No, this post isn’t about Jane Austen.  I loathe most 19^th century sappy novels in general and hers in particular.  Yeah, I know she’s enjoying a revival of sorts—like an oozing zombie rising out of the tomb to bore us to death with romantic drivel [Note from Steve: maybe like these “classic posts”?].  Instead, I want to talk about all the senses you might use as you write your thriller or mystery.

I was reading Preston and Child’s Two Graves (no one gave it to me as a gift—it was on sale at $2.99), and I was struck by the scene where Pendergast’s ex-special forces manservant uses his keen sense of smell to help him combat a serial killer (if you don’t know the book, fine—I won’t give away any spoilers).  In my sci-fi mystery Teeter-Totter between Lust and Murder, Detective Castilblanco appeals to Detective Chen’s sense of smell to generate some additional and useful evidence about the events surrounding a murder (again, no spoilers here).  Castilblanco comments that the police don’t use odors much for evidence.

I’m not sure this is true in real life, but I believe it is.  I’m willing to bet juries don’t pay much attention to anything beyond hearing and sight because even those are highly subjective—if witnesses so often become confused with sights and sounds, think about the other human senses.  But, forensic evidence aside, can you use a character’s other senses to improve your prose?  The answer is yes, even in titles.

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