I've been indulging myself recently in re-reading some cosy crime and police procedurals - Not as predictable an exercise as it may seem, as in a (possibly) alarming number of cases I have completely forgotten who committed the crime!
I've been thinking about this. Why would my memory for denouements be so poor? I accept that old age and failing faculties may be a factor, but in mitigation, I would like to plead the balance of the story. Think about it - there are pages and pages about the crime, the characters, the setting, sometimes an overarching mystery that runs alongside the plot of the book in hand, drawing a series together and keeping the reader hooked. And the resolution? Maybe a chapter, or not even that?
The writer has to keep the reader engaged in the story on the way to the result, so it has to have plenty of interest. It's rare that I don't remember the first body, or the second - usually the person who was the most obvious as chief suspect - or who has stupidly let it be known that they know something. I remember the setting - the village, the villa, the island, the library. I remember the romance, if there is one, because- hey - romance writer. But after that, possibly because of my haste to actually find out, the recall faculty gets blurred. This may not be helped by those authors who claim not to decide who the guilty party is until the time comes for the reveal. If they don't know, how am I supposed to keep up?
Actually I don't think the memory lapse is a completely bad thing. Apart from letting me re-read with enjoyment, a book is very much more than its ending. The portrayal of character in particular can often be much more engaging than knowing who actually stuck the knife in the Colonel in the gazebo. Books with atmospheric settings are powerful things. How often have you been inspired to visit a location because you have read about it? Social attitudes and society can be tellingly revealed on the way to the ending. This is particularly true of Golden Age crime, which appeals to the historian in me. The revelation of attitudes in past times can be shocking - we've all read those warnings in the front of Golden Age re-issues - it is shocking, but worth knowing how far we have come.
So - at the moment I am enjoying my excursions into forgotten territory - a case of the journey being just as satisfying as arriving at whodunnit.
