There must be no love interest in the story. A detective novel should contain no long descriptive passages, no "atmospheric" préoccupations. I realise that my

There must be no love interest in the story. A detective novel should contain no long descriptive passages, no "atmospheric" préoccupations. I realise that my favorites detective stories (those of brother Cadfael from Ellis Peters) all break those rules to good effect, building a good sense of place and time. The romance always involve characters concerned by the crime (suspect, family member of the deceased, guilty party...), but never the detective.