The mysteries of the "Golden Age" featured amateur detectives
who became embroiled in solving crimes accidentally, meaning
they just happened to be 'on the spot' at the time the crime
occurred.
In modern mystery novels, however, there seems to be a trend
towards making the protagonist/amateur detective become involved
with the mystery through his or her profession or hobby. One of
my favorites of this type is Vicky Bliss, an assistant curator
of the Munich National Museum in the series penned by Elizabeth
Peters. Vicky's adventures revolve around missing antiquities or
stolen art.
Recently, I began reading The Blue Rose: An English Garden
Mystery by Anthony Eglin. In this novel, two amateur
gardeners experience crime and mayhem when they discover blue
roses growing in the garden of the home they'd just purchased.
I believe, very strongly, that one should study the current
market of one's chosen genre to learn what is being published
because, naturally, those are the novels that are being
purchased. And it seems to me these types of novels are in much
more demand than the usual "house party" mystery novels, in
which the motives are purely personal.
Luckily for us, any type of profession or hobby can be used as
the plot for a mystery. Below are a few suggestions.
1) A stockbroker uncovers an insider trading plot.
2) An English professor learns of a missing "Tale" written by
Chaucer.
3) A fashion designer stumbles upon a gang of knock-off artists,
when it's revealed her Gucci bag is a fake.
4) A homemaker finds out unscrupulous people will do
anything to obtain her great-grandmother's recipes.
5) An amateur genealogist discovers an infamous branch on a
family tree that someone will go to great lengths to conceal.
I appreciate these types of novels, rather than ones starring
professional detectives, because they help me to imagine that
ordinary people, like myself, can still achieve a little mystery
and adventure in their lives.
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