It can feel very awkward when people return to their hometowns after a long absence.  Those who remember them have an image in their minds of that young person. But people do change over time. They may look different, have different tastes and so on. It’s hard to dispel that ‘young person’ image. It’s especially awkward if the person who’s returning left under unpleasant circumstances. People aren’t likely to forget what happened, even if the person returning would like nothing better. Returning can get complicated, which of course makes it an interesting plot point for a crime story.

For instance, in Agatha Christie’s Five Little Pigs, Carla Lemarchant hires Hercule Poirot to solve the sixteen-year-old murder of her father, famous painter Amyas Craile. At the time, her mother, Caroline Crale was widely believed to be responsible, and she had good motive. Her husband was carrying on a not-well-hidden affair with a young woman whose portrait he was painting. But Carla has always believed her mother was innocent, and now she wants Poirot to prove it. Poirot speaks to each of the people who were at the Crale home when Crale was killed. He also gets written accounts from each person. With that information, he works out who was responsible for the murder. Towards the end of the novel, the various suspects are gathered, and it’s very interesting to see how they all react to Carla, who was a child when she left, and has returned as a young woman. The same is true of Carla’s Aunt Angela, who was a teen at the time, and is now a successful adult. It’s awkward in a way for both of them, and everyone else has to make an adjustment as it sinks in that these women are no longer children.

In Peter May’s The Blackhouse, we are introduced to Fionnlagh ‘Fin’ Macleod, an Edinburgh police detective. He and his team have been tracking down a killer when his boss seconds him to the Isle of Lewis. It seems there’s been a murder there that closely resembles the murder that Fin and his team are investigating. Since it’s possible that it’s the same killer, it’s hoped that if Fin works with his colleagues on the Isle of Lewis, the murders will be solved more quickly. For Fin, it’s a homecoming of sorts, since he grew up on the island. In fact, the murder victim is someone he knows. But he had his reasons for leaving, and he isn’t thrilled about going back. Still, he does as requested and goes. He meets up with several old schoolmates, an old flame, and other people he’s known all his life, and at first, it’s odd. There are unresolved issues, and old feelings are stirred up. At the same time, Fin is there as a competent adult with a job to do. It’s not an easy situation for anyone, especially since the killer could very well be someone Fin’s known for a long time.

Sarah Ward’s In Bitter Chill is in part the story of Rachel Jones. In 1978, she and her friend Sophie Jenkins were abducted. Rachel managed to escape, but Sophie was never found. Rachel and her mother left the small Derbyshire town they were living in and started a new life. Rachel returns to her hometown when Sophie’s mother, Yvonne Jenkins, dies, apparently of suicide. The police have to investigate other possibilities, though, including murder. The question arises whether Yvonne’s death has something to do with her daughter’s long-ago abduction. If so, what is the connection? To answer these questions, the police want help from Rachel, but she has difficulty remembering everything. Still, she wants to be helpful, and she wants her own ghosts laid to rest. So she starts to ask some questions of her own. It’s very interesting to see how others view her when she returns. Those who remember her link her name to the abduction, of course, and have no knowledge of what her life’s been like since then.

Tove Alsterdal’s We Know You Remember introduces readers to Olof Hagström. Twenty-three years earlier, he left his home in the small Swedish town of Kramfors. Now he’s back to visit his father, Sven. When he gets to his father’s house, though, he finds that Sven has been murdered. Police detective Eira Sjödin, who’s also recently returned to Kramfors after a time in Stockholm, investigates the case. We soon learn that Olof originally left town under a dark cloud. He was accused of the rape and probable murder of Lina Stavred and was remanded to a youth home; his family became outcasts. It’s possible that the murder of Sven Hagström is related to that earlier case, so it’s brought up again. It’s very difficult for the people Olof knew to see him as an adult with a new life; to them, he’s the teenager who committed that awful crime. It’s even hard for Eira, who was nine at the time, and remembers the case. But the investigation shows that things may not be as they seem, and the long-ago case may have a different explanation.

Anthony Bidulka’s Home Fires Burn is the third in his trilogy featuring private investigator Merry Bell. She is originally from the Saskatchewan town of Livingsky, where she was a boy called Joey Dzvonyk. She moved to Vancouver, where she started work as a PI. While there, she transitioned and is now Merry Bell. She hadn’t planned to return to Livingsky, but she had to leave Vancouver quickly when she was suspected of murder, and now she’s back in her hometown. It’s been a difficult adjustment for everyone, including her. But she’s trying to get her new PI business going. One day, she’s approached by Evan Whatley, who knew her (in fact, they were a couple) when she was still Joey. Now, he wants Merry to help find out the truth behind the death of his father, John. On the surface, it looks as though John Whatley died of accidental exposure to the harsh Saskatchewan winter. But Evan wants the truth. Throughout this trilogy, Marry has to work through her own feelings about coming back to Livingsky. And the people in town have to get acquainted with Merry.

And that’s the thing about coming back to a place from the past. People have a vision of what someone ‘should’ be like, but that vision isn’t always accurate after someone’s been away for a while. People grow and change and that can take some adjustment on all sides. In a crime novel, it can also make for effective character development and tension.

*NOTE: The title of this post is a line from Billy Joel’s The Great Suburban Showdown.