Some people have what used to be called a silver tongue. They’re able to talk their way around others to get what they want. Many con artists are like this; they win over their ‘marks’ with a suave manner and a glib tongue. Even people who aren’t, technically speaking, con artists can use that gift to their advantage. It happens often enough in real life, and it does in crime fiction, too.

For instance, in Agatha Christie’s The Mystery of the Blue Train, we are introduced to Armand, Comte de la Roche. He’s done very well by wooing ladies and somehow managing to get his hands on their jewelry and money. That’s why wealthy American businessman Rufus Van Aldin didn’t want his daughter Ruth to have anything to do with the count. In fact, ten years earlier, he stopped them from seeing each other. Now, Ruth is planning a trip to Nice on the famous Blue Train. Her father doesn’t know it, but she’s been communicating with the count, and is planning to meet him. With her, she’s bringing a necklace with a very valuable ruby – the ‘Heart of Fire.’ While the train is en route, Ruth is murdered. Her necklace is gone, too, so the first thing the police suspect is a robbery gone bad. Hercule Poirot is on that train, and he works with the police to find out the truth. One of their top suspects is, as you can imagine, the Comte de la Roche.

Patricia Highsmith’s Tom Ripley is also a well-spoken, even suave, person. He is a psychopathic serial killer who’s made his career as a murderer and a con man. In that sense he has no conscience at all. At the same time, Ripley is well-spoken and able to wheedle his way in or out of any situation. For many readers, it’s very hard not to like him, and even cheer for him, despite the kind of person he is. He’s very much a charmer, and he uses that skill to put his victims at their ease and to get out of trouble.

Cathy Ace’s The Corpse With the Silver Tongue is the first in her series featuring Cait Morgan, a Welsh academic now based in Vancouver. When a colleague is injured, he asks Cait to take his place and deliver his lecture at an upcoming conference in Nice. She agrees and looks forward to a few delightful days in a lovely city. Everything changes when she happens to meet up with a former employer, Alistair Townsend. She’s never liked him or the glib way he manipulates people. He seems happy to see her, though, even inviting her to his wife’s upcoming birthday celebration. Cait’s instinct is not to go, but Alistair persuades her, and she reluctantly agrees. During the birthday party, Alistair suddenly collapses and dies of what turns out to be poison. The police begin an investigation, and it’s not long before Cait’s history with the victim comes out. As you can imagine, that definitely makes her a ‘person of interest.’ She’s going to have to act fast if she’s to clear her name.

In Mark Billingham’s Their Little Secret, we learn of a con man named Conrad Simpkin. He has a history of seducing women, only to empty their bank accounts and steal whatever money he can. Detective Inspector (DI) Tom Thorne and his team become all too aware of Simpkin when one of his victims, Philippa Goodwin, commits suicide. When her body is discovered, Thorne and his team look into her background and discover that SImpkin had swindled her out of a lot of money. Now that Throne knows who to look for, he searches for other victims. But he doesn’t really have much to go on until the body of a young man named Kevin Deane is found washed up on the beach. He’s obviously been murdered, and evidence links the crime to a man named Patrick Jennings, which is one of Simpkins’ aliases. Now that Thorne can potentially tie Simpkins to this murder, he goes after him with renewed energy.

And then there’s Nick Davies’ El Flamingo, which features failed Hollywood actor Lou Galloway. He decides to leave Hollywood behind, and travels to Mexico. One day, he’s in a cheap bar when a stranger wearing a hat strikes up a conversation with him. The stranger leaves without his hat, so Galloway picks it up, thinking he’ll try to give it back. Instead, he’s drawn into a web of international intrigue and crime when he’s mistaken for a paid assassin called El Flamingo. He’s taken to meet wealthy crime boss Diego Flores, who has a commission for him. Colombian politician Juan Moreno has  been obstructing Flores’ business interests, so he wants the man he thinks is El Flamingo to go to Colombia and kill Moreno. Galloway knows that Flores will not take kindly to a refusal. And that’s not to mention what will happen if he confesses he’s not El Flamingo. So, he decides to use all of his acting skills to glibly agree to the mission. Flores is no slouch himself when it comes to being suave, and he convinces Galloway to do the job. Galloway heads to Colombia – and a great deal of danger.

Having a ‘silver tongue’ can be a very useful trait. It’s easier to get out of trouble that way, and to get people to do what you want. But it can spell trouble for potential con victims. And it can end up getting a person killed…

*NOTE: The title of this post is a line from Sade Adu and Ray St. John’s Smooth Operator.