In this engaging virtual talk, author Matthew Sullivan will explore the shifting roles of victims in detective novels, and how that shift reflects broader social changes. Murder isn’t what it used to be. From Poe and Sherlock Homes to British cozies and Hardboiled pulps, Matthew traces the many influences on the postwar and modern eras of the mystery genre and shows how empathy plays a unique role in contemporary crime novels—especially in today’s literary mysteries. What does the way crime victims are portrayed say about a society’s culture? Join Sullivan to reflect on the special relationship between reading literature and experiencing empathy—on the page and in our daily lives.
Matthew Sullivan (he/him) is the author of the novel ”Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore”, which was an IndieNext pick, a Barnes & Noble Discover pick, and winner of the Colorado Book Award. His essays and stories have appeared in the New York Times, Daily Beast, Spokesman-Review, Sou’wester, and elsewhere. He is currently a writing teacher and is working on a crime novel set in Soap Lake.
More info: A Nicer Kind of Murder: The Evolution of Crime Fiction – Pierce County Library System
