Okay, what is up?

[mrv3000]

I've been reading several book series in the cozy mystery genre lately, and they've all wound up with twins for the main character. It's not that I care if the author waves a baby wand over the character (murders must be solved no matter what's going on in your life -- especially in the English countryside where bodies are tripped over daily), it's that they're all TWINS.

At least 3 of the recent ones I've been reading have gone down the twin hole. The first one I laughed at. The second was a "heh." Now I'm starting to get irked. Are all the cozy mysteries I pick up doomed to twins? What is it with this genre and twins?? Or is this a carryover from the romance genre -- is it littered with twins too? (I don't really read romance novels.) I know twins populate much of fanfic, but I guess I didn't realize it was a published works thing too. Twins happen about 3% of the time in real life but seem to happen about 80% in fiction. XD

I guess I don't see twins as "these people must REALLY love each other to have twins!" but "OMG, twins would be twice as many diapers! And twice as much crying! And twice as much lack of sleep!" Unless the point is to torture the characters a bit with all that. HEH.

(Apologies to anyone if they are a twin or have twins.)

Comments

[http://users.livejournal.com/_thirty2flavors/]

Twins are more magical~ than standard-issue single babies!

COOL STORY BRO: My grandmother is an identical twin. I was explaining this to someone once along with the story of how I only know one grandmother (tl;dr we don't talk to my dad's family) and my friend was like "but if she's a twin then you have two!" ...that... is not how that works.

[mrv3000.livejournal.com]

BWAH!! Yeah, close, but not really. XD

I do have fraternal twin cousins on both sides of my family, but considering the buttload of first cousins I have, twins are still only about 9% of cousins.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_thirty2flavors/]

lol when I was a kid once I did confuse my grandma and my great aunt. Whoops.

I suspect authors just think twins are more neat-o or something. They need to get with the times, though. Twins are old news. Bring on the octuplets!

[mrv3000.livejournal.com]

lol when I was a kid once I did confuse my grandma and my great aunt. Whoops.

:D

I suspect authors just think twins are more neat-o or something. They need to get with the times, though. Twins are old news. Bring on the octuplets!

*GROANS*

[papilio-luna.livejournal.com]

"but if she's a twin then you have two!"

LOLOLOL this is the best theory ever!

[http://users.livejournal.com/_thirty2flavors/]

TWINS: basically just spares!

[mrv3000.livejournal.com]

That's why it was okay to kill off one of the Weasley twins. *nods*

[http://users.livejournal.com/_thirty2flavors/]

NGL I always liked Fred better. Idk why.

[mrv3000.livejournal.com]

I couldn't tell them apart if my life depended on it. :D

[http://users.livejournal.com/_thirty2flavors/]

lol I read an entire essay once about how they are different~ ...mostly because I was distantly surprised that such an essay existed -- not that surprised, because HP fandom has written an essay about any and everything, but still a little surprised there was enough material to make an essay.

It's possible I just prefer the name "Fred" though.

[grav-ity.livejournal.com]

One of the greatest moments in the show Criminal Minds was Dr. Reid's assertion that the serial killer who was somehow killing people with the same MO, even though said serial killer had been dead for a year, was the "evil-er" twin of the already dead evil twin. There are no limits in fiction! NONE AT ALL! Twins for everyone!

(But they have different fingerprints, so they are still possible to catch.)

[mrv3000.livejournal.com]

Twins are fabulous when it comes to crime fiction! XD

Maybe authors are subconsciously providing future plot twists!

[surreallis.livejournal.com]

Hahaha. You probably didn't read a lot of babyfic in SG-1, just like I didn't. But dude, whenever I did, or when I got surprise babyfic in my S/J fic? TWINS.

I used to think it was because, well, Sam is no spring chicken, so this was a way of giving her a lot of kids in a short amount of time, but also, I think it's some sort of high reward for properly catching Jack.

[mrv3000.livejournal.com]

Well, and Jack has such amazing sperm that it has to result in twins, right? :D

[elismor.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry, but everyone knows that it was Jonas Quinn who had the amazing sperm.

[juliet316]

No! Daniel does! He can (in my theory anyway) make Ori/Human hybrids!

Okay, considering how S10 went, I just icked myself out.

[mrv3000.livejournal.com]

But no one's sperm is as awesome as Teal'c's. Obviously.

[elismor.livejournal.com]

Indeed.

[surreallis.livejournal.com]

Well, if we assume sperm power correlates to the imagined size of his penis, then YES. CLEARLY SO! hahahahaha.

[nandamai]

[mrv3000.livejournal.com]

OMG YOUR ICON.

[surreallis.livejournal.com]

I FORGOT ABOUT THE GLOWY SPERM POWER OMG.

[nandamai]

I don't think MV ever read Pepper's amazing glowy sperm power saga omg. I would rectify that immediately if I weren't on my iPad.

[mrv3000.livejournal.com]

*eyes you and your glowy sperm*

[nandamai]

AHA! It wasn't pepper_field, it was syxp. I don't know what I was thinking. Anyway: "Really, Daniel? My penis is glowing like a Christmas decoration and you want to know about the damn pies?".

[captaintish]

I have to sort of agree with you on the twins thing. Whenever I get twins in Sims, I go OH, NO. It's so much work! And that's just virtual babies. Can you imagine the real thing?

Can you recommend any cozy mysteries? I don't read a lot of mysteries, but when I do, I like my mysteries to have some sort of interesting setting -- not just a private eye in the big city or whatever. No hardboiled detectives for me.

Have you read Super in the City, by Daphne Uviller? SO GOOD.

[makingmywayhome.livejournal.com]

Whenever I get twins in the Sims, I stop playing that family.

[captaintish]

LOL.

[mrv3000.livejournal.com]

I haven't read anything by Daphne Uviller. I might have to try it!

But I really liked the Meg Langslow series (by Donna Andrews). (Warning: eventual twins.) And I liked the Daisy Dalrymple series (by Carola Dunn). (Also eventual twins.)

The first is modern day and has a lot of humor while the Daisy series is in the 1920s and more prim and proper.

If you're looking for something really cozy, I'd recommend The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency. It's very mellow and enjoyable.

[captaintish]

Well, as far as I know, she's only written the one book. But I hear a sequel is coming out in the spring.

Yeah, everyone seems to love the No. 1 Ladie's Detective Agency. I thought about watching the show -- my library recently got the box set of the first season.

[amberfocus.livejournal.com]

I had to laugh at the twins thing because I've done it twice. Once to Jackie because she was 40 or 41 or something when she got pregnant and we had no canon on it at the time and it seemed to make sense for her age. Then in a different series I did it to Rose, too, but that was more poking fun of the Doctor's super sperm than anything else. Most of my baby!fic babies are singletons. But I certainly have noticed the prevalance of twins in DW fanfic. Had not seen it in mystery novels though, or much in romance novels unless the heroine was a twin herself.

[mrv3000.livejournal.com]

I'm cracking up at the thought of Jackie with twins! The world would not be safe. XD

Of course, I'm cracking up at the thought of the Doctor around pregnant!Jackie in general.

Doctor: Every time I see you you're even bigger! Just when I think you couldn't get more huge, you GET MORE HUGE! I mean, you're just enormous! Hippos are smaller than you! I think... *whips out sonic screwdriver* Yes! You have your own gravitational pull! Look!

Pete and Rose: *RUN LIKE HELL*

[http://users.livejournal.com/_thirty2flavors/]

lolol that is basically exactly how Eleven was around pregnant!Amy, so I imagine you are correct.

[mrv3000.livejournal.com]

Mwah! I really should catch up with S5 when dwrewatch starts it.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_thirty2flavors/]

lol THE (RE) IS OPTIONAL

I guess that will be in like 2 weeks? We finish s4 on Saturday which is weird.

[amberfocus.livejournal.com]

Now that would be funny. The Doctor would just make things worse and worse, I'm sure, if he was around for the pregnancy.

[captaintish]

LOL, which story is that with Jackie having twins? I don't think I've seen that one. It sounds good!

[amberfocus.livejournal.com]

She has twins in the Better With You series, although you don't meet them until the second story. And they're like...nine or something at that point.

[outforawalk.livejournal.com]

The handy thing about romance novels is that you have generally departed the story before the onset of twins, unless it's a series. And even then, I don't find them that common. Maybe because I read historicals and just having one seems dangerous enough, if they are going to have a baby before the end of the book.

[mrv3000.livejournal.com]

I guess that's a hazard of reading a series. I do prefer them over one-off novels though.