We had a recent query about the gender of our murderers, as a customer was looking for games with female murderers.
We checked through our games, and we have a fairly even split of male/female/ungendered murderers (although, to be fair, there are slightly fewer female murderers).
But that got us thinking about the victims, and usually, our murder victims are male. We began to wonder what was going on there.
Murder victims in genre fiction
So we did a little research and discovered that the gender of murder victims in crime fiction varies depending on the subgenre (detective novels, police procedurals, thrillers, cozy mysteries, etc.) and the time period.
Traditional Detective Fiction (Golden Age: 1920s–1940s)
Murder victims were often wealthy men or women connected to inheritance disputes, social standing, or scandal. Both male and female victims appear in relatively balanced numbers, since the motive often revolved around family fortunes or secrets.
Hardboiled & Noir (1930s–1950s)
Victims were more often male, especially in gangland or organized crime stories. Female victims did appear but were often sexualized, sometimes framed as “femme fatales.”
Modern Police Procedurals & Crime Thrillers (1960s–present)
Studies of TV and novels suggest female victims are disproportionately common, especially in serial killer narratives. Endangered women are a storytelling device; forensic and psychological thrillers often use young women as victims to heighten emotional stakes.
Cozy Mysteries
In cozies, victims are often men or women in positions of local power (business owners, mayors, bosses). Gender balance is more even, as the focus shifts to community conflict.
And our murder mystery games?
Our murder mystery games could be categorised as cozies – and you could argue that female victims are underrepresented in our games.
On the other hand, our games are closer to real-world statistics, where men are the majority of victims.
We’re not sure it matters. As long as our games are enjoyable to play, we don’t think anyone is worrying too much about the gender of our victims.
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