It’s said that when you marry someone, you also marry that someone’s family. The stakes can be high, too, as it’s much easier for a couple to build a life together if each gets along with the other’s family. That’s why meeting your partner’s family can be so stressful. Sometimes it goes well, and in-laws become friends for life. Other times… it doesn’t. Either way, that relationship can add layers to a crime novel. It can also add suspense and tension.

Dorothy L. Sayers’ Lord Peter Wimsey is a member of a very ‘blueblood’ family. He’s the Duke of Denver and is used to living a comfortable life. His sister, Lady Mary Wimsey, of course, has the same background. In Clouds of Witness, Lady Mary meets Inspector Charles Parker, when he and Lord Peter investigate the death of Lady Mary’s then-fiancé. As the novel goes on, Parker finds himself very much attracted to Lady Mary, but her family would no doubt never approve of the match. And it doesn’t help matters that Parker is investigating a murder among the family, as it were. Lord Peter vouches for Parker, who is his friend, and as time goes by, Parker becomes more friendly with the family. In fact, he and Lady Mary get married later in the series. But at first, the match is shocking to Lady Mary’s upper-crust family.

In Agatha Christie’s novella Dead Man’s Mirror, we are introduced to Susan Cardwell. She is engaged to Hugo Trent and has been invited to the home of Hugo’s uncle, Gervase Chevenix-Gore. The idea is to meet his family and, hopefully, build some sort of rapport with them. That’s not going to be as easy as she hopes. Chevenix-Gore is convinced that someone is cheating him, and he believes it’s a family member. So, he’s summoned (!) Hercule Poirot to find out the truth. On the night of Poirot’s arrival, Chevenix-Gore is shot in his study just before dinner. It looks at first like suicide, but Poirot finds small indications that it was murder. Now, Susan is caught up in a murder investigation, and that’s not the only impediment to her building a successful marriage with Hugo.

It’s not just family members, either, who can get in the way of a relationship. There’s a different sort of approval in Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca. The story is told from the point of view of an unnamed narrator who has just married a widower named Maxim de Winter. As the real action in the story begins, she and her new husband arrive at Manderley, the de Winter home. For the narrator, it’s the first time meeting the members of her husband’s household. She and Maxim had a whirlwind courtship, so she’s never met any of his staff or friends. Right from the start, she is made to feel unwelcome, especially by Max’s housekeeper, Mrs. Danvers. We soon learn that Mrs. Danvers was fanatically devoted to the first Mrs. de Winter, Rebecca. She sings Rebecca’s praises, and makes rude, even cruel, comparisons between Rebecca and the new mistress of Manderley. In fact, Mrs. Danvers does everything she can to punish the narrator. As the story goes on, we learn that there may be more to Rebecca’s death than it seems, and that getting to the bottom of that mystery may be the narrator’s only chance to salvage her life.

Caroline Graham’s Inspector Tom Barnaby is a proud and loving father to his daughter, Cully. He and his wife Joyce want nothing but the best for her. For her part, Cully is strong-willed and can be stubborn. But she loves her parents, too. While Cully’s studying at school, she meets a drama student named Nicholas ‘Nico,’ and the two fall in love. While Barnaby isn’t diametrically opposed to the couple, it is a challenge for him to accept that Cully is getting ready to start her own life. For Nico, it’s a challenge because he wants to ‘prove himself,’ even though neither of Cully’s parents has objected to her dating him. As time goes on, Nico fits more easily into the family and gets along with Cully’s parents.

Anthony Bidulka’s Going to Beautiful introduces readers to Toronto-based celebrity chef Jake Hardy. As the story begins, he seems to have it all: a loving relationship with his clothing-designer husband, Eddie Kravetz; a grown son, Connor, whom they both love; and a successful career. Everything changes one tragic night when Eddie dies from a fall off the balcony of their high-end condominium. The police are called in, and it’s not long before they establish that Eddie was murdered. At first, Jake is a suspect, and even after his name is cleared, there’s talk on social media that he may be responsible. Both to get away from the stress and to start processing his grief, Jake decides to take a trip. He’s discovered that one of Eddie’s last wishes had to do with his hometown of Beautiful, Saskatchewan. Jake’s never been there and doesn’t really know much about Eddie’s past. So, he and his friend Baz travel to Beautiful, where he meets Eddie’s parents. On the one hand, it’s both awkward and painful. On the other, Jake and Baz are welcomed in Beautiful, and Jake learns a lot about his husband – and himself. He also finds out the truth about what happened to Eddie.

It’s not always easy to ‘meet the parents’ and get to know a partner’s family. It can be stressful, and there’s no guarantee of being welcomed. But it’s a part of a lot of lives, and it can add layers to a crime story.

*NOTE: The title of this post is a line from George Thorogood’s Get a Haircut.