Domestic Noir

Is a subgenre of crime fiction that shifts focus from standard hardened detectives and violent underworlds, exploring psychological suspense within the confines of the home, marriage, and neighbourhood. The title originator is Julia Crouch, author (Instagram @juliageek). Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn is a best-selling example.

Don’t Call This Fiction is about domestic noir as experienced in real life, so falls into the book categories of memoir, biography, and true crime, as does the top selling and devastating book Nobody’s Child by Virginia Giuffre.

There is a staggering amount of violence and abuse in all its evil forms in domestic settings, and there are massive amounts of statistics, parliamentary reviews, research, reportage, and a shocking number of cases of domestic violence, murder and sex crimes. And yet so many are not noticed or prosecuted. Most people in the UK are aware of our justice system and its overload and underfunding, leaving us, the public, much less safe and in much greater danger. 

But if I’ve learnt one thing in life, it’s to look for ways through the broken systems and to wherever possible find personal agency. I wrote Don’t Call This Fiction to make sense of the senseless and celebrate kindness, but I published it for a different reason. That reason is to connect with others who have worries, doubts, and similar challenges and to suggest and discuss ways to protect and progress you and yours.

 If I’ve learnt two things, it’s the power of listening. It’s easier said than done to be a good listener, and although I thought I was good at it when I undertook training, it became apparent I was not, but I did learn from the book Time to Think by Nancy Kline. It starts with paying attention and leaving behind the limiting assumptions.

If I’ve learnt a third, it’s the life-changing effect of kindness. You can never tell what the consequence of kindness might be. If I faced a room full of all the people, I’ve met in my lifetime and asked who in the room had saved a life. Would the headteacher who gave me an 11+ pass raise his hand, or the social worker that let me and my son live in her caravan in the garden when I was on the run or the blonde woman on the left of the bottom row in the jury who gave me the faintest smile know they probably saved my life?

When it comes to real life situations I will be posting on:

• What matters relative to dealing with domestic danger
• Getting help
• Giving evidence
• Juries
• Social media relative to crime
• Representation
• Hypnotherapy
• Addiction
• LGBTQI+ issues

Message me with questions or requests for specific links.

Charities:

• Rape Crisis England and Wales. http://rapecrisis.org.uk
• Respect UK is a charity stopping perpetrators of domestic abuse. http://respectuk.org.uk
• Woman’s Aid, a national charity working to end domestic abuse against women and children. http://womansaid.org.uk
• Mind – a mental health charity. http://www.mind.org.uk
• Victims’ Commissioner for England and Wales. http://victimscommissioner.org.uk
• Victim Support. http://www.victimsupport.org.uk