Romance of the Grand Canyon

by Clare Langley-Hawthorne

Still on the road and up to the start of week three of my family’s two month national park odyssey. We’re camping at the north rim of the Grand Canyon and I am hoping, as I had to schedule this blog post ahead of time, that the romance of the view remains (though with kids in tow the prospect of romance is always pretty remote!) I have only ever been to the south rim so it is an exciting prospect to be on the less travelled side of the park, although I am still concerned about how I can ensure neither one of my children actually fall into the canyon (at 5 they are daredevils…) But my question for today is all about romance…what in your view is the best kiss in crime fiction?

For me the answer is easy, Lord Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane in Gaudy Night, not because it is particularly passionate but because the lead up to it was so terrific (the Latin that Dorothy L. Sayers throws in is annoying but I forgive her the pretension). I love having the tension build across books and to reach a satisfying ending, such as that in the Wimsey series. Many other series find that the kiss spells disaster as sexual tension fizzles from then on.

So what is your vote for the best kiss in crime fiction??

6 thoughts on “Romance of the Grand Canyon

  1. You know that line from Princess Bride? In the history of kisses there have only been five…

    Hard to think of those in crime fiction! Maybe the one in The Postman Always Rings Twice.

    “Bite me!”

    I bit her.

  2. Hi Clare-
    I’m impressed that you’re managing to blog on the road with your iPad- for the life of me I couldn’t figure it out while I was gone.

    Best kiss…that’s a tough one. I’m trying to remember if there was actually a kiss in Pride and Prejudice (which wins for most romantic scene for me).
    Actually, I just finished reading Tana French’s latest FAITHFUL PLACE, and there’s an amazing young love/first kiss scene in it.

  3. I won’t pretend this counts as the best kiss, but one of my favorite kisses from my own work comes from page 162 of For the Love of a Devil. The lead’s wife has left him, but they go on what amounts to be a date and she kisses him. As he wraps his arms around her, he smells another man’s cologne.

  4. Ooh, Michelle, I just downloaded the new Tana French book and can’t wait to read it. Can you believe they have wifi and the general store on the north rim of the Grand Canyon?! Jim, I love that film, it is one of my all time favorites but I confess I haven’t read Postman. Tim, that scene sounds intriguing.

  5. oh yes. I love me some Lord Peter. I wanted to be Harriet Vane.

    Hmm, could that have anything to do with my wanting to be a writer???

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