CONVENTIONS OF THE

CRIME GENRE
WHAT IS THE CRIME GENRE?
• A crime and detection story is one that revolves around a
central crime that is solved within the narrative (usually).
• Crime stories are often narrated by the detective, who is
independent, intelligent and a bit of a loner, or a friend of the
detective, whose mistakes and failures make the detective
look smarter. In early novels, the police were inept, and the
detective worked alone to solve the crime.
EXAMPLES OF POPULAR CRIME TEXTS

•This is a clip from the TV series “Sherlock”,

which is adapted from Sir Arthur Conan
Doyle’s popular novels about the detective
Sherlock Holmes.
• https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4PKr_BVo4hg
CONVENTIONS OF THE CRIME GENRE
* The atmosphere is often gloomy and dark, with gruesome
murders, bloody corpses and descriptions of terrible injuries.
* The settings are often detailed and realistic; small towns,
trains, cruise ships, fancy houses in the country etc.
* Intelligence wins the day, rather than brute physical strength.
* Dialogue is important, as theories are talked through.
CONVENTIONS OF THE CRIME GENRE
* The plot is linear – starts with the crime then followed by clues,
evidence, solutions and punishment.
* The investigation process involves false trails and clues or ‘red
herrings’, which builds suspense.
* In the resolution of the narrative, ambiguous clues are explained,
the puzzle is solved and the criminal is identified.
WHAT CONVENTIONS CAN YOU SPOT IN “CSI
MIAMI: KILL ZONE”?

• https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nd9ueQuPplk
“BRIGHT LIGHTS”

• “Bright Lights” is a story by the Australian author Richard

Yaxley. He wrote the story after reading a newspaper article
about a murder in the city.
• Once you have read the story, do the following activities:
 BRIGHT LIGHTS ACTIVITIES
1) Jot down dot points about what we are told about the narrator and the setting in
the exposition (first 4 paragraphs). Use short quotes to support your notes.
For example:
“I am forced to walk through City Park every evening.” He doesn’t want to walk
through the park, but is made to by his father.
“In the winter, which is now, it is always dark and the plants rustle and move, and
my feet crunch on the gravel paths as my heart knocks powerfully against my
chest. I usually think about drifting shadows and the prospect of murder …” The
setting is threatening and menacing and the narrator is consumed with the City
Park murder spree.
WHEN YOU HAVE FINISHED READING:

2) Re-read the text and answer the following.

a) What clues are we given that the boy is the murderer?
b) What clues are we given the Aunt Angela is actually dead?
c) In the section in which the killer leaves Aunt Angela’s and heads
back into the park, what clues does the narrator give us that
something evil is about to happen?
3) “Bright Lights” uses a lot of light and dark imagery. Light can
represent truth, openness or goodness, whereas dark can represent
evil or the unknown. Find three examples of light and dark used in
the story:
Light Dark
“They crave the publicity: the “In winter, which is now, it is
bright lights, flashing cameras, always dark … I usually think
all those urgent, breathless about drifting shadows and the
questions.” prospect of murder.”
 LAMB TO THE SLAUGHTER

1. Identify the similarities/differences between ‘Bright Lights’ and ‘Lamb to the

Slaughter’?
2. What point of view Is “Lamb to the Slaughter” told from and why is it important?
3. What is the significance of Mary being pregnant?
4. One of the officers says in relation to the murder weapon that it is “probably right
under our very noses” why is this line important to the story? What technique is
being used here?
 THE LANDLADY

1. When should Billy have been suspicious of the Landlady? When would you have been
suspicious?
2. Why does Dahl include the following text: “There were no other hats or coats in the hall.
There were no umbrellas, no walking sticks ‐nothing.”?
3. When Billy is in the living room, what first alerts you that something may be wrong?
4. What clues are offered that Billy will meet the same fate as Temple and Mulholland?
5. When does the climax of the story occur?
6. Why doesn’t this story truly fit into the crime genre? Can you think of a genre that it would
be better classified as?
Write the exposition of a crime story. You should include a first
person narrator, a mysterious or grisly crime (it doesn’t have to be
murder), and a detailed, realistic setting. Leave some clues for your
reader.
If you get stuck, you can choose from the following scenarios:
Settings Crimes
A hotel room Murder
A museum or art gallery Missing person
A popular tourist spot Theft of something
valuable
OPTIONAL

• 2) Write a TEEL paragraph about how the narrator is constructed. Think

about what we learn from his dialogue and narration, actions and his
interactions with other characters (the victim, his parents, the school officials
etc).