To paraphrase the great Aristotle, "Drama is more probable than history," which means that there is a huge burden on writers to convey what could happen, even though history every now and then shows us the inexplicable and unimaginable. Witness what is going on today, for example. But I don't want to start up on the state of the White House, I want to talk about a very sad piece I recently read, and which I copy below:
Police in the south Indian state of Karnataka have arrested three people in connection with the "human sacrifice" of a 10-year-old girl .
Police told BBC Hindi that the child was killed on the instructions of a "sorcerer" to "cure" a paralysed man.
In my yet-to-be published second mystery, "While the children slept," there is a scene where the police rush to stop what they believe is a child sacrifice. The piece above proves that it clearly happens, which is why I have that scene, but to read of an actual account is heartbreakingly terrifying.
It is only by constantly putting such goings-on in front of people that we can effect change. That's why, as I have noted time and again, I made human trafficking central to my first mystery, "The Girl Who Went Missing."
I realize I have been remiss and not mentioned Kitty O who is my sometime muse. He's asleep after a hard night out, curled up and safely snoring. I recall reading an account years ago of a restaurant raid where the police discovered the chicken was really cat meat. Apparently the sauces cloaked the different meat and the bones, being similar, didn't alert most patrons...until a zoologist strolled in. The horrific practice stopped immediately.
I wish the same for all the other horrific practices that are going on in the world. We must all be vigilant, both writers, readers...and eaters.