There’s a reason I didn’t use “girl” in the title of The Worried Man, though I thought about it. (I imagine every author with a mystery, suspense, or thriller coming out these days at least considers using a Girl title.)
Girls Are Popular
The temptation to use Girl was strong. It’s a great shorthand way of saying if you liked The Girl On The Train or Gone Girl (or before that, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo), you’ll like this book.
And most of the time that would be true. All of those books are well-written suspense novels that feature an intriguing woman character who, if not the protagonist, is at least an important main character.
So why not take advantage of that?
Girl Attorneys (Not)
In addition to being a writer I’m also a lawyer, though I don’t practice much anymore. I drew from my memories of being a newer, younger woman lawyer when I created Quille (Q. C.) Davis, the protagonist in my new mystery series.
Quille is a former child stage actress and a current attorney.
When she acted throughout her childhood, she had no issue being called a girl because that’s what she was. Probably, like me and many young women I knew, she might not even have objected to the term while still in college.
But once you’re a woman in the professional world, things change.
I used to share office space with a male attorney who’d been practicing law for over 25 years.
He often came back from court and complained about the “girl” arguing against him on the other side of the case. He never referred to young male attorneys as “boys,” or, for that matter, specifically mentioned that they were male.
After the third or fourth time, I said, “Oh, when did they start letting 12-year-olds take the bar exam in Illinois?”
He laughed and asked me what I thought he ought to say. I suggested “woman” or simply “attorney.” After I made similar comments 10 or 15 times he did his best to stop using Girl to describe adult women.
I didn’t want to do to my character what many older attorneys did to me when I was a young lawyer, so I couldn’t bring myself to call Quille a girl even in the title.
Girls And Women As Heroes
Despite that some of the Girl books feature strong woman characters, the use of Girl for an adult woman to me uncomfortably echoes a trope I dislike in a lot of mysteries, thrillers, and suspense novels.
That trope is violence–often extreme violence–against women.
I don’t object to the idea that some mystery and suspense books have a female victim. It’s part of the genre that there’s a crime and so there’s a victim.
But a few years ago I decided I would no longer read books that revolved around women being terrorized or tortured, much as I love thrillers, suspense, and mysteries.
Whether intentional or not, these stories struck me as a warning to women who did certain things. Like living alone, walking alone, or not having a boyfriend or husband nearby to “protect” them.
As an author, I understand that vulnerability in a character is important. It’s what makes us feel for a character and care what happens to her or him. And I’m not in any way saying that no one should write a book with a female victim or that I’ll never do it.
But I prefer to be a little more realistic about it.
Statistically, men are far more likely than women to be the victims of violence by strangers, which is most often the type of violence depicted in fiction. With the exception of victims of serial killers (which fortunately are uncommon), most murder victims are men.
Also, I am more interested in writing and reading about a woman protagonist who is the hero.
That’s what drew me to Sara Paretsky’s V.I. Warshawski, one of the first fictional female private eyes.
I love the way V.I. fights for the underdog, stands up for what she believes in, and helps people. All of these things don’t mean V.I. is not vulnerable at times or that she isn’t sometimes in peril.
But her role is primarily that of the protagonist who solves crimes, fixes problems, and helps people, not as a victim.
A Theme Without Girls
So how to tie my titles together without a Girl?
At first I thought about songs. The Worried Man’s title comes from the Worried Man Blues. (I used to play and sing folk and bluegrass.)
The use of Man rather than Girl appealed to me, as did the ambiguity. The Worried Man of the title could be the victim, a suspect, or one of Quille’s friends who worries that she’s putting herself in danger while investigating the death of the man she loved.
But the next book is set in a blizzard in River City in Chicago’s South Loop. No good song titles were coming to mind as I worked on the outline.
Then someone on my e-newsletter list suggested using Man in each title instead.
Immediately the title The Charming Man came to mind. (I’m about mid-way through the first draft of it now.) I’ve also thought about a third book: The Fractured Man.
I like that this theme offers a different twist on the Girl book title idea, yet I hope it evokes the trend enough so that people realize the QC. Davis books are mystery/suspense novels.
I also hope it conveys a bit of Quille’s attitude and mine as the author.
Do you have thoughts on using Man rather than Girl? Or on your favorite Girl books? Please share in the comments.
The Worried Man is now available for preorder on multiple ebook platforms or you can buy the paperback here.
