You also wouldn’t think Oxford University, of all places, would be teeming with murderers, but Inspector Morse says otherwise.
You’re remembering right. Even as a kid that felt off to me. I guess it was the updated version of the Charlie Chan ending exposition. Didn’t those criminals always fess up too?
Over this past weekend, my wife was binge-watching The Madame Blanc Mysteries, an English cozy-mystery series, set in a small town in France. A few of the early episodes were based around non-murder mysteries, but that didn’t last long, and later episodes all seemed to center on murders.
Don’t even get me started on Perry Mason goes shopping then does the laundry
Jessica Fletcher had quite the body count too - Murder, She Caused.
Apart from all those episodes in season 6 where she wasn’t even in the thing - those were Murder, She Missed.
Don’t take a train or boat trip with Poirot.
Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot both got short stories that involved thefts, typically of expensive jewelry. M. Poirot once was hired to trace a missing cook. No, that one ended up with a body. And there was one with a Pekingese, but that would be too easy to spoil.
What?? Crossover with All Things Great and Small?
Mrs. Pumphrey misplace Trickie-woo?
I wanna read that.
There have been tens of thousands of mystery short stories. I’ve read probably a thousand. Most of them do not feature a murder. Most of them don’t even have a detective. The word “mystery” is extremely elastic, the same way that most science fiction stories aren’t about spaceships.
For heaven’s sake, don’t make friends with Jessica. You’ll either be murdered, framed for murder, or put on trial for murder.
I’d love to know the circumstances under which a Los Angeles homicide detective would not be consistently busy…
Also Perry Mason is pretty unrealistic. The DA does not go to trial unless the evidence is solid.
And if the Defense finds out that there is a solid alibi or that someone else did it, it is usually handled in a conference with the DA, not as a surprise in the courtroom.
“Hey DA, here is some solid evidence that just came to light”. “Hmm, let me check that out and get back to you, I will get a continuance”. “I found out you are right, tomorrow I will ask the judge to dismiss the case”.
Oh, you mean he was the only homicide detective in LA?
They should increase his deparment’s budget then.
Yeah, you’re right, but I was just a child. Didn’t know much about LA, and the posh locations suggested fewer inhabitants. But you are right, granted. Grumble…
That’s why I subscribe to the theory that we were actually watching Jessica Fletcher’s short stories. The title is “Murder, She Wrote,” not “Murder, She Solved.”
Those “Cat who…” books have only the occasional murdered body. There are deaths and bodies mostly by accidents. The mystery is how Koko the Siamese solved them.
To throw suspicion away from Yum Yum?
Just for giggles, I just checked an anthology I just finished (Science Fiction Hall of Fame: Volume Two A). By my reckoning, 7 of the 11 novellas are NOT spaceship stories. If I can remember where I put it, I’ll check Volume One, which was all short stories.
Exactly. She was the mysterious one.