Suicide in Detective Fiction (IN: Suicide and the Creative Arts, edited by S Stack & D Lester)

In real life, suicide may occur at a rate double the murder rate, yet is is relatively rare in detective fiction. This chapter examines reasons for this, asserting that the rules Auden, Van Dine, & Knox laid out for the genre have remained influential. These rules, particularly Auden’s, provide insight into audience needs & satisfactions & may provide an explanation for why suicide is rarer in these books than in life. (3 refs.)