Why is crime fiction so popular?

Crime fiction remains one of the best-selling genres—and one of the most borrowed from public libraries.

Part of its appeal is simple: it’s a compelling read. But there’s something deeper at work.

In crime fiction, we expect justice. The case is solved. The truth comes out.
And that’s something real life doesn’t always offer.

In reality, the guilty don’t always get caught. Some crimes remain unresolved—like the unsolved murder in my own family in 1959, when my great aunt, Martha Giles, was killed.

Crime fiction gives us what reality sometimes cannot: resolution.

It also allows us to explore human behaviour. Why do people do the things they do? What drives them? What secrets do they hide?

As both a reader and a writer, I’m fascinated by personality, motivation, and the darker corners of human nature.

There’s also the puzzle. The challenge.
When I read crime fiction, I’m always trying to solve it before the detective does.

And when I write? I often don’t know who committed the crime until halfway through—sometimes even later. The answer emerges as the characters take shape.

Crime fiction reflects the many facets of human nature—just as true crime does. But unlike true crime, it offers something more reassuring.

Because while real life can be unresolved and unsettling, crime fiction delivers justice.

And for me, that’s why I’ll always choose crime fiction.