Chapter 6: The Pursuit of Justice: The Detective in Legal and Historical Fiction
The detective novel’s structure is also a powerful vessel for exploring themes of justice and history. The legal thriller, for example, is a specialized form of the procedural that uses the courtroom as its central stage, turning legal proceedings into a high-stakes investigation.26 The courtroom itself becomes a kind of “locked room,” where a lawyer or detective must use evidence and logical arguments to expose the truth and prove guilt or innocence.26 This genre’s foundation was established by figures like Perry Mason, a lawyer who conducts his own investigation to prove his client’s innocence, and later popularized by authors like John Grisham, whose works fuse investigative work with detailed examinations of the legal system’s social and procedural intricacies.27
Similarly, the historical mystery places a crime-solving narrative within a “significant, recognizable period of history”.18 This fusion requires authors to perform a delicate “balancing act” between historical accuracy and a compelling mystery.18 The author must ensure the investigative methods and the weapons used are appropriate for the period, and the lack of a formal police force (pre-1829 in England) often necessitates the use of an amateur sleuth.18 These historical constraints become unique sources of plot and character. For instance, Ellis Peter’s The Cadfael Chronicles uses a Benedictine monk as a detective, with his unique skills as a former soldier and herbalist serving as his tools for investigation.18 The detective narrative provides a powerful framework for an author to immerse readers in a specific historical era while still providing the satisfying plot arc of a mystery. A complex sub-form, the dual-time mystery, uses a modern-day detective to solve a historical crime, creating a narrative that links past and present and demonstrates how a crime’s ripples can echo across centuries.28