If you read enough crime fiction, you know that just about anyone can commit a murder. But some killers (or at least, those imprisoned for killing) have more notoriety than others. Sometimes, it’s because there are multiple murders, or particularly gruesome murders. Other times, it’s because of the victim (e.g. the Lindbergh baby kidnapping). There might be other reasons, too, for which a murderer becomes notorious. That sort of killer can add an interesting plot layer to a crime novel if the writer does it skillfully. And notoriety can certainly add tension to a novel.

In Agatha Christie’s The ABC Murders, for instance, Hercule Poirot works with the police to find out who’s been committing a series of murders that rocks England one hot summer. There are only two things the murderers have in common: Poirot receives cryptic warning notes before each killing; and an ABC railway guide is found on or near each body. Without much to go on, it takes time to put the pieces of the puzzle together, and by the time it happens, the ‘ABC’ killer has become quite notorious, even though that person hasn’t been identified. And when the crimes are solved, it makes the headlines of all the newspapers.

Eric Ambler’s The Mask of Dimitrios/A Coffin For Dimitrios begins as mystery novelist Charles Latimer decides to take some time away from his home in England and travel to Istanbul. There, he hears of a notorious criminal called Dimitrios Makropoulos. Latimer becomes fascinated with Markropoulos’ story; when he finds out the man is dead, he even goes to the mortuary to see his body. Then, Latimer decides to find out more about Makropoulos. He admits that it’s not rational, but he wants to learn why and how Makropoulos committed his crimes. So, he starts tracing the man’s history, more or less following his trail. It’s difficult, because Makrapoulos was adapt at changing his name and appearance. And not everyone is happy to talk about him. Still, Latimer persists, and finds out the truth about the crimes the man committed. It becomes quite dangerous for him, because there are people who do not want him to find out the truth. The events in the story turn out to be nothing like ‘normal’ research for a novel.

Reginald Hill’s Recalled to Life sees Superintendent Andy Dalziel looking into a 1963 case of murder. At the time, Cissy Kohler was arrested, tried, and convicted in connection with the murder of Pamela Westrup, and the case became quite notorious. Now, she’s been released from prison, and there are increasing questions about whether she was guilty in the first place. Dalziel’s mentor, Wally Tallentire, investigated the case, and now there are allegations that he hid evidence. Dalziel doesn’t believe a word of that gossip; he believed strongly that Cissy Kohler was guilty. Tallentire’s dead now and can’t defend himself, so Dalziel decides to find out the truth about what really happened. This becomes one of those cases that’s at least as notorious in its ‘second life’ as it originally was.

In Belinda Bauer’s Blacklands, we are introduced to twelve-year-old Stephen Lamb. He lives with his grandmother, his mother, and his brother in Exmoor, but it’s not a happy family life. Nineteen years earlier, his Uncle Billy Peters went missing and was never found. Not even his body was discovered. The tragedy has wreaked havoc on Stephen’s family, and he wants to do something about it. It was always assumed that Billy was killed by a notorious child murderer named Arnold Avery, but there was never enough evidence to prove it. Still, people are quite sure he’s the killer. Stephen decides that if he writes to Avery, he may find out what really happened, so he takes that chance. Avery writes back, and before long, they’re involved in a sort of cat/mouse battle of wits. It turns out to be quite dangerous, but it reveals the answers the Lambs have wanted.

Ausma Zehnat Khan’s The Unquiet Dead introduces two main characters: Inspector Esa Khattak and Sergeant Rachel Getty of the Community Policing Section (CPS) of the Canadian federal government. When Khattak and Getty are asked to investigate the death of Christopher Drayton, it seems a bit unusual, since the CPS is mainly tasked with investigating hate crimes and community relations. But then, it comes out that Drayton might have been Dražen Krstić, a notorious war criminal known as the butcher of Srebrenica, who committed horrible crimes during the1992-1995 war in Bosnia-Herzegovina. If that’s true, then there could be many people who would have a powerful motive for wanting him dead. So, Khattak and Getty work to determine whether Drayton was actually Krstić. There’s evidence that he was, so the local mosque is one source of leads. The detectives also investigate Drayton’s family members. In the end, they find out the truth about what happened, and about Krstić’s life during the war.

Every murder is horrible, whether it ever gets into the news or not. But some murders/murderers become notorious, even if the killer only strikes once. That notoriety can add plot points and character layers to a crime novel.

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