Detective (English detective, from Latin detego - I reveal, expose) - a literary genre whose works describe the process of investigating a mysterious incident in order to clarify its circumstances and solve the riddle. Usually, such an incident is a crime, and the detective describes its investigation and definition guilty, in this case the conflict is built on a clash of justice with lawlessness, culminating in the victory of justice.
The main feature of the detective as a genre is the presence in the work of a certain mysterious incident, the circumstances of which are unknown and must be clarified. The most frequently described incident is a crime, although there are detective stories that investigate events that are not criminal.
An essential feature of the detective is that the actual circumstances of the incident are not communicated to the reader, at least in their entirety, until the investigation is completed. Instead, the reader is led by the author through the process of investigation, having the opportunity at each stage to build their own versions and evaluate known facts. If the work initially describes all the details of the incident, or the incident does not contain anything unusual, mysterious, then it should already be attributed not to a pure detective story, but to related genres (action movie, police novel, etc.).
An important property of a classic detective story is the completeness of facts. The solution of the mystery cannot be based on information that was not provided to the reader during the description of the investigation. By the time the investigation is completed, the reader should have enough information to base their own decision on it. Only a few minor details can be hidden that do not affect the possibility of revealing the secret. Upon completion of the investigation, all riddles must be solved, all questions must be answered.
“The world of the detective is much more orderly than the life around us,” such was the opinion of N. N. Vasiliev about the genre of “detective”.
What is often found in the detective genre:
Ordinary environment. The conditions under which the events of the detective story take place are generally common and well known to the reader (in any case, the reader himself believes that he is confidently orientated in them). Thanks to this reader, it is initially obvious what is ordinary from what is being described, and what is strange, beyond the scope.
Stereotypical character behavior. The characters are largely devoid of originality, their psychology and behavioral patterns are quite transparent, predictable, and if they have any prominent features, then those become known to the reader. The motives of actions (including the motives of the crime) of the characters are also stereotyped.
The existence of plot construction rules that do not always correspond to real life. So, for example, in a classic detective story, the narrator and the detective, in principle, cannot turn out to be criminals.
Another restriction is noted, which is almost always followed by a classic detective story - the inadmissibility of random errors and undetectable matches. For example, in real life, a witness may tell the truth, may lie, may be mistaken or misled, or may simply make an unmotivated mistake (accidentally, mix up dates, amounts, names). In the detective story, the last possibility is excluded - the witness is either accurate, or lying, or his mistake has a logical justification.
Genre evolution
The first developers of the genre were such famous writers as E. A. Poe, G. K. Chesterton, A. Conan Doyle, G. Leroux, E. Wallace, S. S. Van Dyne, D. Hammett, E. Quinn and others
Perhaps the first detective theorist as special genre became G. K. Chesterton, who spoke in 1902 with the article “In defense of detective literature". In his essay, Chesterton emphasizes that "the detective novel or short story is a perfectly legitimate literary genre." “The most important advantage of the detective is that it is the earliest and so far the only form popular literature, which expressed a certain sense of poetry modern life» .
At the beginning of the 20th century, attempts were made to develop norms in accordance with which works of the detective genre would be created. So, in 1928 English writer Willard Hattington published his code literary rules, calling it "20 rules for writing detective stories».
Among modern researchers of the detective should be A. Adamov, G. Andzhaparidze, N. Berkovsky, V. Rudnev, A. Vulis. Their works trace the history of the genre, analyze its poetics, and study artistic parallels in the works of different authors.
Detective according to V. Rudnev, this is “a genre specific to popular literature and cinematography of the 20th century. Rudnev explains the peculiarity of the detective genre by the fact that “the main element as a genre is the presence in it of the main character - a detective detective (usually private), who solves (detects) a crime. The main content of the detective is, therefore, the search for truth.
Let's go back to the definition of genre:
DETECTIVE (lat. detectio - disclosure of English detective - detective) - piece of art, the plot of which is based on the conflict between good and evil, realized in the disclosure of a crime.
It turns out that the educational and psychological moment comes to the fore in the detective story: the detective story must show the triumph of good, the inevitability of punishment for evil, and it also makes it possible to reveal the nature of the crime. How is a person motivated to commit a crime? How does this happen: is the environment to blame for everything, or does he tend to this himself?
The detective shows a person in a rare situation - during a personal or social drama. Detective is an intense fight, whether it's intellectual combat, interrogation, chase, shooting or hand-to-hand combat.
The Weiner brothers noted that prerequisite detective is sociality. And since the matter of the detective is a crime, then “he takes a slice of life in which explosive forces have accumulated, in which the “negative sides” have broken through the social foundations of morality and legality. It is the detective writers who resolutely and mercilessly uncover the sores and festering of society.
Charles P. Snow wrote that detective fiction is a sign of civilization and the investigation of a crime is a symbol of everything positive that is in modern world, romance in the full sense of the word. This feature of the detective is especially valuable now, at a time of acute shortage of true romance, a dangerous fight against evil, its exposure and punishment.
Speaking of the detective story, one cannot ignore the writer who revolutionized the genre by immortalizing the classic detective story. It is, of course, Agatha Christie! She introduced the world new concept prose, proclaiming the rule of law and the triumph of reason, protecting society as a whole and individuals in the private against the threat of someone else's encroachment on other people's rights and freedoms. The genius Edgar Allan Poe, who founded the detective as such, gravitated towards mysticism, and therefore did not form the “idea of Nemesis”, justice for criminals, which Christie later discovered; a significant contribution to the development of this genre was made by Arthur Conan Doyle, who proposed a universal image of the hero - the legendary Sherlock Holmes, famous for his logic and determination; questions of morality were repeatedly considered by the respected Keith Gilbert Chesterton, through his main character - Father Brown - turning to the attentive reader. But it was the woman who was destined to lead the victorious march of the detective, who in the 1920s and 1930s became a confident representative of the Western middle class. Putting near-ideal justice and the inevitability of punishment for a criminal as a leitmotif in her works, Christie did not forget about literature directly, winning the trust of readers with piercing simplicity, heating up the intrigue to the limit and painting everyday collisions of good old Britain.
Analysis of the work of Agatha Christie
"The Murder of Roger Ackroyd"
For analysis, the novel "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd" was taken, recognized at one time as one of the best works of Agatha Christie and a masterpiece of the genre.
The novel is set in the fictional English village of Kings Abbott. The story begins with the death of Mrs. Ferrar, a wealthy widow who is rumored to have murdered her husband. The villagers believe that the widow committed suicide, until Roger Ackroyd, a widower who was about to marry Mrs. Ferrar, dies.
Arrived at the scene, Hercule Poirot begins an investigation, having around a lot of suspects - Ackroyd's relatives and friends, each of whom was interested in his death. One of them - the last one who saw Ackroyd alive - Dr. James Shepard - is the narrator of the story and follows Poirot's actions step by step, acting as a kind of "Doctor Watson" - an assistant and biographer of a professional detective. Here and there in the text of the novel, "keys" to the mystery are scattered - hints, reservations, details - that, upon careful reading, can open your eyes to what is happening long before the denouement of the story.
The key word, which, in our opinion, is the basis of the novel is the word "weak will". It is first uttered in chapter 17 by Dr. Shepard and then by his sister Caroline to himself.
“We started talking about Ralph Paton.
He is a weak-willed man, I insisted, but not vicious.
A! But weakness, where does it end?
That's right, - said Caroline, - at least take James as soft as water. If I wasn't there to look after him
My dear Caroline,” I said irritably, “could you not get personal?
You're weak, James," she continued, completely unmoved by my remark, "I'm eight years older than you. Oh! I don't mind if Monsieur Poirot knows about it."
It is weakness of will that leads to dramatic consequences: blackmail, driving to suicide, killing a person and betraying a friend for the sake of personal interests. Here is how Hercule Poirot puts it:
"- Let's take a man - himself ordinary person who has no intention of killing. But somewhere in the depths of the soul there is a certain tendency to weak-willedness. Nothing affects her, and she does not manifest herself. Maybe she will never show herself, and the person will go to the grave honest and respected by all. But suppose something happened. He gets into a predicament. Or not even that. He accidentally learns some secret, a secret on which someone's life or death depends. His first impulse is to tell about it, to honestly fulfill his duty as a citizen. And then his tendency to weak will manifests itself. He sees that money can be made – big money. And he needs money, he craves it. And it's so easy. He doesn't have to do anything to get them. He just needs to be silent. This is the beginning. But the passion for money is growing. He needs more and more! He is intoxicated by the discovery of a gold mine at his feet. He becomes greedy, and in his greed outsmarts himself."
Who knows how many more murders could have followed if the perpetrator had not been stopped? The closest people could also be hit.
“But Caroline scared me the most. I thought she could figure it out. She spoke in a strange way that day about my tendency to weak will.
The most notable technique, the use of which has led to much discussion, is the use of an unreliable narrator who ends up being the killer. In his final confession, Dr. Sheppard tries to justify himself from possible accusations of lying:
“I am quite pleased with myself as a writer. What could be more precise, for example, the following words: “The letter was brought at twenty minutes to nine. It remained unread when I left at ten minutes to nine. With my hand on the doorknob, I hesitantly stopped and looked around, wondering if I had done everything. Without inventing anything, I went out and closed the door behind me.
Agatha Christie's intention was that Dr. Sheppard does not hide the truth and does not lie - he simply does not tell. In particular, he "forgets" to mention what happened between 20.40 and 20.50, when Roger Ackroyd was actually killed.
Events take on new meaning in the eyes of the reader when the killer becomes known. Dr. Sheppard himself is amazed at his duplicity, the complexity of the investigation, and the fact that so many people were under suspicion. On the one hand, he is overcome by fear of being exposed, on the other hand, he admires and is proud of his cunning, that he can fool such a famous detective as Poirot around his finger!
Even after being exposed, the killer does not regret what he did, about the ruined lives, believing that they received a well-deserved punishment, retribution. He doesn't even feel sorry for himself. He is dejected by one thing: that Hercule Poirot has appeared there.
“And then what will happen next? Veronal? It would be like retribution from above, something like poetic justice. I do not hold myself responsible for the death of Mrs. Ferrars. It was a direct consequence of her own actions. I don't feel sorry for her. I don't even feel sorry for myself. So let it be veronal. But it would be better if Hercule Poirot never retired and did not come here to grow pumpkins.
So, based on the above, we can draw the following conclusions
1. Having worked out the definition of the “detective” genre and having studied the evolution of this genre, we found out that the distinctive feature of the classic detective story is its moral idea or morality. So, in the novels of A. Christie, the case always turns into the punishment of the criminal and the triumph of justice.
2. In detective stories, you can catch a lot of upbringing and even warning, situations are given that are associated with universal human vices. Usually, the characters are placed in very extreme situations, which helps the author to reveal hidden personality traits in outwardly prosperous people.
What do we see in Agatha Christie's The Murder of Roger Ackroyd?
Betrayal loved one for profit
Betraying a friend for personal gain
And what is the result?
Easy money that doesn't bring happiness
Driving to suicide
Killing a man
Constant fear of exposure
But why, one wonders, does a person need some additional problems, because life is already full of various troubles. Driven into a dead end, financial lack and other problems gradually break a person, and soon he succumbs to vices, sinking, for example, to theft or blackmail. Then comes a moment of overwhelming fear, and as a result, another, more serious atrocity must be committed in order to avoid punishment for the first.
Does a person at this moment think that he is doubling his situation? Evil corrodes a person, one vice pulls another, and easy money goes only to ashes, how easily they get it, so easily they leave.
In this work main character begins to write a novel about everything that happens. Why write about your own crime? It's all about the incredible confidence of a man who competently built himself an alibi and hoped to send this book to Hercule Poirot as the first unsolved crime in his practice. And what didn't work out in the end?
People should not forget that any crime does not go unpunished, and if the verdict is not pronounced by the court, then life, more severe and merciless, will endure it.
Knowing the world, people become wiser and cleaner. A detective novel is also a kind of knowledge - through observation to "illumination", to the discovery of truth. Human dramas in the novels of Agatha Christie are not brought to the fore, they always remain in depth, which is why they produce such strong impression. As if in pursuit of an entertaining story, you pass by human destinies.
The materials of this study can be used in carrying out extracurricular activities in literature, in the classroom when studying foreign literature 20th century as additional material.
GENRES OF MOVIE. DETECTIVE.
Detectiveś V(eng. detective, from lat. detego - reveal, expose) - a predominantly literary and cinematic genre, the works of which describe the process of investigating a mysterious incident in order to clarify its circumstances and solve the riddle. Usually, a crime acts as such an incident, and the detective describes its investigation and identification of the perpetrators, in which case the conflict is based on a clash of justice with lawlessness, culminating in the victory of justice.
1 Definition
2 Features of the genre
3 Typical characters
4 Detective story
5 Twenty rules for writing detective stories
6 The Ten Commandments of Ronald Knox's Detective Novel
7 Some types of detectives
7.1 Detective closed type
7.2 Psychological detective
7.3 Historical detective
7.4 Ironic Detective
7.5 Fantastic Detective
7.6 Political detective
7.7 Spy detective
7.8 Police Detective
7.9 "Cool" detective
7.10 Crime detective
8 Film Detective
8.1 Aphorisms about the detective
The main feature of the detective as a genre is the presence in the work of a certain mysterious incident, the circumstances of which are unknown and must be clarified. The most frequently described incident is a crime, although there are detective stories in which events that are not criminal are investigated (for example, in Notes on Sherlock Holmes, which certainly belongs to the detective genre, there are no crimes in five stories out of eighteen).
An essential feature of the detective is that the actual circumstances of the incident are not communicated to the reader, at least in their entirety, until the investigation is completed. Instead, the reader is led by the author through the process of investigation, having the opportunity at each stage to build their own versions and evaluate known facts. If the work initially describes all the details of the incident, or the incident does not contain anything unusual, mysterious, then it should already be attributed not to a pure detective story, but to related genres (action movie, police novel, etc.).
Genre Features
An important property of a classic detective story is the completeness of facts. The solution of the mystery cannot be based on information that was not provided to the reader during the description of the investigation. By the time the investigation is completed, the reader should have enough information to base their own decision on it. Only a few minor details can be hidden that do not affect the possibility of revealing the secret. Upon completion of the investigation, all riddles must be solved, all questions must be answered.
A few more features of the classic detective story were collectively called by N.N. Volsky the hyperdetermination of the detective world (“the world of the detective is much more ordered than the life around us”):
Ordinary environment. The conditions under which the events of the detective story take place are generally common and well known to the reader (in any case, the reader himself believes that he is confidently orientated in them). Thanks to this reader, it is initially obvious what is ordinary from what is being described, and what is strange, beyond the scope.
Stereotypical character behavior. The characters are largely devoid of originality, their psychology and behavioral patterns are quite transparent, predictable, and if they have any prominent features, then those become known to the reader. The motives of actions (including the motives of the crime) of the characters are also stereotyped.
The existence of a priori rules for constructing a plot that do not always correspond to real life. So, for example, in a classic detective story, the narrator and the detective, in principle, cannot turn out to be criminals.
This set of features narrows the field of possible logical constructions based on known facts, making it easier for the reader to analyze them. However, not all detective subgenres follow these rules exactly.
Another restriction is noted, which is almost always followed by a classic detective story - the inadmissibility of random errors and undetectable matches. For example, in real life, a witness may tell the truth, may lie, may be mistaken or misled, or may simply make an unmotivated mistake (accidentally mix up dates, amounts, surnames). In the detective story, the last possibility is excluded - the witness is either accurate, or lying, or his mistake has a logical justification.
Eremey Parnov points out the following features of the classic detective genre:
the reader of the detective story is invited to participate in a kind of game - solving the mystery or the name of the criminal;
"Gothic exotic" - From the infernal monkey, the founder of both genres (fiction and detective) Edgar Poe, from the blue carbuncle and the tropical viper of Conan Doyle, from the Indian moonstone of Wilkie Collins, and ending with the secluded castles of Agatha Christie and the corpse in the boat of Charles Snow, Western the detective is irredeemably exotic. In addition, he is pathologically committed to the gothic novel ( medieval castle- the favorite stage on which bloody dramas are played out).
sketchiness -
Unlike science fiction a detective story is often written just for the sake of a detective, that is, a detective! In other words, the criminal adjusts his bloody activity to the detective, just as an experienced playwright adjusts the roles to specific actors.
There is one exception to these rules - the so-called. "Inverted Detective".
Typical characters
Detective - directly involved in the investigation. The most different people: employees law enforcement, private detectives, relatives, friends, acquaintances of the victims, sometimes - completely random people. The detective cannot be a criminal. The figure of the detective is central in the detective story.
A professional detective is a law enforcement officer. He may be a very high-level expert, or he may be an ordinary, of which there are many, police officers. In the second case in difficult situations sometimes turns to a consultant for advice (see below).
A private detective - for him, investigating crimes is the main job, but he does not serve in the police, although he may be a retired policeman. As a rule, he is extremely highly qualified, active and energetic. Most often, a private detective becomes a central figure, and to emphasize his qualities, professional detectives can be put into action, who constantly make mistakes, succumb to the provocations of a criminal, get on the wrong track and suspect the innocent. The opposition “a lone hero against a bureaucratic organization and its officials” is used, in which the sympathies of the author and the reader are on the side of the hero.
An amateur detective is the same as a private detective, with the only difference that investigating crimes for him is not a profession, but a hobby that he turns to only from time to time. A separate subspecies of an amateur detective is a random person who has never engaged in such activities, but is forced to conduct an investigation due to urgent need, for example, to save an unjustly accused loved one or to avert suspicion from himself (these are the main characters of all Dick Francis novels). The amateur sleuth brings the investigation closer to the reader, allows him to give him the impression that "I could figure it out too." One of the conventions of a series of detectives with amateur detectives (like Miss Marple) is that in real life a person, if he does not professionally investigate crimes, is unlikely to encounter such a number of crimes and mysterious incidents.
Criminal - commits a crime, covers his tracks, tries to counteract the investigation. In the classic detective story, the figure of the criminal is clearly indicated only at the end of the investigation, until this moment the criminal can be a witness, a suspect or a victim. Sometimes the actions of the criminal are described in the course of the main action, but in such a way as not to reveal his identity and not to inform the reader of information that could not be obtained during the investigation from other sources.
The victim is the one against whom the crime is directed or the one who suffered as a result of a mysterious incident. One of the standard versions of the detective's denouement - the victim himself turns out to be a criminal.
Witness - a person who has any information about the subject of the investigation. The perpetrator is often shown for the first time in the description of the investigation as one of the witnesses.
A detective's companion is a person who is constantly in contact with the detective, participating in the investigation, but does not have the abilities and knowledge of the detective. He can provide technical assistance in the investigation, but his main task is to more prominently show the outstanding abilities of the detective against the background of an average level. ordinary person. In addition, a companion is needed to ask the detective questions and listen to his explanations, giving the reader the opportunity to follow the investigator's thoughts and paying attention to individual moments which the reader might miss. Classic examples of such companions are Dr. Watson in Conan Doyle and Arthur Hastings in Agatha Christie.
A consultant is a person who has a pronounced ability to conduct an investigation, but is not directly involved in it himself. In detective stories, where a separate figure of a consultant stands out, she may be the main one (for example, the journalist Ksenofontov in the detective stories of Viktor Pronin), or may turn out to be just an occasional adviser (for example, the detective's teacher, whom he turns to for help).
Assistant - does not conduct the investigation himself, but provides the detective and / or consultant with information that he obtains himself. For example, a forensic expert.
Suspect - in the course of the investigation, there is an assumption that it was he who committed the crime. Authors deal with suspects differently, one of the frequently practiced principles is “none of those immediately suspected is a real criminal”, that is, everyone who falls under suspicion turns out to be innocent, and the real criminal is the one who was not suspected of anything. . However, not all authors follow this principle. In the detective stories of Agatha Christie, for example, Miss Marple repeatedly says that "in life, it is usually the one who is suspected first who is the criminal."
Detective Story
Poe's stories written in the 1840s are usually considered the first works of the detective genre, but elements of the detective story were used by many authors earlier. For example, in William Godwin's (1756-1836) novel The Adventures of Caleb Williams (1794), one of central characters- an amateur detective. E. Vidocq's Notes, published in 1828, also had a great influence on the development of detective literature. However, it was Poe who created, according to Yeremey Parnov, the first Great Detective - the amateur detective Dupin from the story "Murder on the Rue Morgue". Dupin subsequently fathered Sherlock Holmes and Father Brown (Chesterton), Lecoq (Gaboriau) and Mr Cuff (Wilkie Collins). It was Edgar Allan Poe who introduced into the plot of the detective story the idea of rivalry in solving a crime between a private investigator and the official police, in which the private investigator, as a rule, takes over.
The detective genre becomes popular in England after the release of W. Collins' novels The Woman in White (1860) and The Moonstone (1868). In the novels Wilder's Hand (1869) and Checkmate (1871) Irish writer C. Le Fanu detective is combined with a gothic novel. The golden age of the detective in England is considered to be the 30s - 70s. 20th century. It was at this time that the classic detective novels by Agatha Christie, F. Biding and other authors were published, which influenced the development of the genre as a whole.
The founder of the French detective is E. Gaborio, the author of a series of novels about the detective Lecoq. Stevenson imitated Gaboriau in his detective stories (especially in "The Diamond of the Rajah").
Twenty rules for writing detective stories
Twenty rules for writing detective stories. It is necessary to provide the reader with equal opportunities with the detective to unravel the mysteries, for which purpose it is necessary to clearly and accurately report all incriminating traces.
2. With regard to the reader, only such tricks and deceit are allowed that a criminal can use in relation to a detective.
3. Love is forbidden. The story should be a game of tag, not between lovers, but between a detective and a criminal.
4. Neither a detective nor any other person professionally involved in the investigation can be a criminal.
5. Logical conclusions should lead to exposure. Random or unsubstantiated confessions are not allowed.
6. A detective cannot be absent in a detective who methodically searches for incriminating evidence, as a result of which he comes to solve the riddle.
7. Mandatory Crime in detective - murder.
8. In solving a given secret, everything must be excluded supernatural powers and circumstances.
9. Only one detective can act in a story - the reader cannot compete with three or four members of the relay team at once.
10. The perpetrator must be one of the more or less significant characters well known to the reader.
11. An impermissibly cheap solution in which one of the servants is the culprit.
12. Although the perpetrator may have an accomplice, the main story should be about the capture of one person.
13. Secret or criminal communities have no place in the detective.
14. The method of committing the murder and the methodology of the investigation must be reasonable and justified with scientific point vision.
15. For a smart reader, the clue should be obvious.
16. In a detective story there is no place for literature, descriptions of painstakingly developed characters., coloring the situation by means of fiction.
17. The criminal can never be a professional villain.
19. The motive for a crime is always of a private nature, it cannot be a spy action seasoned with any international intrigues, motives of secret services.
As Yeremey Parnov writes, however,
The decade that followed the promulgation of the terms of the Van Dyne Convention finally discredited the detective story as a genre of literature. It is no coincidence that we know the detectives of previous eras well and each time we turn to their experience. But we can hardly, without getting into reference books, name the figures from the Twenty Rules clan. The modern Western detective has evolved in spite of Van Dyne, refuting point by point, overcoming the limitations that have been sucked from the finger. One paragraph (a detective must not be a criminal!), however, survived, although it was violated several times by the cinema. This is a reasonable prohibition, because it protects the very specificity of the detective, his core line ... In modern novel we will not see any traces of the "Rules"...
The Ten Commandments of a detective novel by Ronald Knox
Ronald Knox, one of the founders of the Detective Club, also proposed his own rules for writing detective stories:
I. The perpetrator must be someone mentioned at the beginning of the novel, but it must not be the person whose thought the reader has been allowed to follow.
II. As a matter of course, the action of supernatural or otherworldly forces is excluded.
III. It is not allowed to use more than one secret room or secret passage.
IV. It is unacceptable to use hitherto unknown poisons, as well as devices that require a long scientific explanation at the end of the book.
V. A Chinese person must not appear in the work.
VI. A detective should never be helped by a lucky break; nor should he be guided by an unaccountable but sure intuition.
VII. The detective doesn't have to turn out to be a criminal himself.
VIII. Having come across this or that clue, the detective must immediately present it to the reader for study.
IX. The detective's foolish friend, Watson in one form or another, must not hide any of the considerations that cross his mind; in terms of his mental abilities, he should be slightly inferior - but only very slightly - to the average reader.
X. Indistinguishable twin brothers and doubles in general cannot appear in a novel unless the reader is properly prepared for it.
Some types of detectives
Closed Detective
A subgenre usually most closely aligned with the canons of the classic detective story. The plot is based on the investigation of a crime committed in a secluded place, where there is a strictly limited set of characters. There can be no stranger in this place, so the crime could only be committed by one of those present. The investigation is conducted by one of those at the scene of the crime with the help of other heroes.
This type of detective is different in that the plot basically eliminates the need to search for an unknown criminal. There are suspects, and the detective's job is to get as much information as possible about the participants in the events, on the basis of which it will be possible to identify the criminal. Additional psychological stress is created by the fact that the perpetrator must be one of the well-known, nearby people, none of whom, usually, looks like a criminal. Sometimes in a closed detective there is a whole series of crimes (usually murders), as a result of which the number of suspects is constantly decreasing. Examples of closed type detectives:
Edgar Allan Poe, Murder in the Rue Morgue.
Cyril Hare, "Purely English Murder".
Agatha Christie, "Ten Little Indians", "Murder on the Orient Express" (and almost all works).
Leonid Slovin, "The Extra Comes on the Second Way".
Gaston Leroux, The Secret of the Yellow Room.
Psychological detective
This type of detective story may somewhat deviate from the classical canons in terms of the requirement of stereotypical behavior and the typical psychology of heroes. Usually, a crime committed for personal reasons (envy, revenge) is investigated, and the main element of the investigation is the study of the personality characteristics of the suspects, their attachments, pain points, beliefs, prejudices, clarifying the past. There is a school of French psychological detective.
Dickens, Charles, "The Mystery of Edwin Drood".
Agatha Christie, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd.
Dostoevsky, Fyodor, Crime and Punishment.
Boileau - Narsezhak, "She-wolves", "The one that was gone", "Sea Gate", "Outlining the Heart".
Japrisot, Sebastien, "Lady with glasses and a gun in a car."
Calef, Noel, "Elevator to the Scaffold".
Ball, John, "A Stuffy Night in the Carolinas".
historical detective
Main article: Historical detective
Historical work with detective intrigue. The action takes place in the past, or an ancient crime is being investigated in the present.
Eco, Umberto "The Name of the Rose"
Robert van Gulik, Judge Dee series
Agatha Christie "Death Comes at the End", "The Five Little Pigs"
John Dixon Carr "Newgate Bride", "Devil in Velvet", "Captain Cut-Throat"
Ellis Peters, Cadfael series
Ann Perry, series Thomas Pitt, Monk
Boileau-Narcejac "In the Enchanted Forest"
Quinn, Ellery "The Unknown Manuscript of Dr. Watson"
Boris Akunin, literary project"The Adventures of Erast Fandorin"
Leonid Yuzefovich, Literary project about the detective Putilin
Alexander Bushkov, Adventures of Alexei Bestuzhev
See also List of detectives about pre-revolutionary Russia
Ironic detective
The detective investigation is described from a humorous point of view. Often, works written in this vein parody and ridicule the clichés of a detective novel.
Agatha Christie, "Partners in Crime"
Varshavsky, Ilya, "The robbery will take place at midnight"
Kaganov, Leonid, "Major Bogdamir saves money"
Kozachinsky, Alexander, "Green Van"
Westlake, Donald, "Cursed Emerald" (Hot Stone), "The Bank That Gurgled"
Joanna Khmelevskaya (most works)
Daria Dontsova (all works)
Yene Reite (all works)
Fantastic detective[edit | edit wiki text]
Main article: Fantastic detective
Works at the intersection of fantasy and detective. The action can take place in the future, an alternative present or past, as well as in a completely fictional world.
Lem, Stanislav, "Investigation", "Inquiry"
Russell, Eric Frank, "The Daily Job", "The Wasp"
Holm van Zaychik, cycle " bad people No"
Kir Bulychev, cycle "Intergalactic Police" ("Intergpol")
Isaac Asimov, Lucky Starr cycles - space ranger, Detective Elijah Bailey and robot Daniel Olivo
Sergei Lukyanenko, Genome
John Brunner, The Squares of the City (eng. The Squares of the City, 1965; Russian translation - 1984)
Brothers Strugatsky, Hotel "At the Dead Alpinist"
Cook, Glenn, fantasy detective series about detective Garrett
Randall Garrett, a series of fantasy detectives about the detective Lord Darcy
Boris Akunin "Children's Book"
Kluger, Daniel, a series of fantasy detectives "Cases of magic"
Edgar Alan Poe - Murder in the Rue Morgue
Harry Turtledove - The Case of the Toxic Spell Dump
political detective
One of the genres quite far from the classic detective. The main intrigue is built around political events and rivalry between various political or business figures and forces. It also often happens that the protagonist himself is far from politics, however, while investigating the case, he stumbles upon an obstacle to the investigation on the part of the "powers that be" or reveals some kind of conspiracy. Distinctive feature political detective is (though not necessarily) the possible absence of a completely goodies except for the main one. This genre rarely found in pure form, however, may be an integral part of the work.
Agatha Christie, The Big Four
Boris Akunin, State Councilor
Levashov, Victor, "Conspiracy of Patriots"
Adam Hall, "Berlin Memorandum" (Quiller Memorandum)
Nikolai Svechin, "The Hunt for the Tsar", "The Demon of the Underworld"
Spy detective[edit | edit wiki text]
Based on the narrative of the activities of intelligence officers, spies and saboteurs both in wartime and in peacetime on " invisible front". In terms of stylistic boundaries, it is very close to political and conspiracy detectives, often combined in the same work. The main difference between a spy detective and a political one is that in a political detective the most important position is occupied by the political basis of the case under investigation and antagonistic conflicts, while in espionage the attention is focused on intelligence work (surveillance, sabotage, etc.). A conspiracy detective can be considered a variety of both espionage and political detective.
Agatha Christie, "Cat Among Pigeons", "Man in Brown Suit", "Hours", "Meetings of Baghdad" (and most works).
John Le Carré, "The Spy Who Came in from the Cold"
John Boynton Priestley, The Mist Over Gretley (1942)
James Grady, Six Days of the Condor
Boris Akunin, Turkish Gambit
Dmitry Medvedev, "It was near Rivne"
Nikolai Dalekiy, "The Practice of Sergei Rubtsov"
Ian Fleming, James Bond novel series
See also: spy thriller
police detective
Describes the work of a team of professionals. In works of this type, the protagonist-detective is either absent or only slightly higher in importance in comparison with the rest of the team. In terms of the reliability of the plot, it is closest to reality and, accordingly, deviates to the greatest extent from the canons of the pure detective genre (the professional routine is described in detail with details that are not directly related to the plot, there is a significant proportion of accidents and coincidences, the presence of informants in criminal and near-criminal environment, the perpetrator often remains unnamed and unknown until the very end of the investigation, and may also escape punishment due to the negligence of the investigation or lack of direct evidence).
Ed McBain, 87th Precinct Series
Schöwall and Vale, a series of novels about members of the homicide department led by Martin Beck
Yulian Semyonov, "Petrovka, 38", "Ogaryova, 6"
Kivinov, Andrei Vladimirovich, "A Nightmare on Stachek Street" and subsequent works.
Emile Gaboriau, Lecoq cycle
« Cool" detective
It is described most often by a lone detective, a man of thirty-five or forty, or a small detective agency. In works of this type, the protagonist confronts almost the whole world: organized crime, corrupt politicians, corrupt police. The main features are the maximum action of the hero, his "coolness", sneaky the world and honesty of the protagonist. The best examples of the genre are psychological and contain signs of serious literature - for example, the works of Raymond Chandler.
Dashiell Hammett, a series about the Continental Detective Agency, "Blood Harvest" - is considered the founder of the genre.
Raymond Chandler, Goodbye Darling, High Window, Woman in the Lake.
Ross Macdonald - many works.
Chester Hayims, "Run, Negro, run."
Crime detective[edit | edit wiki text]
Events are described from the point of view of the criminal, and not the people looking for him. Classic example: Jim Thompson's "The Killer in Me"
Detective it a work of art with a special type of plot construction, which is based on the conflict of good and evil realized in solving a crime, resolved by the victory of good. The detective emerges on the basis of the adventurous plot model, but uses traditional methods to stage and resolve a fundamentally different conflict. In one of the first detective stories- “Murder on the Rue Morgue” (1841) by E.A. Poe - the conflict of good and evil develops within the framework of religious consciousness (created in the image and likeness God's man and the evil beast - a gigantic orangutan), but the detective story is widely used precisely with the weakening of religious principles in society, when ethical conflicts come to the fore and there is a need to assert the power of good and its obligatory victory in the fight against evil. The detective in this sense performs a certain "protective" function and therefore becomes one of the most popular types of popular literature. The key characters in the system of the detective are three heroes - the victim, the criminal and the detective, and in the confrontation between the latter two, the conflict of evil and good is realized, and the victim in most cases does not directly participate in the conflict and therefore should not cause either antipathy or compassion among readers. The expansion of the character system is either due to the appearance of "witnesses" who contribute to solving the crime, or through the introduction of a number of "imaginary" criminals - those who are suspected of villainy. The task of the detective is not only to expose the criminal, but also to justify the innocent. As an additional conflict in the detective story, a clash of stupidity and intelligence is often used: the opposition of a stupid detective and a smart detective, or a smart detective and his narrow-minded assistant. Depending on what, in the opinion of the author and the society to which the work is addressed, is called upon to defend the good - reason, the press, faith or power - changes social status detective: It can be a policeman, a journalist, a pastor, a private detective.
Composition of the plot of the detective
The composition of the detective story is based on the centripetal principle: all storylines, outwardly little connected at the beginning of the work, must converge in the finale within the framework of a single denouement. Two lines of plot development become key and obligatory, one of which is based on the conflict of the offender and the victim (the commission of a crime), and the other is based on the conflict of the offender and the detective (discovering the crime), and most often they develop in the work not sequentially, but in parallel. , as if "towards" each other: the first is found within the framework of the second, although the denouement of the first is only an exposure for the second. The beginning of the second line is the discovery of the crime, and then, in the process of investigation, a picture of the crime gradually emerges, which is fully restored only in the denouement at the moment the criminal is exposed. The principle of "coincidence" of two storylines predetermine strict criteria for selecting the depicted phenomena of reality: everything that does not correspond to two lines at the same time is discarded, with the exception of special "braking" or "distracting" elements. The apparent underdevelopment of the characters in the detective story is a consequence of the same type of collisions in which it is revealed; in fact, the schematism that occurs is explained not by the principles of the detective story, but by the artistic level of the work. IN the best detectives writers created a number of bright types of detectives: S. Auguste Dupin (E. A. Poe), father Tabaret and Lecoq (E. Gaborio), Sherlock Holmes (A. Conan Doyle), Rouletaby (G. Leroux), pastor Brown ( G.K.Chesterton), Héruol Poirot and Miss Marple (A.Christie), Nero Wolfe (R.Stout), Perry Mason and Donald Lam (E.S.Gardner), Commissioner Maigret (J.Simenon). No less significant are sometimes the types of villains, their victims, as well as other participants in the events in the detective story; exactly on the same degree A. Christie's novels (18910-1976) were built to develop the characters of the real criminal and imaginary criminals.
Required Traits
For a detective, the motive of mystery, riddle is obligatory; at the same time, unlike mysticism, in a detective story, it is assumed in advance that the secret is not absolute, but relative, being the result of a combination of objective circumstances and some kind of malicious intent, and its resolution is possible and feasible for a person who is able to put together information scattered in parts and correctly comprehend her. The detective story is often seen as a hymn to the human mind, solving any riddle and defending good in the fight against evil, especially since this is consistent with the attitude of many authors, starting with E. Poe, who sang “ analytic skills our mind." In "analytical" detective stories there is usually an element of playing with the reader., who is informed of all the information that the detective owns, and is offered to solve the riddle before the protagonist. However, a sharp mind is not a necessary quality for a detective; heroes can solve riddles thanks to their activity, strength, dexterity, sneakiness, perseverance (J.H. Chase, M. Spillane. G. McDonald), thanks to luck or a combination of circumstances (I. Khmelevskaya). Genre forms detective stories are diverse: there is detective drama, detective stories, novellas, novels, psychological, adventure, social, satirical, ironic detective stories are created; in the second half of the 20th century, the so-called "action" is rapidly developing. The principle of cyclization is often used when a whole series of works is written, combined in a general way detective. It is necessary to distinguish from detective stories police and criminal novels that depict the world of policemen or the world of criminals as one of the social spheres, as well as socio-psychological novels that use crime plots (“Crime and Punishment”, 1866, F.M. Dostoevsky), and adventurous prose, which is characterized by a fundamentally different type of conflict, including works about the adventures of successful criminals (The Adventures of Rocambol, 1859, P.A. Ponson du Terraille, the cycle about Arsène Lupin by M. Leblanc). At the same time, in a number of cases, detective stories use "deception of the reader" - a deliberate violation of the canonical scheme (the investigation is conducted by the criminal himself, the crime is imaginary, all the suspects turn out to be criminals); in this case, the violation is detected only at the moment of denouement, and until then the narration is correlated by the author and readers with the canon.
Detective in Russia and the USSR
In Russia and the USSR, the detective story is first established mainly as pseudo-translated literature: the anonymous "Nat Pinkerton"; "Mess-Mend" (1924-25) by Jim Dollar (M. Shaginyan), and then a special type of Soviet detective story develops, which has become widespread in other socialist countries, in which the conflict between good and evil is considered within the framework of the contradictions of antagonistic classes, and then transformed into a conflict of the social and antisocial interpreted in accordance with the dominant ideological setting; antagonistic contradictions persist at the level of confrontation between the two systems and are reflected in the literature in the spy detective story. IN Soviet literature post-war years, the books of A.G. Adamov, Yu.S. Semyonov, brothers A. and G. Vainer gained fame; in the post-Soviet period, A. Marinina's cycle stands out, where the traditions of the Soviet "police" detective story are combined with elements of the French police novel.
The word detective comes from English detective - a detective and from the Latin detectio, which means disclosure.
The main feature of the detective as a genre is the presence in the work of a certain mysterious incident, the circumstances of which are unknown and must be clarified. The most frequently described incident is a crime, although there are detective stories in which events that are not criminal are investigated (for example, in Notes on Sherlock Holmes, which certainly belongs to the detective genre, there are no crimes in five stories out of eighteen).
An essential feature of the detective is that the actual circumstances of the incident are not communicated to the reader, at least in their entirety, until the investigation is completed. Instead, the reader is led by the author through the process of investigation, having the opportunity at each stage to build their own versions and evaluate known facts. If the work initially describes all the details of the incident, or the incident does not contain anything unusual, mysterious, then it should already be attributed not to a pure detective story, but to related genres (action movie, police novel, etc.).
Typical characters
Detective - directly involved in the investigation. A variety of people can act as a detective: law enforcement officers, private detectives, relatives, friends, acquaintances of the victims, sometimes completely random people. The detective cannot be a criminal. The figure of the detective is central in the detective story.
A professional detective is a law enforcement officer. Can be very expert high level, and maybe - and the usual, of which there are many, a police officer. In the second case, in difficult situations, sometimes he turns to a consultant for advice (see below).
A private detective - for him, investigating crimes is the main job, but he does not serve in the police, although he may be a retired policeman. As a rule, he is extremely highly qualified, active and energetic. Most often, a private detective becomes a central figure, and to emphasize his qualities, professional detectives can be put into action, who constantly make mistakes, succumb to the provocations of a criminal, get on the wrong track and suspect the innocent. The opposition “a lone hero against a bureaucratic organization and its officials” is used, in which the sympathies of the author and the reader are on the side of the hero.
An amateur detective is the same as a private detective, with the only difference that investigating crimes for him is not a profession, but a hobby that he turns to only from time to time. A separate subspecies of an amateur detective is a random person who has never engaged in such activities, but is forced to conduct an investigation due to urgent need, for example, in order to save an unjustly accused loved one or to divert suspicion from himself. The amateur sleuth brings the investigation closer to the reader, allows him to give him the impression that "I could figure it out too." One of the conventions of a series of detectives with amateur detectives (like Miss Marple) is that in real life a person, if he does not professionally investigate crimes, is unlikely to encounter such a number of crimes and mysterious incidents.
Criminal - commits a crime, covers his tracks, tries to counteract the investigation. In the classic detective story, the figure of the criminal is clearly indicated only at the end of the investigation, until this moment the criminal can be a witness, a suspect or a victim. Sometimes the actions of the criminal are described in the course of the main action, but in such a way as not to reveal his identity and not to inform the reader of information that could not be obtained during the investigation from other sources.
The victim is the one against whom the crime is directed or the one who suffered as a result of a mysterious incident. One of the standard versions of the detective's denouement - the victim himself turns out to be a criminal.
Witness - a person who has any information about the subject of the investigation. The perpetrator is often shown for the first time in the description of the investigation as one of the witnesses.
A detective's companion is a person who is constantly in contact with the detective, participating in the investigation, but does not have the abilities and knowledge of the detective. He can provide technical assistance in the investigation, but his main task is to more prominently show the outstanding abilities of the detective against the background of the average level of an ordinary person. In addition, a companion is needed to ask the sleuth questions and listen to his explanations, giving the reader the opportunity to follow the sleuth's thoughts and drawing attention to certain points that the reader himself might miss. Classic examples of such companions are Dr. Watson in Conan Doyle and Arthur Hastings in Agatha Christie.
A consultant is a person who has a pronounced ability to conduct an investigation, but is not directly involved in it himself. In detective stories, where a separate figure of a consultant stands out, she may be the main one (for example, the journalist Ksenofontov in the detective stories of Viktor Pronin), or may turn out to be just an occasional adviser (for example, the detective's teacher, whom he turns to for help).
Assistant - does not conduct the investigation himself, but provides the detective and / or consultant with information that he obtains himself. For example, a forensic expert.
Suspect - in the course of the investigation, there is an assumption that it was he who committed the crime. Authors deal with suspects differently, one of the frequently practiced principles is “none of those immediately suspected is a real criminal”, that is, everyone who falls under suspicion turns out to be innocent, and the real criminal is the one who was not suspected of anything. However, not all authors follow this principle. In the detective stories of Agatha Christie, for example, Miss Marple repeatedly says that "in life, it is usually the one who is suspected first who is the criminal."
Twenty Rules for Writing a Detective
In 1928, the English writer Willard Hattington, better known by his pseudonym Stephen Van Dyne, published his set of literary rules, calling it "20 Rules for Writing Detectives":
1. It is necessary to provide the reader with equal opportunities with the detective to unravel the secrets, for which it is clear and accurate to report all incriminating traces.
2. With regard to the reader, only such tricks and deceit are allowed that a criminal can use in relation to a detective.
3. Love is forbidden. The story should be a game of tag, not between lovers, but between a detective and a criminal.
4. Neither a detective nor any other person professionally involved in the investigation can be a criminal.
5. Logical conclusions should lead to exposure. Random or unsubstantiated confessions are not allowed.
6. A detective cannot be absent in a detective who methodically searches for incriminating evidence, as a result of which he comes to solve the riddle.
7. Mandatory crime in detective - murder.
8. In solving a given mystery, all supernatural forces and circumstances must be excluded.
9. Only one detective can act in a story - the reader cannot compete with three or four members of the relay team at once.
10. The perpetrator must be one of the most or least significant actors well known to the reader.
11. An impermissibly cheap solution in which one of the servants is the culprit.
12. Although the perpetrator may have an accomplice, the main story should be about the capture of one person.
13. Secret or criminal communities have no place in the detective.
14. The method of committing the murder and the methodology of the investigation must be reasonable and justified from a scientific point of view.
15. For a smart reader, the clue should be obvious.
16. In a detective story there is no place for literature, descriptions of painstakingly developed characters, coloring the situation by means of fiction.
17. The criminal can never be a professional villain.
18. It is forbidden to explain the secret of an accident or suicide.
19. The motive for a crime is always of a private nature, it cannot be a spy action seasoned with any international intrigues, motives of secret services.
20. The author of detective stories should avoid all sorts of stereotyped solutions and ideas.
Types of detectives
Closed Detective
A subgenre usually most closely aligned with the canons of the classic detective story. The plot is based on the investigation of a crime committed in a secluded place, where there is a strictly limited set of characters. There can be no stranger in this place, so the crime could only be committed by one of those present. The investigation is conducted by one of those at the scene of the crime, with the help of other heroes.
This type of detective is different in that the plot basically eliminates the need to search for an unknown criminal. There are suspects, and the detective's job is to get as much information as possible about the participants in the events, on the basis of which it will be possible to identify the criminal. Additional psychological stress is created by the fact that the perpetrator must be one of the well-known, nearby people, none of whom, usually, looks like a criminal. Sometimes in a closed detective there is a whole series of crimes (usually murders), as a result of which the number of suspects is constantly decreasing.
Psychological detective
This type of detective story may somewhat deviate from the classical canons in terms of the requirement of stereotypical behavior and the typical psychology of heroes. Usually, a crime committed for personal reasons (envy, revenge) is investigated, and the main element of the investigation is the study of the personality characteristics of the suspects, their attachments, pain points, beliefs, prejudices, clarifying the past. There is a school of French psychological detective.
historical detective
Historical work with detective intrigue. The action takes place in the past, or an ancient crime is being investigated in the present.
Ironic detective
The detective investigation is described from a humorous point of view. Often, works written in this vein parody the clichés of a detective novel.
fantasy detective
Works at the intersection of fantasy and detective. The action can take place in the future, alternative present or past, in a completely fictional world.
political detective
One of the genres quite far from the classic detective. The main intrigue is built around political events and rivalry between various political or business figures and forces. It also often happens that the protagonist himself is far from politics, however, while investigating the case, he stumbles upon an obstacle to the investigation on the part of the "powers that be" or reveals some kind of conspiracy. A distinctive feature of the political detective is (although not necessarily) the possible absence of completely positive characters, except for the main one. This genre is rarely found in its pure form, but it can be an integral part of the work.
Spy detective
It is based on the narrative of the activities of intelligence officers, spies and saboteurs both in wartime and in peacetime on the "invisible front". In terms of stylistic boundaries, it is very close to political and conspiracy detectives, often combined in the same work. The main difference between a spy detective and a political one is that in a political detective the most important position is occupied by the political basis of the case under investigation and antagonistic conflicts, while in espionage the attention is focused on intelligence work (surveillance, sabotage, etc.). A conspiracy detective can be considered a variety of both espionage and political detective.
Aphorisms about the detective
Thanks to criminals World culture enriched by the detective genre.
If you do not know what to write, write: "A man came in with a revolver in his hand" (Raymond Chandler).
The slower the investigator, the longer the detective story (Viktor Romanov).
There are so many motives for crimes that the detective scratches his turnip (Georgy Alexandrov).
In detective stories, it’s like this: some are saving up good, others are just waiting for this.
From the commission of a crime to its disclosure - everything is just one detective novel (Boris Shapiro).
One of my favorite genres literary works for many readers in our country is a detective.
Detective (from English detective, from Latin detego - I reveal, expose) is a cinematic or literary genre. The works of this genre consistently describe events that ultimately lead to the clarification of all the circumstances and the disclosure of the mysteries of the mysterious case. In most detective novels, a mysterious incident refers to a murder or theft. They are a kind of catalyst that starts the whole mechanism of further events.
Detective could not exist without criminals of various stripes: thieves, deceivers, maniacs, murderers. After all, it is they who “help” the authors of literary works to draw interesting stories And unusual stories not only from my imagination, but also from everyday life.
The history of the emergence and development of the detective genre
founder detective stories considered to be Edgar Allan Poe. It was in his works that the reader was first able to enjoy a brilliant plot, which was based on a mysterious incident - a crime. The works of Edgar Allan Poe, in which the author introduces us to the detective Dupin, laid the foundation for further development given literary genre Worldwide. TO famous books Edgar Allan Poe can be attributed to The Secret of Marie Roger (1843), The Stolen Letter (1845), Murder in the Rue Morgue (1841).
In fairness, it should be noted that elements of the detective genre were present in the works of other authors. For example, these are the novels by W. Collins "Moonstone", "The Woman in White", which were wildly popular in the 60s of the 19th century.
Some authors mixed the detective genre with others literary trends. Eg, American writer Anderson Cooper in his children's books talked about the life of the Indians. It is noteworthy that the author similarly described how the heroes of his books pursued their victim, what signs they paid attention to: a stump overgrown with moss, a broken bush, footprints on the ground, etc. 
A significant contribution to the development of the world detective genre was made by Charles Dickens. Several works of this author were devoted to the detective case. For example, in his magazine The Household Word, Dickens published a series of articles, the main theme of which was the work of the detectives of that time.
Another author who has made a significant contribution to the development of the detective genre is Arthur Conan Doyle. The first work that had a strong effect on readers is "Study in crimson colors". It was followed by a series of short stories dedicated to the life and work of one of the most famous detectives of all times and peoples - Sherlock Holmes.
The development of the genre led to the emergence of scientific and medical detective subgenres. For example, the writer T.L. Mead in 1902 publishes the book The Sorceress of Strand, in which the author describes in detail the questions medicine: murder with the help of x-rays and hydrocyanic acid, as well as somnambulism, hypnosis, etc.
In 1920, Agatha Christie's first book, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, was published. Soon there will not be a single person in the world who would not be familiar with the smartest detective Hercule Poirot and the noble Miss Marple. The works of Agatha Christie have rightfully won their leadership in world cinema. During the years of perestroika, domestic readers enthusiastically plunged into Magic world detective.
Later, works by Russian authors appear: Marinina, Shilova, Dontsova, etc. Each of the writers has her own own style. D. Dontsova writes in the genre of an ironic detective story. Quite realistic series come out from Marinina's pen, which allows her books to be wildly popular.
I would like to note that detective stories will always be popular, regardless of time. Each reader decides for himself what genre (classical or modern) he prefers!
