Crime Writer Margot Kinberg

Do you ever feel a bit nostalgic about your childhood? Maybe you had friends you played with, or special holiday rituals. Many people do look back fondly on those childhood memories. Others, however, are just as happy to leave the past in the past. And it’s interesting to see how that connection with the past impacts us as adults. It shows up in crime fiction, too, and can often shape character.

It’s hard to imagine Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot as a boy, but of course, he was one. He doesn’t think a lot about it though. In Mrs. McGinty’s Dead, Superintendent Albert ‘Bert’ Spence asks Poirot to re-examine the case of the murder of a charwoman. Her lodger, James Bentley has been convicted of the crime and is soon to be executed. But Spence thinks he might be innocent. While he and Poirot are discussing the crime, Spence says:

“Lord!’ he said. ‘That takes me back. Extraordinary… And I never thought of it until now.’ ‘I beg your pardon?’
‘Nothing. Just a game. Child’s game. We used to play it when we were kids. A lot of us in a row’’

Spence then goes on to describe the game, lost for a moment in his memories. But Poirot sees it differently:

‘He himself had played at Cache Cache and Le Boulanger in his childhood, but he felt no desire to talk about it or even to think about it.’

And he’s not alone in that sentiment.

Alexander McCall Smith’s Mma Precious Ramotswe had a close relationship with her father, Obed Ramotswe. Her mother died when she was very young, and of course, that had a powerful impact. But Precious has very fond memories of her father. He raised her as a single parent and served as a role model of integrity, pride in being Botswanan, and independence. He respected her intelligence, and she’s found his advice to be useful. Sometimes she still relies on it. And when her father died, she inherited his cattle. He’d taught her to really understand cattle and their value, so when it came time to make decisions about selling the animals, she was at an advantage. She still respects his memory.

In Meeti Shroff-Shah’s A Mumbai Murder Mystery, we are introduced to successful novelist Radhiki Zaveri. She’s returned to her hometown of Mumbai after living in New York, and she’s hoping to settle in and get started on her next novel. She’s especially excited to reunite with her family and her best friend, Sanjana. She has happy memories of growing up in the Gujarati community of Mumbai and is looking forward to seeing everyone. Radhiki knows her childhood and youth were not perfect, and she does get exasperated at pointed comments about when she’ll find a husband and how well she is or isn’t doing as a novelist. But she does love her family and friends. Tragedy strikes when Sanjana’s father is found dead. At first, everyone thinks it was a suicide. But Sanjana is sure it wasn’t. She asks Radhika to help her find out the truth, and Radhika agrees. As she looks for answers, she reacquaints herself with her past life, and finds there’s much to like about it.

Melissa Nordhoff’s Last Will and Puzzlement is the story of Ruby and Roddy Finch. When their beloved grandmother, Evie Collier, dies, she leaves behind her ashes and papers for her grandchildren. Instead of being instructions, the papers are cryptic clues. The first paper contains the first clue; once they solve that puzzle they get the second paper, which has another clue, and so on. This isn’t really shocking to Ruby and Roddy. Their grandmother had always enjoyed puzzles and took pleasure in challenging her grandchildren’s intellect. As Ruby and Roddy work through the puzzle, trying to solve each part of it, they discover that it’s also a trip through their grandmother’s life, and they learn things about her that they never knew. They also uncover some dark secrets that lead to dangerous places. Throughout the novel, we see how much Ruby and Roddy loved their grandmother and how strong that bond was. They look back with pleasure at their early lives and at their relationship with her, and this trip through the past reinforces those good memories.

There’s also Anthony Bidulka’s Going to Beautiful. Toronto-based celebrity chef Jake Hardy has what seems to be the perfect life. He’s very successful professionally, he has a loving husband, designer Eddie Kravetz, and a good relationship with their son, Connor. Everything changes when Eddie tragically dies from a fall off the balcony of their condominium. The police soon establish that Eddie was murdered, and of course, Jake is a person of interest. His name is cleared, but he feels the need to get away from the media hype and start the process of grieving. So, he and his friend Baz travel to Eddie’s hometown of Beautiful, Saskatchewan. In part, Jake wants to take a break and try to heal. In part, he wants to get to know sides of his husband that he’d never known. And a visit to Beautiful was one of Eddie’s final wishes. As Jake and Baz spend time in Beautiful, they can see why Eddie had such a deep connection to the place. He had his reasons for leaving, but many people in town remember him, and it’s with a sense of nostalgia, in a way, that Jake discovers what Eddie’s childhood was like. He also learns the truth about Eddie’s death.

Looking back on the past is sometimes a warm, pleasant thing to do. Sometimes it’s not. But our pasts have an impact on us, and it’s interesting to see how that happens.

*NOTE: The title of this post is a line from Billy Joel’s Keeping the Faith.