We all know that, when writing a novel – any novel – the location is important. Where and when you set your story has an impact on everything that follows. This is particularly true in crime fiction, where the setting of a story can affect the novel in more ways than we might at first think. With this in mind, here are four reasons location matters in crime fiction.

A backdrop for your story

Of course, it almost goes without saying that the location the novel takes place in will provide a crucial backdrop for your story. However, this is a point that still bears repeating, as without a coherent setting, it is unlikely that your novel will work as well as it could. Different backdrops will have different influences on a crime novel – a small-town setting will undoubtedly lead to a different feeling and sense of place than a large urban environment, for example – so they need to be chosen carefully and taken into consideration throughout the writing process.

Its influence on the crime

Your choice of location might also have an impact on the crime investigated in your novel. Different parts of the world might be more likely to experience certain crimes, for instance. A crime that takes place in broad daylight might well be considerably different to one that takes place behind closed doors in a remote area. All of this will affect large chunks of your novel, so the location of the crime itself is certainly an issue to take seriously.

Impact on solving crime

We also can’t forget the impact on the protagonist solving the crime in your novel. Are they hindered by an icy landscape, or is some of their crucial evidence lost thanks to a big rainstorm? Do they find themselves in an unfamiliar environment that makes it harder for them to make progress, or that makes their job more dangerous? All of these issues can help to add interest and suspense to a crime novel, and without a clearly defined location, they wouldn’t have nearly as much impact.

Location as a character

Then there’s the idea of the location of your story acting as a sort of character in its own right. For example, if you set all of your crime novels in the same small town, that setting and the backdrop it provides can become as much of a feature as the characters themselves. All places have their own characteristics, and this can be an interesting issue to explore in crime fiction.

How do you go about choosing settings for your crime novels, and why do you think they matter so much?