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Thursday, April 9, 2015

Name That Genre #8

TITLE: ADULT
GENRE: SECRET

When the car hit her, she landed twenty-one feet away. The impact with the car didn’t kill her. The fall - specifically the meeting of head and pavement - did.

I learned about the twenty-one feet, and the specific cause of death, from the police report. But it provided only slight refinement of information I already had.

The police report also mentioned that the lone witness hadn’t gotten the license plate number.

I’d been busy limping toward her, trying to reach her, ten steps behind just like I’d been for the past week. Only this time the ten steps were literal as well as metaphoric. The police report didn’t speculate on whether those ten steps made a difference, whether the witness might somehow have pulled her to safety, might even have caught her like some enormous fly ball settling into a second baseman’s glove.

I knew the truth, though....

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32 comments:

  1. greta garboApril 9, 2015 at 10:49 AM

    Guessing crime fiction. Probably detective story (not police procedural).
    Nice writing!

    ReplyDelete
  2. greta garboApril 9, 2015 at 10:51 AM

    Guessing crime fiction. Probably detective story (not police procedural).
    Nice writing!

    ReplyDelete
  3. S.D.KingApril 9, 2015 at 12:00 PM

    Mystery

    I think the MC had been secretly following the victim, then witnessed her death. I would keep reading.

    ReplyDelete
  4. 1000th.monkeyApril 9, 2015 at 12:10 PM

    I Can't Tell

    I was thinking crime fiction/thriller/etc at first, but the last line made me think there's something else going on... supernatural or something.

    ReplyDelete
  5. UnknownApril 9, 2015 at 12:42 PM

    Mystery
    The mc was following the victim for some (as yet) unknown reason, giving the opening a crime story feel. With a dead body right in the opening paragraph, I'm going with mystery.

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  6. AnonymousApril 9, 2015 at 1:52 PM

    Thriller.

    So far no hint of supernatural, unless the MC could literally have caught the flying body somehow? Sounds like the MC has just witnessed the murder of a person he was following. Could also be a Mystery.

    ReplyDelete
  7. HeatherApril 9, 2015 at 2:04 PM

    Thriller. The fact that MC was trailing the victim and knew something the police didn't know leads me to believe we may be ready for a flashback which explains that and sets up the chase.

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  8. Rocket Ma'amApril 9, 2015 at 2:27 PM

    Contemporary mystery/thriller.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Rocket Ma'amApril 9, 2015 at 5:50 PM

      modern setting, clinical view of situation, MC has been following this person

      Delete
  9. Rocket Ma'amApril 9, 2015 at 2:27 PM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  10. UnknownApril 9, 2015 at 2:28 PM

    Mystery

    All the police language makes me think this is a detective speaking.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Michele HelselApril 9, 2015 at 2:44 PM

    Contemporary.
    Before I Fall popped in my mind, but I realize the MC isn't the one who died. It intrigues me though.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Michele HelselApril 9, 2015 at 2:44 PM

    Contemporary.
    Before I Fall popped in my mind, but I realize the MC isn't the one who died. It intrigues me though.

    ReplyDelete
  13. SussuApril 9, 2015 at 3:38 PM

    MAGICAL REALISM.

    Everything tends toward a crime fiction. Although the story reminds us of a detective following a person, there is something really strange happening here. How does this person knows the real cause of death? Maybe a retired cop, maybe. He does have access to police reports, but he (I assume it is a he here) wasn't able to catch the plate number, which is strange. If he was following her, why 10 steps? That's not very far. I mean, he was practically her shadow. It is unclear if the witness was him or someone else. In that case, that makes him invisible.

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  14. KathleeaApril 9, 2015 at 3:50 PM

    Fantasy.

    This seems more than a detective story but I'm not sure if it's paranormal or not. The last line makes me think this is more than realistic. And, I agree, why only ten steps? That's not far enough away to not be detected. A servant? A shadow? A ghost?

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  15. Eisenman SoftwareApril 9, 2015 at 4:09 PM

    Forensic Mystery

    I'm not sure how many people are privy to the contents of coroner's reports other than law enforcement professionals.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brent SalishApril 11, 2015 at 1:25 AM

      A neighbor/friend who's an SPD detective lets him have a peek.

      Delete
  16. JAZApril 9, 2015 at 4:39 PM

    Mystery/Thriller/Crime Fiction
    Dead woman, person following her who knows something the police don't and no indication yet whether there was a love connection.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brent SalishApril 9, 2015 at 9:20 PM

      Aha! Someone finally mentions that possibility.

      Delete
  17. Bonnie StaringApril 9, 2015 at 4:57 PM

    Thriller
    Mainly because the person the MC was trailing gets killed.

    ReplyDelete
  18. LanetteApril 9, 2015 at 6:32 PM

    Crime fiction of some type

    This one's hard because the narrator is the witness so he's talking about himself in both first and third person, which makes it slightly confusing. However, I'm intrigued and would love to read on.

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  19. Heidi StallmanApril 9, 2015 at 10:41 PM

    My first guess is crime fiction (or mystery) from the MC's access to the police report, following the killed woman etc.

    Something about the way it reads hints at something supernatural. The mention of the witness, then finding out the MC is the witness is a little confusing, but also intriguing. Also, "knowing the truth."

    Also, consider shortening "The fall - specifically the meeting of head and pavement - did." to "The meeting of head and pavement did."

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  20. GinaApril 10, 2015 at 1:32 PM

    I can't tell. It could be lots of things: crime, paranormal, contemporary, women's fiction. I need more clues.

    ReplyDelete
  21. RickApril 10, 2015 at 2:18 PM

    Paranormal.

    I am thinking she will come back and make contact with the narrator.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brent SalishApril 11, 2015 at 1:28 AM

      A number of beta readers have wished for something similar. She's a great character with a mind of her own, and the hardest scene I've ever written was killing her off (detailed about a third of the way into the book, showing the dinner, the silly argument, her walking out, the rundown - which of course the readers have already glimpsed - and the aftermath, him dealing with the cops and trying to come to terms with it all.)

      Delete
  22. shelleyApril 10, 2015 at 2:23 PM

    Not sure. Could be crime/detective/thriller.

    I'd need to read more to be certain.

    ReplyDelete
  23. sbjamesApril 10, 2015 at 4:14 PM

    Hmmm....possibly crime fiction. I don't really know because I don't read them.

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  24. GeeWizApril 10, 2015 at 6:26 PM

    Thriller - I think the person following is "with" her and can't keep up due to limp. Not sure if the narrator person is also a witness?? Love, love, love the fly ball image!

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  25. C. R. BaileyApril 10, 2015 at 9:56 PM

    Mystery. Witness; didn't get the license number; couldn't save the victim--a reason to find the driver.

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  26. AnonymousApril 10, 2015 at 10:24 PM

    Paranormal Mystery.

    Dead body off the bat can mean Crime, Mystery, or even Paranormal if the a ghost gets involved. Narrator seems to feel guilty about something that needs to be uncovered.

    ReplyDelete
  27. AnonymousApril 10, 2015 at 11:33 PM

    Don't know yet

    It's interesting and I'd keep reading to find out
    I don't know if the POV is of this world - I get a sense maybe not?

    ReplyDelete
  28. Brent SalishApril 11, 2015 at 1:23 AM

    Murder/crime. No supernatural or paranormal. And he's trailing her because they'd just had an argument.

    ReplyDelete