Douaihy on the Power of Siblings in Mysteries and Thrillers: CrimeReads.com

Writing, Literature & Publishing Assistant Professor Margot Douaihy penned a column for CrimeReads.com about how sibling relationships “stir the plot pot” so well in crime fiction.

The mercurial relationships between sisters and brothers carry lifetimes of camaraderie, shorthand, grudges, tiny triumphs, and shared histories. They can be crucibles for narrative tension and foundations for epic plot twists. I believe that when siblings are centered in mysteries—particularly those interested in intersectional feminism and queer and trans identities—the narrative stakes feel amplified and nuanced.

Douaihy then discusses four individual novels, including Oyinkan Braithwaite’s My Sister, the Serial Killer, which she teaches in her Plotting the Perfect Crime course at Emerson.

Read Douaihy’s full column on CrimeReads.com.