks, you can see the HD/LD threads all over the place here.

As an antidote, when we were first married (29 yrs ago) my wife read romance novels, and they were pretty tame (mostly written by Christian authors). I never said a word about them but I could tell they were meeting some need for that kind of excitement in her.

She stopped reading them on her own. I would have been fine if she had continued, but she just felt like it was making her discontent on some level. I didn't take it personally, she is responsible for her own synapse and happiness. I am after all quite a catch, ha ha.

So I think it meets a need, the question is when does it become counterproductive, and that bar can change as life moves along.

Take care!
 
#34 ·
My wife has been an avid reader for years. It has always been the mystery thrillers (with a wise cracking detective who is laying pipe every chapter). It never really bothered me until it seemed to consume all of her spare time.

Years later it is "just a diversion to get my mind off of work" but honestly it has damaged our relationship permanently on numerous levels. Those books pretty much dictate the atmosphere at our home on all sorts of levels. I am not much of a fan of anything she reads (I get the diversion) but it interferes with our relationship on all kinds of levels. She is not going to give them up.........at all.

Sex and mutilation though? I understand how this could be perplexing.
 
#38 ·
It never really bothered me until it seemed to consume all of her spare time.

... but it interferes with our relationship on all kinds of levels. She is not going to give them up.........at all.

Sex and mutilation though? I understand how this could be perplexing.

See, ...I think that is what my wife saw down the road, so as easily as it is for some to dismiss it, there may be certain women, ...good women ...whose life and relationships would not be edified by these but quite the opposite.

"Sex and mutilation" yeah I was giving her the benefit of the doubt that she was overlooking the mutilation for the forced sex fantasy, but if not that would be disturbing, I agree.
 
#37 ·
Rob, you are giving way too much credit to those books. Books like Paterson are like pop corn - you know you should stop eating, but you continue to do it. Once you finish the book, you won't remember the next day what was it about. They are easy entertainement.
I love thrillers and crime stories, and some of them have grisly crime descirption - which takes about half a page out of few hundred pages. you get through it quickly so you can focus on the mystery part. All there is too it.

Believe me, it never affected my sex life, one way or the other. No connection what so ever. I don't think books are your problem.
 
#43 ·
Wanda, thanks for your insight.

The Patterson book I read was just plain bad. But I think your characterization of the gore is greatly underestimated unless you are reading different books. In this book there were at least 10 "grisly crime descriptions" most of which occurred over several pages. Including the torture rape of a 12 year old girl.

That is one of the defenses my wife claimed....that the attraction is not the gore but the "mystery". Kind of like me saying that I only buy Playboy for the articles.

I have been doing some research into this phenomenon of the crime novel. It would seem that as the level of violence in these books(usually against women) escalates so do the sales (again to women mostly).

Perhaps you are reading them for the mystery but it would seem that the violence is a needed ingredient. After all there are plenty of mystery books out there without the violence.
 
#40 ·
There are plenty of excellent crime novels and series of a "whodunnit" nature -- solving murders -- that aren't so grisly, descriptive, and perhaps sexually debasing to women (which OP is concerned with).

While I am personally not a James Patterson fan, I can't say I wouldn't read one or two if I was bored. However, IMHO the content of the books isn't as troubling as the fact that she seems to ADDICTED to them and obsessed with them. Any addiction, whether it's porn, alcohol, sex, drugs, gambling, is incredibly unhealthy for a relationship. Addictions are escapes from your real life, your problems, your relationships.

Her constant reading is causing problems for OP, and for that reason alone she should be sensitive to his feelings and perhaps try to branch out a little in her book genre selections. At the very least, they should have a meaningful conversation about it and she should REALLY listen to what he is trying to convey instead of blowing him off telling him "I can read whatever I want. What do you care?" And for crying out loud, quit reading so d*mn much anyway! That's time that could be spent doing couples activities.

I love to read. I read often. But I try to do it when SO is doing his own hobby or activity. When we're together, I put the book down and we're TOGETHER.
 
#44 ·
"Kind of like me saying that I only buy Playboy for the articles."

Haha. My husband actually had the gall to say that to me when we were first married. So, from there on in, I fetched the mag from the mailbox and cut out every single picture of a girl (including those fabulous Vargas fantasies).
 
#47 ·
Anything for you, Mr. Sterling:)

from the higher shelf: Jo Nesbo and Henning Mankell - Scandinavians. One has a series about middle age detective with drinking problems and a lot of women. The other one has series wiht depressed detective with no luck with women. You get mystery plus personal story.

Others;
Tana French - Irish woman author, great stories. I would suggest starting with her. Probably the best fit.
Charlotte Link - her books read like good novels.
Camilla Lackberg

Val McDermid - she is classic, but often has stories about serial killers and those are a little graphic.
John Sanford
Tami Haog

On the lighter note, targeted towards women:

Carol O'Connell, Louse Penny, Higgins-Clark, Harlan Coben

I like European crime stories, because they often read like real novel. More nuanced, less violent.
 
#51 ·
I read Patterson too...every night before I go to sleep. I am reading the Alex Cross series now.

I love his work...if my H tried to stop me....well..LOL. He could try I guess.

He reads Tolkien and Clancy. Both bore me stiff.

To each his literary own.
 
#59 ·
I've readd almost all older Patterson, he never used to be that gory, I mainly read for the storyline or mystery, so I would skip over a lot of the descriptions myself. I've read all of John Saul, now there's a sick pup, all of his books are about children being, possessed,killed etc, but I've read everything he's written, and I love kids. :). I used to read a lot, and I get very engrossed, to the point where I don't hear anything or anyone. I don't read as much as as I used to,tho. I generally skip over the descriptions of rape, descriptive killing and too much sex detail, I read for plot etc, the story itself
 
#60 ·
My wife has made the same claims, that she skips over the "bad parts" and is only interested in the plot and the family life of the characters. My issue with that claim is that in couple of Patterson novels I have read in the past week, once you take out the rape, killing and blood letting there is no plot or mystery to these books.

A few weeks ago my wife was reading an non crime thriller book. I asked her how it was. Her reply "boring"! I continue to believe that people read his books for the rape and blood letting. After all, there are plenty of books with outstanding plot and character development that are gathering dust on the library shelves in favor of these.
 
#63 ·
Nope. Your wife is full of sh*t. She is not skipping over the parts where the prostitute gets axe murdered!

James Patterson is NOT winning any literary awards with the exception of LOCAL "best new book awards"... What a joke. He is writing to the mass media appeal, trying to attract someone, ANYONE (your wife!!)

He is NO Truman Capote. Or James Michener. Or any other author of any REAL esteem... She is settling for sh*t literature...

You need to schedule marriage counseling and BAN this drivel from your home...
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