Current Events and Crime Fiction

It’s uncanny how our fictional stories can sometimes relate to events in the news. Some mystery writers will purposefully include social issues and current news topics in their stories. For others, like me, it may be coincidental.

[Spoiler Alert] In MURDER PAYS A CALL featuring personal concierge Keri Armstrong, I introduce a character who had a secret former life as a jewel thief. I’d researched real crooks who were never caught or whose loot was never recovered. I found several colorful criminals who I combined into a composite to create my character.

Then along comes the heist at the Louvre. Amazing coincidence, yes? Those clever jewel thieves stole millions of dollars’ worth of jewels from the museum.

It just so happens that the next book in my Bad Hair Day series involves a theft at a museum. A diamond-studded antique hairbrush goes missing, and the curator asks my sleuth, hairstylist Marla Vail, to help recover it. What’s worse is that this object is cursed, and anyone who possesses it suffers misfortune. That may include Marla as she seeks to find the missing heirloom brush.

Also in my first Keri Armstrong mystery, I have a character who sells a cure-all health supplement. A hidden ingredient (spoiler alert) is Kratom, a plant derivative with opioid properties that can be addictive. No wonder the people who buy this magic elixir feel younger! Kratom has recently been in the news as Florida seeks to regulate these types of substances.

Incredible, yes? I didn’t create these events but they happened nonetheless, and they help to make my stories current. I guess I’m the type of writer who stumbles onto relevant topics rather than including them purposefully in my stories. So much the better. My aim is to entertain, and if the issues go deeper, that just gives the tale added depth.

Do you like it when a story includes issues that are in the news, or do you prefer a total escape from reality?