Thy´s Day # 27

See yah

Between them, life and work have kept me rather busy lately, but I hope we will have time for a weekend in the cottage in a couple of days. If so, I will probably bring some of these - they just arrived today - don´t they look as if they will be very suitable for my ´cosy mystery curriculum´?

A Short Lesson on Tuxfordry

No, you hadn´t heard the term tuxfordry before, had you?

I hope I was the one who coined it, and I am quite proud of it. Tuxfordry. Sounds nice and convincing, I think. Some branch of human science, perhaps?

Well, to be honest I just changed the name of one of my Cosy Knave characters. Seems like I do that all the time, but then it is so very simple. You just tell Word that now you don´t want Theodore to be Theodore any more; his new name is Tuxford. Easy-cheesy.

And next you are smart enough to remember that you used the short form Theo once in a while. So you change that ... and oops.

Ruth Dugdall, The Woman Before Me (2010)

This British thriller is a debut.

We enter this story when Rose Wilks´ newborn baby dies, and Emma Hatchet´s boy lives. After the tragedy, Rose keeps in close contact with Emma who is the ex-wife of Rose´s lover, Jason. She babysits little Luke as often as his parents will let her, and she even begins breast-feeding him and sneaking into the house behind Emma´s back. So when Luke dies in a fire which started during one of the nights that Rose used her copy of the kitchen door key, she ends up in court, accused of murder.

In between Rose´s first-person narration in the form of a diary, we meet Cate Austin, a brand-new probation officer in Bishop´s Hill Prison. Rose Wilks is her very first case so Cate has to make up her mind whether Rose is ready for parole or not after four years in prison. She speaks to Rose, to Luke´s father Jason as well as Emma and her husband Dominic, and piece by piece the reader gets the full story of what happened when Luke died.

Important themes of the story are love, obsession and jealousy, and even though the novel is written in the present tense, I was absorbed by it immediately. The characters are well-drawn and the pace is fine. It is also a good thing that the main character, Rose Wilks, is neither white nor black, but occasionally I found her behaviour unrealistic.

Nevertheless I am impressed by this very fine debut, and I hope there will be more books from Dugdall´s hand soon. Maxine was kind enough to send me the book when she had reviewed it, and I did not let it gather much dust on my shelf.

Maxine´s review
Ruth Dugdall´s blog.

Me & my Alley Cats

Wow! I did it! The Kilat Flash Fiction Challenge ended a few minutes ago, and as you can see on the picture below, "Alley Cats" stayed on the scoreboard as text no 10 - within the crucial top twelve.

Thank you to all my blog friends around the world who voted for my story!

Thy´s Day # 26

You know that I am obsessed with windows, don´t you?

This one is from the porch of the church in Jannerup, Thy. 

In Denmark we call the porch a ´weapon house´ 

- the place where you leave your weapons behind before entering the church. 

DJ´s Bait in the Box # 73

[This week´s box was sent to me from Tim]

I know that it is horribly unfair to use this brand-new debut for my game, but it happens to be the one I am reading (and some of my readers are the most brilliant detectives) so what you see is what you get:

“Momentarily, my heart palpitates; my hands are clammy with sweat. This must be the nervous thrill that burglars feel. But I won´t steal anything. Emma was the thief, not me. I´ve only ever taken one thing from this house: the back door key. Secretly copied, and then returned to its hook.

I climb quietly up the stairs, avoiding places I know would groan under my weight. Night-lights illuminate the hall, making me blink. Emma´s door is ajar and I can see into the bedroom.”

The Rules:
If you recognize the quotation, or if you think you are able to guess who wrote it, please post a comment. Just leave a hint, do not spoil the fun by giving too much away. The book will be reviewed on Friday or Saturday.

Blogpris

 Tusind tak til Bookwitch, min svenske blogven, for den smukke pris: Beautiful Blogger Award. Ann blogger her på engelsk og her på svensk – om hekse, børnebøger og andre spændende emner.

- kopiera in awardbilden i din blogg för att visa att du har fått den
- tacka och länka till den som nominerade dig
- nominera sju andra bloggare och länka till dem
- berätta sju intressanta saker om dig själv

Hm. Nu er det ikke mere end et par dage siden, jeg sidst tvang mine venner til at udlevere private hemmeligheder, så jeg skipper trin tre denne gang.

Og så er det jo bare at fortælle syv interessante ting om mig selv.

1) Da jeg var fem år gammel, besøgte jeg et par søde, gamle naboer og underholdt dem i timevis. Bagefter kom jeg hjem og spurgte min mor: “Hvad er et sludrechatol?”

2) Jeg var vist fire, da vi besøgte min faster i hendes nye hus for første gang. Jeg gik en tur og blev væk mellem de mange ens huse. Jeg prøvede at gå ind i en have, som så rigtig ud, men fik mit livs chok da to fremmede væsener stod og råbte sære lyde og lavede fagter. Jeg var havnet hos de døvstumme naboer.

3) Som nittenårig blev jeg ansat som karl på landet. Jeg malkede 65 køer to gange om dagen i et år.
Pyh – var det virkelig kun tre ting?

4) Jeg har set flodhester i Ethiopien – men på temmelig lang afstand.

5) Ud over engelsk og tysk kan jeg lidt nederlandsk og amharisk (det officielle sprog i Ethiopien).

6) Sidste år under CrimeFest i Bristol, UK, mødte den amerikanske blogger Peter Rozovsky (Detectives Beyond Borders) Stephen Murray (som har oversat Stieg Larssons trilogi til engelsk). Jeg har lige fået en blog-kommentar fra en dansker, fortalte Peter. Nåeh, du mener Dorte, svarede Stephen.

7) Om ca ti dage udkommer en af mine historier i en amerikansk e-bog.

Blog Award

Thank you very much to Bookwitch, my Swedish blog friend, for the Beautiful Blogger Award. Ann blogs in English AND Swedish – about witches, children´s books and other fashinating subjects.

- copy the award picture to show that you have received it
- thank and link to the blogger who nominated you
- nominate seven other bloggers and link to them
- tell seven interesting things about yourself

Well, I forced my friends to reveal their private secrets a few days ago so I will move on to step four immediately.

1) When I was five, I visited a sweet, elderly couple and entertained them for hours. Afterwards I came home and asked my mother, ”What is a chatterbox?”

2) I think I was four, when we visited my aunt in her new house for the first time. I took a stroll and lost my way among the many similar houses. I tried walking into a garden that looked right but received the shock of a lifetime when two strange people came out, making gestures and odd sounds. I had met the deaf-mute neighbours.

3) At the age of nineteen I was hired as a farmhand. I milked sixty-five cows twice a day for a year.
Phew, was that really three things only?

4) I have seen hippos in Ethiopia – from a very safe distance.

5) Besides English and German I know a little Dutch and Amharic (the official language in Ethiopia).

6) Last year during CrimeFest in Bristol, UK, the American blogger Peter Rozovsky (Detectives Beyond Borders) met Stephen Murray (who translated Stieg Larsson´s trilogy into English). I have just had a comment from Denmark on my blog, Peter remarked. Oh, you mean Dorte, Stephen replied.

7) In around ten days one of my stories will be published in an American ebook.
.

When is a story long enough?

Over this rather wet and cold Danish summer, my cosy mystery, The Cosy Knave, has come along quite nicely. In less than three months I have written a first draft – a very drafty one – of c 65,000 words, leading me to the important question:

When is a story long enough?

It is rather difficult to find out what publishers want – some seem to want at least 80,000 words no matter what kind of novel while others specify that for cosy mysteries a length of 60-75,000 words is suitable.

If I knew which publisher would buy my story, it would be much simpler, of course, but I am afraid I am not quite there yet. So what can I do but tell my story and add a full stop when I feel I have written the ending?

Besides, there is much dialogue which means that with double line spacing (which English publishers seem to want) it is a manuscript of around 240 pages.

So what next? Editing, editing, editing. Some days the manuscript will grow, other days it will shrink - and hopefully the quality will improve steadily.

Should there be a reader or two who are curious (preferably native speakers of English), I could use a few beta readers:

1) to tell me when I have got the language wrong. Of course I do now and then, and I´d rather you tell me than some fiendish editor.

2) to give me advice with regard to the environment. I have never been to Yorkshire and though it may not matter too much in a cosy caper, I would appreciate help from anyone living in the northern parts of England.

Just send me an e-mail in case ...
.
Thank you very much to old and new friends who have offered to help me with my manuscript. I could use one or two more with some local knowledge of Yorkshire, but with regard to language I think I am in good hands.
.

Sunday - Status Day

Two weeks ago I told you I had sent two stories off to KILAT; a flash fiction festival in Indonesia. I did not expect much, but perhaps I had expected less confusion, more overview. It is possible to participate in English or in Bahasa Indonesia though it soon becomes clear to visitors of the festival page that most stories are in Indonesia. Besides, even the writers who write in English seem to be Indonesian – except for me, perhaps???

What has puzzled me is the very little information from the Kilat team about what is going on, and that there is apparently no way of finding out how many stories there are (two weeks ago they wrote that there were more than thousand). New stories appear on top of the old one, so to speak, so if you want to find older stories that are not on the ´scoreboard´ on the main page, you will have to move back, page after page, through eternity – unless you know the title of the story.

Well, yesterday they finally gave us a tidbit of information again:

This is the last week of voting in the Kilat! Flash Fiction Challenge. Voting will close at the end of the day on Friday, September 24.

After voting is closed, the Kilat! Team will review the 12 leading entries in both the English and Indonesian categories. The official winners will be announced on Friday, October 1.

So, now is the time to tell your friends — spread the word to vote now. And if you have not yet entered, there is still a chance but you need to move fast.

If you check the main page, you will see that thanks to good blogfriends and Facebook friends, you can find my story "Alley Cats" on the English scoreboard there.

But if I have a friend or two out there who have not voted for "Alley Cats" yet, this is your chance to keep me within the magical “12 leading entries” in English. The other day I reached the 9th place, but recently I have begun slipping down. I wouldn´t mind adding "story published in Kilatzine" to my CV.

And thank you very much to those friends who have already voted!

8 Questions

Photo of Lodbjerg Fyr for Patti and other lighthouse lovers - can´t you just turn your screen?


I’ve been tagged in a game that goes like this, I answer a series of questions with entertaining comments (Cathryn, I don´t mind being tagged, but entertaining comments about MY life?)

1. If you could have any superpower, what would you have? Why?
The photo goes to prove that I am amazingly strong - unfortunately I don´t know how to undo my disasters.
So what I really want is the ability to make time run faster when I correct essays – much faster!
Why? - anyone who has tried it will know what I am talking about!!!

2. Who is your style icon?
Rhapsody Gershwin – my new protagonist (a librarian in the countryside – I am sure that says it all).

3. What is your favorite quote?
Hamlet: ”Words, words, words”
- for two reasons: 1) even I can remember it 2) when I write fiction, it is my guiding principle

4. What is the best compliment you’ve ever received?
I´ll keep the more private ones to myself, but this one always makes me happy: ”You are the best mother in the world.”

5. What playlist/cd is in your CD player right now?
Haydn something in the car (this one is my daughters, but it would be something classical)

6. Are you a night owl or a morning person?
Nightier than thou!

7. Do you prefer dogs or cats?
Dogs (of the kind that won´t bite me). Cats can be almost as catty as your female fiends.

8. What is the meaning behind your blog name
Well, DJ is for my name, of course, and krimiblog goes back to my very early blog days when I thought I was going to blog in Danish and translate some of the posts into English!
But surely all my intelligent readers can guess it means crime fiction blog.

I´m tagging Margot of Confessions of a Mystery Novelist
Jose Ignacio of The Game´s Afoot
Kelly of Kelly´s Thoughts and Ramblings

Have fun! (And if you come around and feel like being tagged, just tell me and I´ll run after you before you can say Jack Robinson)

Kate Atkinson, When Will There Be Good News? (2008)

[Dansk titel:  Hvornår kommer der en god nyhed - anmeldt på Litteratursiden]

The book is the third in the Scottish Jackson Brodie series (a recurrent figure though one could argue if Jackson is really the main character in any of them).

During the first couple of pages, the reader feels lulled into a relatively harmonious state. A mother and her three children get off the bus and walk towards their home. A primitive cottage in the middle of nowhere, yet home, which we see through the eyes of six-year-old Joanna.

This peaceful and ordinary existence is shattered very abruptly, however, when a man appears out of nowhere and kills Joanna´s mother, her sister, her baby brother – even the dog whose name Joanna cannot recall years after the disaster. Another tiny, but very realistic detail.

After this memorable beginning, the story continues when the man who wiped out Joanna´s family is released from prison. In spite of the highly dramatic events, the novel is not mainly about the crime but about the lives of the grown-up Joanna Hunter and the people around her. People so real that you cannot help worrying about them! We also follow Jackson Brodie, ex-policeman and ex-detective, plus Louise Monroe who was a very close colleague in book two. In the meantime they have both married – a bit impulsively, perhaps.

The most engaging character, however, is Reggie, the sixteen-year-old girl who looks after Joanna´s beloved baby. With Rggie´s rather troubled past and present, Joanna´s home turns into a haven for her as she slowly begins to feel they are her real family. When Dr Hunter and the baby are around, things are as they should be – when they are not, Reggie does what is in her power to rectify things.

A lovely story, and of course it is about crime to some extent, but the book is definitely more literary than fast-paced. And the language? Downright brilliant.

My review of the first, Case Histories.

My review of the second, One Good Turn (I must remember to reread this one – written by Kate Atkinson – there must be more to it than I thought in March).

Thy´s Day # 25

DJ´s Bait in the Box # 72

This book is not a debut, and it does not sound as if it is for dog lovers or the faint-hearted.

“He must have stabbed Jessica too before she ran off because there was a trail of blood, a path that led them to her, although not at first because the field of wheat had closed around her, like a golden blanket. She was lying with her arms around the body of the dog and their blood had mingled and soaked into the dry earth, feeding the grain, like a sacrifice to the harvest. Joseph died where he was, strapped into the pushchair. She liked to think that he never woke up but she didn´t know.”

The Rules:
If you recognize the quotation, or if you think you are able to guess who wrote it, please post a comment. Just leave a hint, do not spoil the fun by giving too much away. The book will be reviewed on Friday.

Martin Edwards, Yesterday´s Papers (1994)

This mystery is the fourth in the British series about Liverpool lawyer Harry Devlin. I have not read the first books, but the writer sent me this one as a pleasant (and signed) surprise!

The plot of this one is a fine cold case mystery. Thirty years ago, pretty young Carole Jeffries was strangled in the park near her own home, and almost before the police have had time to look around for a suspect, her weird neighbour confesses to the murder and is convicted. Even so, he does not seem able to live with his guilt, and after a botched attempt he commits suicide in prison.

On the surface a straightforward, uninteresting case, but when old Ernest Miller approaches Harry Devlin, wanting him to take a look at what seemed to be a ´perfect murder´ because ´the true culprit escaped scot-free´, Devlin cannot help feeling interested. As soon as he has had time to take a closer look at the old files and expresses his growing interest in the nearly forgotten murder, Miller seems to lose his own engagement in Carole´s death, however.

Though it should be impossible to solve a crime that was committed so long ago, Devlin puts his stubborn curiosity to a good cause and eventually makes real progress. Perhaps even so much that his surroundings begin to feel threatened.

Besides an interesting set of characters, especially Harry himself, the book conveys a vivid sense of Liverpool of the 1960s, including the optimism in the wake of the Beatles´ success.

240 pages may be regarded as a fairly short book based on today´s standards, but “Yesterday´s Papers” is a perfect story for readers who love twists and turns!

My review of Waterloo Sunset, the eighth Harry Devlin novel and The Serpent Pool, Martin´s latest book.

Simon Beckett, The Chemistry of Death (2006)

This British thriller is the first in the David Hunter series.

“I arranged for a locum to be brought in until either a permanent replacement was found, or people registered with other practices in the area.”

Sorry, but Danish readers who share my infantile humour will understand why I thought this sentence was hilarious. Oh, you want to know why? Well, in Danish the word ´lokum´ can only be a euphemism for ´loo´.

What else delighted me? First of all the terrific plot. After the first four pages I was engrossed in this story, and it took quite a bit of willpower to put it down at midnight and leave it until I came back from work the next day. I spurted through four hundred pages because I had to know what happened to the poor, female victims of the odd murderer who seemed to be obsessed by killing and beheading animals.

And second? I think that was the first-person narrator, David Hunter. Three years ago he worked as a successful forensic anthropologist in London, but when his wife and little daughter were killed in an accident, he turned his back on it all and moved to remote Norfolk as an ordinary GP – among isolated farms, windmills and taciturn ´natives´ who regard any newcomer with suspicion. But when the police discover his skills, they won´t let him lick his wounds in peace any more, of course.

And now all you faithful readers will know that the desolate environment was also a source of great pleasure. Furthermore there is a good deal of forensics in the book, for example how to estimate the time of death based on insects on the body. Delicious!

What more can a reader wish for? More David Hunter stories on the shelf. But I already have volume two and three waiting for me there! I bought the first one (and the second, I think) myself because a considerate friend sent me the third book.

Rendell & Domestic Violence

In “Simisola” Ruth Rendell dealt with the issues of illegal immigration and unemployment. In “Road Rage” it was the environment.

In “Harm Done” (1999) the recurrent theme is domestic violence. Quite early in the novel various positions are introduced during a discussion in Wexford´s own home.

Sylvia, Reg Wexford´s very conscientious daughter, works as a voluntary for “The Hide Helpline”, offering advice to women who are victims of violence in their homes. As usual, Sylvia goes out of her way to help and support strangers, but she is not quite as patient or tolerant when it comes to communicating with her own family.

Wexford assures her that the police are taking the problem very seriously through their domestic violence programme and adds, “We´re even putting in place a scheme to encourage friends and neighbours to report evidence of domestic violence.”

And this is when Dora Wexford chips in: “It sounds like the Stasi or the KGB to me... The nanny state gone mad.”

Of course the wole point is to let the reader meet different perspectives, but it is not the first time that Rendell lets Dora Wexford express very conservative attitudes and a certain scepticism of young women´s struggle for equality and independence.

For once Wexford listens to Sylvia and learns from her, however, and her advice turns out to be very useful indeed when he is involved in a case where domestic violence seems to play a role.

As a teacher of literature I know how important it is for a reader not to mix up the author and the narrator – or the author and any of the characters. So one cannot just conclude that Ruth Rendell agrees with Sylvia, with Reg or with Dora Wexford. On the other hand it is clear from several novels Rendell has written, dealing with a broad range of social issues, that this writer is concerned about (female) victims and to some extent also criminals who have suffered from social injustice, abuse etc. And always without compromising: the crime plot is first rate and keeps you engrossed until the final chapter.

No more about Ruth Rendell right now, but some years ago I held a talk about clergymen in British crime. Would you be interested in a series called “Is there a vicar around”?

Kate Ellis, An Unhallowed Grave (1999)

Another brief reading report (sorry; I have been very busy writing, working – and blowing my nose - lately).

This series combines serious police work in the shape of DS Wesley Peterson, the coloured element of the local police force, plus an archaeology theme (Peterson´s mate from university, Neil Watson).

As usual in the series there is a modern mystery. The doctor´s well-liked secretary, Pauline Brent, is found hanged in the local cemetery, and the murderer has not made a very good job of imitating a suicide. The theme is the past which catches up with you. Besides the team of archaeologist find the body of a young woman who was hanged several centuries earlier.

This is classical British crime fiction with a nice sense of place, and in my opinion there is a touch of cosy mystery. I bought the book myself.
.

BLOGGER!!!

Finally time & energy to take a proper blog round - and blogger keeps eating my comments!!!
I am alive & I will visit you presently.

Thy´s Day # 25

Brambles - flowers then, berries now.

Stephen Booth, One Last Breath (2004)

This British police procedural is the fifth in the series about Cooper and Fry.

Somewhere at home I have some hand-written notes about the plot, but that is home and this is our cottage where we are spending the weekend. I have always enjoyed this series very much for the rural setting and Ben Cooper, the quiet country copper. City-cool Diane Fry is a different kettle of fish, but at least we begin to get some idea why she seems to be so cold and inhuman. In this story her sister Angie appears out of the blue and assures Diane that she has put her drug addiction behind her. Diane wants to believe her, but via her job she knows how unreliable addicts can be.

It was the wrong choice for last week, however, because I had a terrible cold and found it very challenging just to hold the heavy book (a hardback with nearly five hundred pages) in my shaky hand. So it took some time to get into the plot and find out who the many characters were, and what with my notes having scarpered, I won´t try to explain what it is all about. This quotation from FantasticFiction should give you the idea:

Mingling with the holiday makers is a convicted killer, bent on revenge. Fourteen years ago Mansell Quinn was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of his lover. Now he's out under licence, whereabouts unknown, and his ex-wife has been murdered.

If you like British police procedurals with a strong sense of place, this series should be something for your. I bought the book myself.

Heather Farm, part 6

See part 5

VIII. The Ending

This story is now for sale via Smashwords.

.

A Flash of News

I wanted to wait until I was sure it was ´public´, but now I´d better give you my little bit of good news: in November I participated in a flash fiction challenge, Walmart, I Love You, hosted by Patti, Pattinase. We were roughly forty people who had a lot of fun writing the pieces and visiting each other afterwards.

And now Stacia Decker (literary agent) has sold our joint efforts to Untreed Reads Publishing. Our fabulous (very different at least) anthology, Discount Noir, will be out as ebook around October 1st.

The contributors:
Patricia Abbott, Sophie Littlefield, Kieran Shea, Chad Eagleton, Ed Gorman, Cormac Brown, Fleur Bradley, Alan Griffiths, Laura Benedict, Garnett Elliot, Eric Beetner, Jack Bates, Bill Crider, Lauren Eaton, John DuMond, John McFetridge, Toni McGee Causey, Jeff Vande Zande, James Reasoner, Kyle Minor, Randy Rohn, Todd Mason, Byron Quertermous, Sandra Scoppettone, Stephen D. Rogers, Steve Weddle, Evan Lewis, Daniel B. O’Shea, Sandra Seamans, Albert Tucher, Donna Moore, John Weagly, Keith Rawson, Gerald So, Dave Zeltserman, Dorte Hummelshoj Jakobsen, Jay Stringer, Anne Frasier, Kathleen A. Ryan, Eric Peterson, Chris Grabenstein and J.T. Ellison.

Am I overwhelmed? You bet. And in such amazing company! Yay.

Thank you to Patti, Steve and Stacie - and everybody else who participated.

Heather Farm, part 5

See part 4

VII.

This story is now for sale via Smashwords.

"Free" Stories

If you want to read two of my flash fiction stories (and perhaps comment or vote for me, hehe), you can find them here:

Alley Cats

Daily News

I have sent them to a flash fiction festival, but as I don´t have time to read and comment on all the other stories, I don´t expect to get much out of it.
.

Heather Farm, part 4

This story is now for sale via Smashwords.

Heather Farm, part 3

[I am sure you have got used to tilting your screen by now]


This story is now for sale via Smashwords.

Heather Farm, part 2

See part I


This story is now for sale via Smashwords.

Heather Farm, part 1

Here is the story I promised you - not quite my usual style, but what can I do but give you what you ask for?

I.
”Our new home, darling!” Thomas wrapped his strong arms around me and kissed me.

”Oh wait, Joanna.” He lifted me up and carried me over the threshold.

”But we are not exactly newly-wed, silly”, I laughed, kicking and struggling because he took the opportunity to tickle me.

”I know, but this is our first real home.” He put me down in the rather dark and damp living-room. ”And just wait, in a year or two it will be a splendid place.”

I ran around, opening doors and cupboards, seeing everything with fresh eyes, because now it was ours. We helped each other open all the old windows with their thick layers of paint.

“It seems they have all painted the doors and windows green,” I mused.

“Of course. The colour of hope, spring, new life. We are going to stick to that colour, aren´t we?”

“And keep chickens and a temperamental turkey, and fetch water from the pump outside. You are trying to make a real countrywoman out of me, aren´t you?”

“Well, I thought our first priority was having water and electricity put in, but if you insist, sweetheart ...”

“First priority? You can begin by scrubbing all the dirt and grime off each and every surface, and when you have done that, come back and I´ll tell you what is our second priority.”

We laughed and we cried a little bit because it was all so overwhelming. When the dusk came and the shadows grew long and slightly scary, we squatted in the living-room in our sleeping bags, sharing a cheap bottle of Spanish plonk. We knew we had lots to do, but it didn´t matter, because we were young and strong and very much in love.

And our gorgeous, new home was right next to the pretty, old lighthouse which cast its long shadow over us most of the night.

To be continued tomorrow - and NO, I didn´t knock over the lighthouse!

School of Ghosts

[Though we have a fairly good camera, I could not capture them in a picture]

Superstition, ghosts, visions etc seem to be part of a rather strong trend within crime fiction right now.
In August I reviewed ten novels, and in four of them superstition and ghosts played a certain role:

My Soul to Take (Iceland)
The Coroner´s Lunch (Laos)
Aberystwyth Mon Amour (Wales)
True Murder (Ghana/Britain)

Personally, I think superstition can give a story local flavour, but in a proper crime novel the denouement should not depend on anything supernatural.

What do you think of the combination of crime and the supernatural?