A workshop and discussion day on the wide-ranging topic of Women and Crime is taking place at the University of Dundee tomorrow, as part of its current exhibition Other Trace Evidence.

Helen Brown talked to writer and journalist Melanie Garrett (pictured), one of the panel of experts who will be on hand to lead the events, about her experiences of the fact and fiction of women’s relationship to crime and crime writing.

THE case, two years ago now, of the discovery of the bones of three newly-born children, buried beneath the floors of a house in the Orkney village of Harray at the turn of the last century, brought a flurry of international media attention to the small community. It produced frenzied speculation about what had happened to the babies and newspaper headlines of the “serial killer” and “house of horror” variety when it was alleged that the babies’ grandmother had killed them at birth because of the shame of illegitimacy.

Writer Melanie Garrett was intrigued not just by the supposed facts of the case, but also by the way it was reported. Having been invited by a Glasgow production company to write a documentary on the subject, she was put in touch with Dr Sue Black, now professor of anatomy and forensic anthropology at Dundee University, who had carried out an examination of the remains at the time.

Melanie explained, “We’ve stayed in touch over time and when the chance came up to take part in this event, this seemed a good case to take as a central point because of the issues it had raised.

“As a writer of radio drama, it was fascinating for me to meet Sue Black whose emphasis in her job is very much on the facts and the evidence, not in finding or creating a story. I was equally fascinated by the way the case had been reported, by the furore in the national and international Press about the ‘Grandma serial killer’, much of which was based on rumour and speculation. It was very interesting to see how the information was presented even though the actual facts were contradictory and the evidence largely circumstantial.”

Melanie’s own fascination with a life of crime came through reading about it rather than committing it, sparked off by novels such as those of Barbara Vine. “I was always caught up by the psychological aspects of the stories, rather than the straightforward who-dunnit style. I remember walking past Waterstone’s in the mid-1980s, noticing a display of her work and being completely gripped by it when I looked into it more closely.

“I’m fascinated by motivation, rather than gore and violence which was what particularly drew me to the Orkney cases. The phenomenon of women crime writers is a well known one and although female writers can write violence with the best of them, I think many are more interested in the psychology, in a more developed cruelty and also in the aftermath of crime. It’s not just about bodies piling up, but about the effects of that and things like the impact of loss. I’m very intrigued by that aspect myself, and that necessarily affects the way I look at stories of my own and stories, factual or fictional, that I hear about.”

That outlook forms the basis of much of her own work.

Melanie, originally from Quebec, Canada, has been based in the west of Scotland for some years now and has been a writer for some two decades. She has recently finished a novel, Freeze Frame, her first in the genre.

On Wednesday, she’ll be talking about the relationship between fact and speculation in crime reporting and in the way much of the reaction to what we read, and with reference to the Orkney case in particular, seems to mirror our own current preoccupations. “One aspect that caught my attention was the fact that whatever had happened had taken place at the beginning of the 20th century, but rather than look in detail at the circumstances of the life and times of those involved, reporting seemed to go for a very contemporary take on it, relating to our own bogey about serial killers. The very phrase is indicative of that —even if the woman did do what is suspected, she wasn’t a serial killer—more properly, she should be termed a multiple murder.

“I’ll be talking about the different ways of looking at facts and narrative.”

Barbara Vine (the pseudonym under which Ruth Rendell writes psychological crime stories) remains a strong influence and a favourite read, alongside crime authors Donna Tartt and Scot Denise Mina. “You can’t live in Scotland and not love Denise Mina. I also enjoy the lighter style of people like Nicci French—I think I’m just a crime fiction junkie!

“I wrote my own stand-alone novel really to see if I could do it. It’s a much broader canvas, but I found it challenging and very satisfying to do. I have in mind now a series about a female doctor—women’s health is an area that I find very interesting. It was one of the aspects about the Orkney case that seemed particularly interesting to me because of the attitude to women and their bodies that prevailed at that time.

“Writing fiction is a chance to look at issues like that and open up the subject in a way that relates both to reality and to the world of the imagination. Having met and talked to Sue Black, I’m now thinking of a series about a forensic anthropologist perhaps for radio here and in Canada.”

The workshop takes place in the University Tower Conference Suite between 2pm and 5pm. The panel discussion is in the same venue between 5pm and 7pm. Both events are free and open to the public.