Our Favorite Job Perk

Between the two of us, we witness three or more murders a week. Happily, many of these vicious crimes are solved within fifty minutes or so, not counting commercial breaks. And in most cases, we have to use English-language closed captioning to understand what is going on, particularly for British crimes (even though one of us is British).

The authorities working these cases vary, depending on the country where the murder occurs. American female crime-solvers generally resemble ex-supermodels, with long, flowing hair that the perpetrator could, but never does, grab during an altercation.  British female cops usually arrive at the crime scene looking like they just made breakfast for four kids and dropped them off at school. Australian policewomen often have a healthy, outdoorsy look, almost as if they stored their surfboard in the trunk of their car before putting on their blue rubber gloves. The men, in nearly all countries, are typically either very good-looking or hopelessly rumpled and disheveled. As a rule of thumb, the more disheveled the guy, and the more he mumbles, the more likely he is to be brilliant and solve the case.

           

  

So, as a murder-mystery writing duo, does this watching we do help or hinder us? Is it a form of research, since we are unlikely (we hope) to come across real murders in our everyday lives except on TV? Well, we’ve learned a lot about police tape, not compromising the murder scene, and the popularity of the blunt-force object used to bash in skulls. In the US the preferred weapon appears to be a gun, whereas knives are widely popular in the UK (not withstanding an Agatha Christie adaptation, where poison is very popular).

We’ve also learned a lot about DNA, which on the surface would seem to make any crime solvable. And we’ve learned police jargon. And the importance of CCTV cameras and cell phones—or mobile phones, as the case may be—both excellent deterrents when it comes to proving false alibis.  Same goes for good old social media and Google, which appear to play an important role in modern police investigating.

Whatever the source (e.g., Prime Video, Netflix, or, heaven forbid, regular TV), it doesn’t hurt us a bit to plunk down on the couch, often still in our pajamas, with a cup of coffee and a TV remote. Let the bingeing—er, research—begin!!!!!