Though there is a long tradition of novelists combining crime and romance (queen of crime Agatha Christie published six romance novels as Mary Westmacott, and often included romance subplots in her crime fiction), crime-romance novels, marrying a mystery to solve with an emotionally satisfying love story, began to take off in the 1990s.
The thrilling, morally dubious world of crime fiction and the emotionally charged realm of romance novels may at first glance seem incompatible.
For some it was the crime element that created the thrill, especially when contrasted with their everyday lives, suggesting these books fulfil an important emotional function, allowing readers to experience the danger and intrigue of crime, safely between the covers of a book.
Said one person: I don’t like it when romance stories are too sweet and cheesy, so the addition of crime usually makes it more pragmatic and realistic […] instead of rehashing the tropes constantly.
Romance readers, in contrast, are often looking for what romance novelist Maya Rodale has described as “entertainment, relaxation, and escape”.
