Whodunit?: A Study in Sidekicks
LIT2-10-Mon2
Marilyn Brooks
This course will take place in person at 60 Turner Street. The room will be equipped with a HEPA air purifier.
March 10 - May 19
(No Class April 14)
Why do we read murder mysteries? What about them satisfies us? Is it the plot, the characters, the setting? Do we want to be frightened by one that’s hard-boiled, or do we want one that’s cozy, that we hope will end well for all concerned (except for the victim and the murderer, naturally)? That brings us to the question for this semester’s class: Why do detectives need sidekicks? After all, the detective/protagonist is the main character of the novel or short story; she/he should be able to handle it all.
In this course we’ll read a variety of mysteries while exploring various types of sidekicks and the important roles they play. We will be thinking about what makes a good sidekick, be it superior intelligence, or impressive fighting skills, or the bond between sidekick and detective. We can imagine how we would behave if we were the sidekick and what type of sidekick we would be.
Each week I will send out a YouTube video or online interview that will help give us a sense of the authors whose works we are reading. We will act, in a way, as sleuths, examining the clues as to what makes a mystery worthwhile. Most importantly, we will share our viewpoints and hopefully introduce others to new authors and ideas in a space that is intellectually comfortable for all of us.
Roughly the same amount of lecture and discussion.
The Hound of the Baskervilles plus two short stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, I Know a Secret by Tess Gerritsen, The Wanted by Robert Crais, A Drink Before the War by Dennis Lehane, Next to Last Stand by Craig Johnson, Smoke and Ashes by Abir Mukherjee, Hell Bay by Will Thomas, Ghost Hero by S. J. Rozan.
The majority of the books are approximately 300 pages and will take most readers about 4-5 hours to read.
Marilyn Brooks has been a devoted mystery fan since her formative years when she discovered the Nancy Drew series. She reads three to four mysteries a week and is equally devoted to detective novels, police procedurals, and amateur sleuths. She is a member of Mystery Writers of America, has been writing a weekly mystery review blog, marilynsmysteryreads.com, since 2010, and has contributed to many issues of Mainely Murders, a monthly newsletter published by the Maine bookstore of the same name. She has taught fourteen courses on mystery novels at BOLLI.