ESSAY
A SATISFYING, MYSTIFYING THRILL
BY TANA FRENCH
I WAS 6 WHEN I FELL IN LOVE WITH mysteries. Some schoolbook had a (not very accurate) comprehension page about the Mary Celeste, a ship that was found drifting in the Atlantic in 1872, intact-a meal still cooking in the galley-with the crew, passengers, and lifeboat missing, never to be seen again. I was totally enthralled. I can still remember lying on the living-room rug with the book, promising myself that when I died, I would ask God for the answer. I could probably trace a direct line from that moment, through all the fictional and real mysteries I've devoured since then, to where I am today.
Mystery books, for me, divide themselves into two kinds. One kind-Agatha Christie, Sherlock Holmes-is all about restoring order. The central questions concern concrete facts: Who did it? How did they do it? Truth in these stories is an objective thing, and answers are solid and definitive. By the end of the book, every baffling clue connects up to the others, and the killer's motive is clear; good is separated from evil, the guilty are locked up, dead, or at least identified, and the innocent are free to move on with their lives.
This story is from the October 23, 2023 edition of Time.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the October 23, 2023 edition of Time.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
A Filmmaker's Quest to Unmask Bitcoin's Creator - Who is Bitcoin's founder, Satoshi Nakamoto? the question has perplexed and excited cryptocurrency fans ever since Bitcoin was created by someone with that username in 2009.
Who is Bitcoin’s founder, Satoshi Nakamoto? the question has perplexed and excited cryptocurrency fans ever since Bitcoin was created by someone with that username in 2009.
Unmasking prediabetes - Type 2 diabetes doesn't always arrive with a bang. It can develop slowly but eventually result in marked side effects like extreme thirst and hunger, frequent urination, blurry vision, tingling sensations, and fatigue.
Type 2 diabetes doesn’t always arrive with a bang. It can develop slowly but eventually result in marked side effects like extreme thirst and hunger, frequent urination, blurry vision, tingling sensations, and fatigue.
Animals understand death too - In 2018, field researchers in Uganda came across an unusual sight: a female chimpanzee carrying an infant she had recently given birth to that was affected by albinism, an extremely uncommon condition in this species that gives their fur a striking white color.
In 2018, field researchers in Uganda came across an unusual sight: a female chimpanzee carrying an infant she had recently given birth to that was affected by albinism, an extremely uncommon condition in this species that gives their fur a striking white color.
The Petro State - Colombia's first leftist leader wants to end oil
Last year, Colombian president Gustavo Petro watched in dismay as a political and economic crisis unfolded on the other side of his country’s eastern border. Global powers had imposed sanctions on Venezuela’s oil exports after the country’s autocratic leader, Nicolás Maduro, allegedly A his re-election. As hyperinflation fueled turmoil, millions of refugees poured into Colombia to escape.
Fortress Democracy - Despite efforts at home and abroad to undermine faith in U.S. elections, this year's vote is set to be the most secure and reliable ever. Thank new laws, fail-safes, and courageous election officials
Despite efforts at home and abroad to undermine faith in U.S. elections, this year’s vote is set to be the most secure and reliable ever. Thank new laws, fail-safes, and courageous election officials
The Beauty of Being Alone - There's a lot of fear around spending time alone. Alone time can make people itchy with boredom.
Recent articles and studies warn us about the dangers of loneliness—one 2017 study by Julianne Holt- Lunstad at BYU’s Social Connection and Health Lab claims loneliness is as bad as smoking 15 cigarettes a day. In 2023, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy published an advisory all about the epidemic of loneliness in America. It details the genuine risks of chronic loneliness, such as increased rates of anxiety and depression, as well as dementia in older adults
What is 'American Malaria' and Are You at Risk? - Few things will leave you feeling quite so icky as returning from a jaunt outside and finding a tick clinging to your skin
Babesiosis, is causing particular concern. The disease is colloquially known as “American malaria,” partly because of its widening spread and partly because of its clinical profile. Like malaria, it can lead to headache, fever, chills, nausea, vomiting, altered mental state, anemia, low blood pressure, respiratory distress, and more.
A strip-club fairy tale with a generous heart
THERE ARE FEW FILMMAKERS AS OPENHEARTED, as stone-soup inventive, as Sean Baker.
Fanfare for the gentle man
IN WE LIVE IN TIME, THE ROMANTIC drama whose slow October rollout has swept up moviegoers in a tidal wave of tears, Andrew Garfield plays a divorced man who finds love in a hopeless place.
On fathers, and the limits of forgiveness
IN 2016, TITUS KAPHAR MADE THE Jerome Project, a short documentary in which he confronts how his father’s abuse and drug use harmed his childhood.
