One of the challenges of solving a case, especially a long or difficult case, is exhaustion. It’s tiring on a number of levels to keep working on an investigation, particularly if it’s emotionally as well as physically draining. In crime fiction, that exhaustion can add a layer of character development that makes the sleuth more human. It can also add a layer of tension as nerves fray.
For example, in Agatha Christie’s The ABC Murders, Hercule Poirot and Captain Hastings work with Chief Inspector Japp and local police to solve a series of related murders. To start with, there are only two real clues: Poirot receives a cryptic warning note before each murder; and an ABC railway guide is found near each body. It’s a difficult case that wears on everyone, including Poirot. It’s especially hard on him because he feels an understandable urgency to solve the case before there are any more killings. In the end, he does solve the mystery, but it takes its toll on him.
Ethel Lina White’s The Wheel Spins introduces Iris Carr. She’s just finished a holiday on the Continent and is waiting for her train back to England. She gets ‘a touch of the heat’ and blacks out but recovers in time to board the train. She still feels woozy, but she settles in. After a short time, she makes the acquaintance of Miss Winifred Froy, a governess who’s on her way home to England for a holiday. Iris drifts off to sleep, but when she wakes up, Miss Froy isn’t there. Time goes by and Miss Froy doesn’t return, so Iris begins to get concerned. She moves through the train, asking around to find out if anyone has seen the missing woman, but no-one recalls her. It’s as though she wasn’t even there. Iris is sure that Miss Froy is real and that she may be in danger, but she also wonders if something’s wrong with her own mind. She’s mentally and physically exhausted, but she perseveres and eventually learns the truth about Miss Froy. It turns out to be more complicated and dangerous than she’d thought.
Frédérique Molay’s The 7th Woman takes place in Paris, where the body of Marie-Hélène Jory is found in her home. It’s a brutal killing and there are signs that this is not a robbery gone wrong. Chief Nico Sirsky, Head of the Paris CID La Crim’ and his team are called in to investigate, and it turns out to be an extremely difficult case. There’s almost no evidence pointing to any particular person, and there doesn’t seem to be a motive. Then, there’s another, similar murder. Now, the pressure is on to solve these killings before anyone else dies. That takes time, though, and it’s very hard on the police team. Everyone’s exhausted, both mentally and physically. It’s especially hard on Sirsky; not only is he in charge of the investigation, but the killer sends him personal messages that only add to his burden. The case takes a toll on everyone.
Hideo Yokoyama’s Six Four is the story of the fourteen-year-old abduction and murder of seven-year-old Amamiya Shoko. The case was never solved, and it’s haunted everyone, most especially her family. At the time, Mikami Yoshinobu was a police officer who was briefly involved in the case. He’s a civilian now, who works with the police department’s Media Relations Office. That office has the thankless task of creating and maintaining a solid relationship between the police and the public. One day, the office gets word that the police commissioner is coming from Tokyo to pay respect to the Amamiya family and renew the investigation into her murder. Mikami wasn’t really directly involved in the case, but her remembers it, as does everyone else. He starts to ask some questions and soon learns that a few things don’t fit together. It’s not long, though, before he finds that very few people want to talk about the murder. He and his team work tirelessly to prepare for the commissioner’s visit and deal with angry citizens and police who feel they’ve been treated badly by the press. Adding to that, Mikami tries to solve the murder without losing his job or worse in the process. It’s completely exhausting, and it takes all of his skill to manage his team and get to the truth.
There’s also Liam McIllvanney’s The Quaker. It’s 1969, and Glasgow is on edge because of a series of three murders committed by someone dubbed the Quaker. All the victims were female, but otherwise, they had nothing in common. The police have tried to find something that links the murders, but they haven’t come up with much, and there are other cases. The public and the media want answers, though, so Detective Inspector Duncan McCormack is sent to join the Quaker Squad. As you can well imagine, he is not welcome among the squad, and the members do as little as they can to support his work. It’s a very difficult case, and the police are tired anyway from their other work and from dealing with the pressure from higher-ups and pressure from the public and media. So, everyone’s exhausted. Still, McCormack perseveres, and in the end (and with the grudging help of some of the squad), he finds out the truth.
Some cases really are completely exhausting. Long cases, emotionally draining cases, and those that take a physical toll can sap sleuths. That’s especially true for sleuths who give up regular sleeping and eating to solve them. It can add some realism and layers of plot and character when that’s acknowledged in a novel.
*NOTE: The title of this post is the title of a Beatles song.
Crime Writer Margot Kinberg 