I met a girl who sang the blues
And I asked her for some happy news
But she just smiled and turned away

Don McLean, American Pie

I haven’t read any crime fiction for the last two weeks, mainly because I’ve been mesmerised by the slow-mo car crash of the 2016 US election. So this post is mostly about that seismic political event, with some crime fiction stuff mixed in. Normal service will be resumed shortly, promise.

Quite a few of us in the UK stayed up for the results, and saw almost exactly the same story unfold as for the EU Referendum back in June: the polls were unreliable, the results started going in the wrong direction almost immediately, and as the hours passed, an awful sinking feeling set in. My heart went out to my American friends, because like many of us here I could understand (at least to some extent) what you were feeling during that long, dark night: the total and utter dismay of witnessing a ‘black swan’ phenomenon that will fundamentally alter your political landscape, unleash destructive forces of xenophobia, and have potentially catastrophic long-term effects.

I’ve largely steered clear of the papers since then – the headlines read like some really bad dystopian alt-history novel – but have dipped into a few online pieces. There is some solace to be had there, such as the fact that HRC appears to have won the popular vote, and that people/organisations are already rolling up their sleeves for the work ahead (see this HuffPost piece: ‘If you’re overwhelmed by the election, here’s what you can do now’).

One thing we’ve realised here in post-Brexit UK is the importance of speaking up for our core democratic values (I explain why in the final comment below), and I’ve been struck by how vocal writers/actors such as Stephen King, George Takei and J.K. Rowling have been about the US election online. Their willingness to speak up is no small thing given the often hostile response they receive in return. This wonderful tweet from Rowling (after the results) ended up being shared over 40k times: “We stand together. We stick up for the vulnerable. We challenge bigots. We don’t let hate speech become normalised. We hold the line“. King and Rowling are part of our crime-writing community too, of course, so I’m particularly proud of them.

Two thoughts on all of this and crime fiction. Firstly, Ben Winter’s ‘Last Policeman’ trilogy has been on my mind a great deal. These novels play out in an America threatened by an asteroid strike (!!!), but I’m drawn to them at the moment because they depict individuals reacting to hostile situations with integrity and resilience (for more on the trilogy, see my post here). Secondly, crime writer Eva Dolan and I had a brief Twitter chat yesterday about how crime fiction might respond to the political events of 2016. Two trends are likely: the gritty, hard-hitting crime novel that addresses these events directly, and ‘cozy’ crime fiction that offers an escape from it all. I think both have an important role to play. We obviously need crime fiction (all fiction) to illuminate serious political, social and ethical issues, but also need to look after ourselves, which may mean seeking solace in ‘respite crime’ when required. I suspect I’ll be mixing them up liberally according to mood.

Anyhow – hands across the pond, lots of love, and on we go…