Hi, Ellen here, happy to welcome Leanne Kale Sparks to Chicks today. She’s sharing her thoughts on one of my personal favorite topics – humor in mysteries. Not only is it a fun read, Leanne is giving away a book from her Kendall Beck Thriller series!

The Art of Making Readers Laugh with Murder and Serial Killers All Around

As a rule, death is not funny. There are plenty of emotions which bubble to the surface when faced with a bloody murder scene, but giggles and guffaws are rarely among them. As odd as it may sound, that is oftentimes exactly when a chuckle or full-on laugh out loud moment is needed. Murder, death, and child abduction—the main themes in my books—can get heavy and weigh the reader down. There are only so many pages of depravity one can read before they want to throw the book across the room and commit Hari Kari.

Unbelievably, with my background in law (former criminal defense attorney here—don’t hold it against me), I tend to be a rule breaker. Not on purpose—it just happens to work out that way. When I write, I try to follow the rules for writing mysteries and thrillers, but my subconscious laughs and laughs, and then leads me down a path other writers tend not to take. That usually entails making some off-color joke in a serious situation. Does it always work? No. But when it does, it’s awesome.

But I digress. Humor and murder. For me, they go together like red wine and cheese. In my thriller series, Kendall Beck is a strong female who spends her days investigating crimes against children as an FBI Special Agent. Her unofficial sidekick, Adam Taylor, is a homicide detective with the Denver Police Department. Nothing funny there, right? These are serious people with serious jobs. And they take them, well, very seriously.

But…every once in a while even these two professionals need to let a little steam out of the pressure cooker of investigations and act—dare I say—unprofessional. Kendall has a wicked, sometimes inappropriate, sense of humor and may even be considered a bit sarcastic. I have no idea where she gets it from.

The trick to using humor effectively is, as always, the timing. It must somewhat fit the circumstances. I can’t throw satirical commentary in just to have some because I haven’t had a funny part since page 57 and its now page 102. Humor must be organic. And it must not be overused or forced. And, while comedy is there to push the boundaries of acceptability most of the time, there’s also a line that should not be crossed. It’s sort of a gray line and not always visible, but it’s there. If, as a writer, you don’t see the line and are unaware you have trampled all over it—just wait, a reader will let you know.

So how do authors incorporate humor into a story and have it marry seamlessly with murder and mayhem? Here are a few unofficial ways I’ve come up with:

!. Repeated Lines – an innocuous line dropped in conversation that is then repeated somewhere else, sometimes by a different character: In this scene, Kendall is getting the info dump on the crime scene where—you guessed it—there is a bit of a bloody mess. Note how Adam flips Kendall’s statement around later in the chapter.

2. Double-entendre: Ahhh, one of my favorites. Take a conversation that seems innocent but has an underlying, shall we say, adult meaning. This is one of the greats in comedy. In this scene, Kendall has just joined Adam and his team at the bloody crime scene mentioned in the above example. Adam is noting Kendall’s tardiness and trying to shame her. I think Kendall gets the last laugh.

3. Over-exaggeration: Take a situation, in this case walking into a gruesome crime scene, and turn it on its head. Make it seem like an everyday occurrence when it is anything but. While this is a legit question in this scene, maybe it’s time Kendall took a vacay or sought out some therapy. At least it was only the voice in her head. But admit it, you snorted a little bit.

4. Sarcasm: Virtually impossible for me not to use sarcasm—and not just in my writing. It is my second language, and I am fluent. So, naturally, my characters are, as well. I have many examples throughout both books I could’ve used, but a great deal contain colorful language. However, I did find this one. In this scene, Adam has just met Muggsy, a dog who has not been very friendly to him, while interviewing his owner.

5. The Debrief: This is a fun one. Take a situation and retell it but add a little silliness to it. In this scene, Kendall is recounting a little tête-à-tête with a suspect that may have gotten out of hand.

6. Self-deprecating: When you become the butt of the joke, and you roll with it. Highly effective in any number of situations. Adam is the master of self-deprecating humor since he is usually the object of humorous ridicule. In this scene, Adam has just had a visit with his ex-girlfriend, who doesn’t like him very much. She is returning some items he left at her house.

Humor can be an effective tool in all of storytelling, even when the subject matter is nowhere near being funny. And in some cases, or in all cases in my books, it is a requirement.

Readers, what do you think of humor in books with a serious subject matter? Do you like it, or does it throw you off the story? If you would like to see some of the above examples with context, let me know in the comments, and I will send one lucky winner a signed hardcover of either book in the Kendall Beck Thriller Series (winner’s choice).

Synopsis for Every Missing Girl: The stunning landscape of Colorado’s Rocky Mountains are among our greatest natural treasures. But there are deadly secrets lurking in the craggy heights, and FBI Special Agent Kendall Beck and Denver Homicide Detective Adam Taylor team up to investigate a kidnapping. When Taylor’s niece, Frankie, suddenly vanishes at a local hockey rink, it’s clear that there’s a predator on the loose—and now, the case has turned personal.

One discovery after another leads Beck and Taylor closer to the devastating truth about the fates of the missing girls—and the many who came before them. Will they be able to find Frankie before it’s too late?

In this thrilling story, Leanne Kale Sparks weaves the threads of this harrowing drama and builds the intensity to a fever pitch.

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BIO: After a brief career in criminal law, Leanne Kale Sparks is returning to her first love—writing about murder and mayhem. Currently, she is working on the Kendall Beck Thriller Series featuring an FBI agent hunting down child abductors and murderers with her unofficial sidekick, Detective Adam Taylor. The backdrop is the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, the playground of her youth, and the place that will always be home. When not writing, she and her husband spend time reading and spoiling their German Shepherd, Zoe, and Corgi, Winchester. And drinking wine. Visit Leanne at http://www.leannekalesparks.com/