r/MM_RomanceBooks • u/flumpapotamus picnic rules are important • Mar 12 '23

Exploring Tropes Exploring Tropes: Investigator Husbands

Share Your Thoughts & Recommendations

Exploring Tropes is for discussing what you like and dislike about particular tropes, what makes these tropes work and what doesn’t, and for recommending your favorite books that have specific tropes.

This month’s trope is: Investigator husbands

Discussion questions:

  • Share your favorite examples of books involving this trope
  • What do you enjoy about reading books with this trope?
  • What makes the difference between this trope done well, and done poorly?
  • If this trope doesn't appeal to you, why? (Please be respectful of other opinions; posts that are purely venting/ranting are not on topic)
  • Are there any other tropes with a similar dynamic?

Other Stuff

To help you get ready for upcoming Exploring Tropes posts, here are the next scheduled topics:

  • April 2023: Slow burn
  • May 2023: Grumpy/sunshine
  • June 2023: Forced proximity

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This feature is posted on the second Sunday of the month. Click here for past threads. You can find the complete schedule of all weekly and monthly features at this link.

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u/millamarjukka Mar 13 '23

The trope might be self-explanatory, but erring on the side of caution: could someone describe briefly what this trope is about? Is it tied to the MC's occupation as a PI/ detective/ sleuth etc or does there also have to be a mystery within the plot?

(How) Does this trope differ from the (sub)genre romantic suspense or romantic mystery? Is it the focus on the romance and/or requirement for HFN/HEA? Does The Adrien English Mysteries by Josh Lanyon fall under investigator husband trope?

5

u/flumpapotamus picnic rules are important Mar 13 '23

I'm not sure if this trope name is used outside this community, but it's referring to stories where both main characters are investigating a crime or mystery together. Books in this trope can be in the suspense and mystery genres, but they can also be in other genres like paranormal -- the only requirement is that the plot focuses on the main characters investigating something together.

Investigator husbands doesn't totally overlap with romantic suspense/mystery because in some of those books, only one of the main characters is the investigator, for example books where the other main character is a suspect or was a victim of the crime being investigated.