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[The alphabet in crime meme is hosted by Kerrie]
I suppose you could say most crime fiction is about a quest, yet the feeling is much stronger in some stories than in others. Today, I have selected three (or four) novels for you, in which children are on a quest.
My first example is Alan Bradley´s “The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie”. Here eleven-year-old Flavia de Luce stumbles on a body among the cucumbers. Soon she realizes that the police suspect her kind, yet somewhat absent-minded father. Flavia knows he is too impractical to be able to save himself so she embarks on a quest to find the real murderer.
In “Blacklands”, Belinda Bauer´s dark but excellent debut, young Steven knows he has to find the remains of his murdered uncle. A black shadow has haunted the whole family ever since Billy disappeared nearly twenty years ago, but Steven is certain that once he has found the body, his mother and grandmother will get some kind of closure and be able to get on with their lives.
In James W. Nichol´s “Midnight Cab” the main character is grown-up, but only just. Walker leaves his adopted family as soon as possible, not because he doesn´t love them but because he must find the mother who left him by the road when he was only three years old. Knowing about his past is such an important part of his identity that he risks everything to find the truth.
Three brilliant stories, all strongly recommended, and here you have a bit from my own “Crystal Nights”, a Danish novel I am currently editing & translating into English. As I told you Friday, I received a rejection last week, but I have tried to tackle it as well as I could – by writing. The main part of the story is set in the 1960s and deals with a loyal and determined boy´s quest to find his best friend.
– Sonja Jensen left her flat Wednesday morning to go to work in Hjørring, and since then no one has seen ten-year-old Lars-Ole Jensen. Mrs Nielsen in the flat downstairs believes she heard him leave around ten o´clock, but more than forty-eight hours have gone so every minute counts. Holst paused to let the message sink in.
What is your favourite crime story or thriller which includes a quest?
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