Rethinking crime fiction readers

Abstract

This research sought to discover how readers of crime fiction novels interact with these texts utilizing a co-creative lens. A qualitative online survey was conducted on three popular crime fiction websites and the responses were analyzed using thematic analysis. It was found that, in contrast to prior research, crime fiction novel readers do not simply view crime fiction as a puzzle to be solved. Instead, they place a high degree of importance on the substantive elements of the fiction such as the quality and details of the plot, setting, and the characters constructed by the author. These findings indicate that crime fiction novel authors should note that their readers desire a more general and pleasurable reading experience than was previously thought.