ABSTRACT
In many or even most forms of crime fiction, what happens to the criminals after the detective’s investigation is complete is of little interest. Punishment is, however, of prime interest to both criminology and criminal justice. This chapter explores this difference in orientation and emphasis, asking both why punishment has been a problematic feature in a great deal of crime fiction, and how some writers have tried to overcome this difficulty by making questions of justice and punishment central to their narrative strategies and social critique.
