THE WILD WORLD OF TV CRIME SHOWS

I'M HOOKED

I can almost feel the pink blush tinting my cheeks when I reveal I'm obsessed.  Hooked.  A junkie.  An addict.  To what?  Television crime shows.    

We've just started getting a channel called Investigation Discovery (ID) and it is nothing but crime/police/investigation shows.  Being a romantic suspense writer, getting a chance to peek into the mind of a serial killer, or a stalker, is fascinating.

Sometimes, it's listening to the family talk about their loved ones and the anguish and grief of knowing they were taken from them far too soon.  It breaks your heart to hear them explain how someone had so little regard for human life, but if you can tap into that wealth of emotion and show it on the page, the results can be truly amazing. 

The variety of reasons people commit these senseless crimes stuns me.  Money is usually the number one reason.  Money – are people really so enamored of filthy lucre they're willing to kill for it?   Apparently the overwhelming answer is a resounding yes. 

Then there's always infidelity.  Maybe the woman scorned or the spouse who's being cheated on.   Oh, and let's not forget the obsessed stalker.  Okay, I gotta admit I sometimes check my closet at night before going to bed after watching a couple of these shows. 

The titles are just as interesting/bizarre as the cases themselves.  You've got shows like Homicide Hunter.  Murder Book.  Wives with Knives.  Disappeared.  Web of Lies.  Unraveled.  Snapped (although that's on a different channel – LOL).  And the list goes on and on.

Television cases like these are overtly sensationalized.  They have to be or people wouldn't watch.  But a writer can read between the lines, finding that gem which sparks a story idea.  It could be an overlooked piece of evidence.  Maybe somebody's alibi held up, but you can see holes in it you could exploit as a teller of tales. 

Do you every watch something and think, hmm, I bet there's a good story in there?  

Don't laugh; I've caught myself jotting down notes in the middle of a show, so I don't forget that golden nugget of information to weave into my own masterpiece.  If you watch, tell me about your favorite shows, I'm insatiably curious.