Why I Write Murder Mystery -- 2

As most writers, I have my favorite authors. I can't say that I imitate them, but there is no doubt in my mind that they have influenced me. Among the many murder mystery writers I have followed over the years, two stand out: Italian author Andrea Camilleri and the British writer, Ruth Rendell. Two very different writers. Camilleri is Italian or more specifically, Sicilian. His first novels were written in a mixture of Italian and Sicilian. My late husband and I became so intrigued in his fictional world that we learnt some Sicilian to be able to better understand his language. By the way, I was born and raised in Rome, Italy and went to college in Venice, where I studied foreign languages and literatures. My husband was American. He was a mathematician with a knack for languages. Going back to Camilleri, what we liked, besides the ability to create intriguing murder stories, was his depth in describing Sicilian society and evoking a picturesque landscape. And that’s where Rendell comes in. The British writer, just like the Sicilian, is entrenched in the society she describes. Her murder mysteries are not only intriguing, but they are also the expression of her views of British society—the class divisions, the prejudice and the inequalities. Her descriptions of people and landscapes reflect her love for her country. For both writers the genre they use allows them to talk about social issues without being preachy, and yet being so deep and precise. That’s their lessons to me.