When does research overtake creativity?

Could I be going across to the dark side?

 This a question I posed to myself when I found I’d spent over an hour investigating grisly murders and how forensics are used to determine criminal activity.  I was going online to quickly review cases where DNA from a suspect has been found even though the body has been exposed over time to water.   This is the case in my book and in the final drafting of the novel I wanted some confirmation that I was forensically correct. 

In my perusal, I found myself drawn to other cases and to science -based websites both places I normally don’t like to dwell in.  It’s all very well to watch ‘Silent Witness’ and other such shows, and to read the grisly stories of great crime writers, but to find myself inhabiting this ground and actually contemplating writing something along those lines is quite frankly both scary and daunting.

So how much research is needed for a romantic suspense?  How much detail is required to convince the reader that the story is plausible?  We know DNA evidence can be obtained and analysed from skeletons going far back.  Indeed the recent discovery of Richard III’s bones has confirmed that.   So yes, it’s easy for the bones of my character to be confirmed as her (using her living sister’s DNA), but how do I then connect these pile of bones to a murderer? 

There are many cases in real life that my story mirrors, in particular, the Lady of the Lake.  In this case, the body of Carol Parks was found in Coniston Water twenty-three years after she was reported missing. The body had been wrapped in a pinafore dress, a canvas rucksack and plastic bags, tied with several knots, and weighed down with lead piping. But even the fact that the gown and rope were under water for so long did not stop experts identifying the murderer from DNA samples. DNA analysis is now so advanced that forensic scientists could pinpoint the killer from the most minute of samples. Thus her husband, who was not originally a suspect, was arrested and convicted of her murder.

Bone is one of the best sources of DNA from decomposed human remains, as in the case of a body left in water. Even after the flesh is decomposed, DNA can often be obtained from demineralized bone. DNA from bone has been used to identify the repatriated bones from Vietnam era servicemen, and the remains of the White Russian Romanov family who were executed during the Bolshevik revolution.  Like bones, teeth can also be an excellent source of DNA, long after the rest of the body has decomposed.  All of these facts have allowed me to identify the body of my victim through DNA bone extraction and comparison with a living relative.  So far so good…

However, it becomes more difficult when you then want to align the victim to their killer.  That is when my pedantic side comes out.  How credible can my forensic information be?  After all, this is meant to be a romantic suspense not a crime novel.  How much will my readers be willing to believe before they begin to question the plausibility?   

The reading of the first draft of my novel by a reader from the RNA New Writer’s Scheme received good feedback.  They liked my plot and didn’t guess the killer.  But more importantly, there was no reference to lack of plausible forensic evidence.  So is it just me who is raising unnecessary questions about who, why and where?  Am I overburdening myself with the whole issue of research and fact finding?  And more importantly, is this just another way of avoiding actual writing? 

When is research for your writing really just procrastination?

For those of you who do wish to write a crime based novel, there are many books out there to use as reference guides.   These books cut out the terminology and give the writer a brief insight into the true world of criminal investigation.  I found “The Crime Writer’s Guide to Police Practice and Procedure” by Michael O’Bryne quite useful, especially as it reflects the British criminal and police investigation methods. Another good book, although this one is more USA based, is D P Lyle’s “Forensics and Fiction: Clever, Intriguing and Downright Odd Questions from Crime Writers.  Both these books were very helpful.  And of course, the best way to get your head inside a crime is to read novels by the many great crime writers out there. 

A final word of advice -  remember to delete your Google history in case someone comes across it and wonders why you have been searching “how to kill someone and leave no trace.”