Murder, Manners and Mystery: Reflections on Faith in Contemporary Detective Fiction

Highlighting popular works by P.D. James, Colin Dexter, Ian Pears and Umberto Eco, among others, this subtle and intelligently written monograph examines the treatment of religion in the genre of contemporary murder mystery novels, and the implications of this phenomenon for understanding Christian thought in a post-Christian society. The book begins by considering the critical question of authorial intent and the question of genre criticism and what makes a genre, a 'serious' literary spec...