Hi. I’m Amanda Wrangles, but feel free to call me Mandy – most people do. I’m not going to muck around, I’ll just come right out and say it.
I’m an addict.
I’m addicted to Paranormal Crime Fiction.
Okay, so let me clarify that a little. I love a good mystery, a problem to solve, a challenge between the pages of a great crime novel. I love trying to nut out what it is the author of a crime story is going to spring on us – the reader. I love that sense of satisfaction when you figure out the twist or the whodunit before you’re supposed to.
But what I love even more than figuring it out, is when the author gets the better of me.
That feeling, when your jaw drops, you stop, look around the room and say to no one in particular (and not because you’re probably alone): ‘Well, I didn’t see that coming!’
For me, that is far more likely to happen outside the realms of reality, or even just a sidestep from what we perceive as reality.
A ‘normal’ human cop, private detective or concerned citizen can only solve a crime so far as the law and reality will allow. There’s only so many places the story can go. Sure, some criminals are sicker, stranger and more imaginative than others, as are the good folk who try to end their fun. Some tales are more twisted and the crimes further fetched than the average. But when you add in that unknown element, the paranormal, the supernatural, that strange quirk or talent – well, the possibilities become endless.
That body in the alley? A detective in a ‘straight’ crime story has to solve the murder with the help of DNA, clues, witnesses, a clever partner and some gut-feeling. Throw a warlock or an aura-seeing detective into the mix, a shapeshifter or time-travelling bad guy and suddenly, there a hundred different ways the story could go.
Over the next little while, I’ll be introducing you to some of my favourite Paranormal Crime Crossover Novels. Some are only slightly off-beat, while others throw the reader into a completely new world. Hold onto your hats… it could be a wild ride!
January 15th, 2011 at 3:12 am
Looking forward to your next blog, Marianne. I’ve got a firm hold on the old hat and a grin on my face!
January 15th, 2011 at 8:10 am
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Narrelle Harris. Narrelle Harris said: RT @mdepierres: Mandy intros her new column: http://www.tarasharp.com/crossing-genres-crime-and-paranormal-fiction/ [...]
January 15th, 2011 at 11:46 pm
looking forward to this! it’s my favourite genre too!