Introduction

This book examines, from both a literary and forensic linguistics perspective, the overlaps between crime fiction conventions and police missing persons appeals. Based on a pilot study funded by the Aston Institute for Forensic Linguistics, the investigators examine how the use of language, literary devices, and media strategy can shape the public reception of an appeal and, therefore, the outcome of a missing person’s case. The introduction provides an overview of several cases which were given explicit comparisons (in the media or by the police) to crime fiction. There is currently a very small amount of academic work available on missing persons appeals (especially from a literary or linguistic vantage); there is even less national guidance on writing and delivering these appeals, which creates a vacuum for appeal writers to consciously or subconsciously insert crime fiction conventions into an appeal. This monograph posits that a more careful understanding and deliberate use of literary and linguistic devices can benefit an appeal.