Life teaches most of us that we’re not going to get everything we want in life. So, we wait our turns, we accept it (willingly if not happily) when things don’t go our way, and so on. Sometimes, after all, the answer is ‘no.’ There are some people, though, who aren’t willing to follow those social rules. Sometimes they’re called ‘divas,’ or ‘prima donnas,’ or worse. They’re the people who demand VIP treatment, who naturally expect that they’ll get everything they want, and who get baffled, angry, and sometimes vindictive if they don’t. I’ll bet you’ve met people like that in real life, and they’re in crime fiction, too.

For instance, in Agatha Christie’s The Hollow, we meet well-known actress Veronica Cray. She’s taken a getaway cottage near the country home of Sir Henry and Lady Lucy Angkatell. One weekend, the Angkatells host a party that includes Dr. John Christow and his wife, Gerda. As it happens, he and Veronica used to be lovers. Unbeknownst to him, Veronica has found out that he visits the Angkatells and is determined to meet up with him again. On the Saturday night, she bursts into the Angkatell home on a pretext, and practically demands that John Christow walk her home. We soon find out that she’s determined to have him back, and assumes he feels the same way. He doesn’t, and that infuriates Veronica, who is accustomed to having what she wants, when she wants it. When Christow is shot the next day, Veronica becomes a suspect. Christie wrote other diva-like characters, too – more than there’s room for in this one post!

In Shadaab Amjad Khan’s Murder in Bollywood, top Mumbai film director Nikhil Kapoor and his wife, famous actress Mallika Kapoor, both die in what look like tragic accidents. Mumbai Senior Inspector Hoshiyar Khan isn’t sure the deaths were accidental, though, and starts asking questions. He soon learns that not long before his death, Kapoor had been at a private party which included several of Mumbai’s ultra-rich elite celebrities. At the party, he made the cryptic comment that one of the people there had killed and would kill again. Now Khan is sure the couple was murdered, and he launches a full investigation. As a part of this, he meets the Kapoors’ son Rohan. Rohan’s been pampered and indulged all his life. He’s always had everything he wanted, and now, he assumes that he’ll have things his way. His privileged ‘diva’ attitude impacts just about everything he does, and it’s interesting to see the link between his background and the sort of person he is.

Bev Robitai’s Murder in the Second Row takes place in Auckland, where Regent Theatre manager Jessica Jones Matherson is coordinating a production of Agatha Christie’s Appointment With Death. Right from the beginning, there are all sorts of challenges. One of them is Simone Duchaine, who’s been cast in the role of Mrs. Boynton. She’s a pampered, ego-driven, demanding diva, so it’s very difficult to work with her. She becomes a murder suspect when the body of fellow actor Tamara Fitzpatrick is discovered in the back row of one of the stalls. Simone is far from the only suspect, though, as the victim had made her share of enemies. Detective Senior Sergeant (DSS) Jack Matherson has his hands full trying to find out who killed Tamera.

Jill Edmondson’s Blood and Groom is the first in her series featuring Toronto PI Sasha Jackson. In the novel, Sasha is just starting out in the PI business and is trying to build her client base. One day, she gets a visit from Christine Arvisais, who wants Sasha to find out who killed her former fiancé Gordon Hanes. It seems that the couple had broken up, and Gordon was shot on what would have been their wedding day. Everyone thinks Christine committed the murder, but she claims she’s innocent. Now, she wants her name cleared. Sasha needs the money, but Christine will not be an easy client. She’s spoiled, selfish, demanding, and rude. She’s used to a life of luxury, and not accustomed to the word ‘no.’ Still, Sasha takes the case, and finds out that this murder may very well be linked to others.

There’s also Robert Crais’ Lullaby Town. In it, PI Elvis Cole gets a new client. Superstar Hollywood director Peter Alan Nelson wants Cole to find his ex-wife Karen Shipley and their son Toby. At first, Cole is unwilling to take the case. After all, there could be any number of reasons Karen would want to leave and not be found. But Nelson is spoiled, demanding, and insistent. He’s also willing to pay a large fee. So, Cole and his PI partner Joe Pike start a search. They track Karen and Toby to a small town in Connecticut, and it looks as though the case is over. Then, they discover that Karen has big trouble of her own. She’s been working for some very dangerous people who do not take it kindly that she wants nothing more to do with them.

There are plenty of other examples of spoiled ‘diva-like’ people in crime fiction and it’s not surprising. They’re demanding, imperious, and have a way of upsetting others. Which fictional divas have stayed with you?

*NOTE: The title of this post is a line from Billy Joel’s Everybody Loves You Now.