How do you feel about sex in mysteries?

[Polly Iyer]

This question was posed on my Sisters in Crime loop. The answers were all over the place. I write romantic suspense, so there's always intimate moments. How do you feel?

[history_lover]

As opposed to sex in any other genre?

Either way, it doesn't bother me.

[Polly Iyer]

Yes. Mystery readers, especially readers of cozies, want sex behind closed doors. Maybe that's a characteristic of that particular genre. And unless a thriller has to do with sexual murder, there's little of it in that genre either. I'm just curious how many readers would refrain from buying a book if they thought there was a sexual scene in it.

[Jan Strnad]

I don't like protracted sex scenes. Frankly, they just bore me. It's like reading a detailed description of someone rebuilding a car engine. I know how it goes, so just get on with the story, please.

So, sex scenes in mysteries, sex scenes in westerns, sex scenes in science fiction...sure, let me know what's going on, but if I'm reading with one hand, it's because I have a cup of coffee in the other one.

[Ann in Arlington]

As always, it depends on the sex.  

I'm not usually one to read sexy (or any other kind) of romance just to read it. . .though I have been known to be in the mood.

I absolutely don't object to real people doing real things in the course of an adventure.  Though I don't see much realism in being stuck in a dangerous position with the bad guys closing in and characters deciding now's the time for a good down-and-dirty.

If the point of the mystery is the mystery,  the sex scenes, if any, should be not long and drawn out.  If they are, I skip 'em to get back to the story.  Of course the characters can certainly have a relationship of some kind and a little tension is fine.  But hints are all that's necessary.  I'll get it.

[Polly Iyer]

I agree that if you want major sex, read erotic romance.  I've found some mystery/suspense/thriller readers shy away from books that have even one romantic scene. The story should always come first, but if the H/h have a relationship, and it's natural in the course of events, it never bothered me. Sandra Brown does nicely writing those scenes. So does Linda Howard, etc.

[SylviaLucas]

If it's gratuitous, I don't understand it, but if it's part of the story, it's great. (As long as there's no use of romance novel phrases like "throbbing member" or "luscious mound.") :p

[ImmortalInk]

I like sex in books. Most books I read have sex in them. Interesting enough, though, I'm not big on erotica, though I'm all for erotic moments in all genres

[Krista D. Ball]

I absolutely don't object to real people doing real things in the course of an adventure.  Though I don't see much realism in being stuck in a dangerous position with the bad guys closing in and characters deciding now's the time for a good down-and-dirty.

This drives me up the wall. Ooo we're in a very dangerous position, there's a corpse in the room, my god look at my partner I could rip his clothes off this instant. People there is a corpse in the room! Put the libido in the closet!

[SylviaLucas]

This drives me up the wall. Ooo we're in a very dangerous position, there's a corpse in the room, my god look at my partner I could rip his clothes off this instant. People there is a corpse in the room! Put the libido in the closet!

Unless...well...you're into that kind of thing.

[Krista D. Ball]

Unless...well...you're into that kind of thing.

In that case, you ain't reading no cozy mystery 

[RSHunter88]

Sex in mysteries or other genres doesn't bother me as long as the scenes don't feel tacked on just so the writer can check that off the list of genre requirements. Plus it's gotta make sense in terms of the story. Like other people said, doin' it while the bad guy's just outside where you're hiding doesn't seem like the most opportune time.

[theraven]

When I'm reading a mystery, I want the mystery plot to rule in the book. I enjoy a romance or other subplot element in the book so the character has a well-rounded life, but I don't want anything to overshadow the mystery. If a sex scene is written because it contributes to character development or the plot in some way I don't mind (well, as long as it isn't overly graphic). But, I don't like it when a sex scene is included for the sake of having one or the author feels it makes the book more real since people have sex because a lot of times it makes the story secondary to creating some sort of 'realness'. There are a lot of real things people do that I don't want to 'see' the character doing.

[Lursa (aka 9MMare)]

I don't like protracted sex scenes. Frankly, they just bore me. It's like reading a detailed description of someone rebuilding a car engine. I know how it goes, so just get on with the story, please.

Pretty much this for me too. I dont really like to be distracted from the plot and I tend to read mostly crime mysteries/thrillers. post-apocalyptic fiction, sci-fi, etc. Things with lots of science, forensics, details, storylines, etc. Sometimes if it's really original (how much more can it be? lol) or well-written, but generally I just want to get on with the book.

[Polly Iyer]

I agree. I'm rewriting a book I wrote 7 or 8 years ago, and I'm taking a lot of "it" out. The book does quite well without it, and the reader knows what's happening. It is a slippery slope, however. Writing is a lot easier than rewriting. :-)

[cheriereich]

I think it often depends on the mystery. A cozy wouldn't work with sex scenes, but other types of mystery might. I don't mind them in mysteries, but I do agree it has to have a point for the most part. Otherwise, the author is straying into very different areas.

[PAWilson]

If it fits in with the story, it doesn't bother me. It does annoy me when the sex scenes are not part of the story, but seem to be jammed in to get a little sex in the story. Occasionally I've read a book where the sex scene is just in the wrong place and would be better in an earlier or later scene.

That said, a good book will make me forgive a little unnecessary sex because, I can always skip past them.

[grahampowell]

It's all fun and games until someone winds up dead.

[hsuthard]

Frankly, it often annoys me. I just read another Jack Reacher book last night by Lee Child (Echo Burning, I think), and was thrilled that he didn't have sex, the female protagonist was gay. I don't know exactly why, but I have no interest in reading about his sex life, although I'm perfectly fine with reading the sexual thoughts he has about women, those seem realistic to me. What's not realistic is having sex with a different woman in every book, a la James Bond.

I love how cozies handle sex, with a wink and a smile and then it's the Next Chapter and that's all you need to know.

I do enjoy romantic suspense, Jayne Ann Krentz and Sandra Brown novels come to mind, but only sparingly.

[Polly Iyer]

Reacher had a girlfriend for a while, but of course that didn't last. Who would want a guy who rarely changes his underwear?

 I don't read cozies as a rule. Not because there's no sex, but I don't like amateur sleuths or heroines with crafts. I find them boring. Different strokes for different folks.

[Julia444]

I have found that some writers write sex scenes so well that they are able to A) make them integral to the plots and B) make the reader enjoy them.  However, some writers write sex scenes that seem so obligatory or just so un-sensual (I may have made up that word) that it's a chore to slog through them. 

The book I'm reading now has the second sort of sex scene.  The writer, a man, goes through all the obligatory description, I assume to show that his character is sexually attractive to women, but there's no heat in it.  It may be fulfilling for the character, but it's not fulfilling for the reader.

I have no problem with sex in a mystery as long as I feel that in that sexual relationship is some clue to a person's character or to the mystery itself.

Julia

[Polly Iyer]

Julia, rarely have I found a man who could write a good sex scene. John Sandford wrote one in one of the prey books that was good. A slam-bam, thank you, ma'am, scene, but good. I can't recall any other writer. I'd love to know if you can come up with one. Just to see how he does it, understand?

[sherylb]

I think it's refreshing when a mystery doesn't have gratuitous sex scenes. Too many modern books rely on sex as a draw to their story instead of just writing a great story.

[Krista D. Ball]

Julia, rarely have I found a man who could write a good sex scene. John Sandford wrote one in one of the prey books that was good. A slam-bam, thank you, ma'am, scene, but good. I can't recall any other writer. I'd love to know if you can come up with one. Just to see how he does it, understand?

You need to read some romance written by men. They do a great job. 

[Polly Iyer]

Any suggestions, Krista?