One of the biggest changes in my life brought on by the pandemic was my gravitation towards crime fiction - and crime narratives in general. What began as a gentle meander through true crime podcasts and documentaries led to more than a year of vicariously piecing together murder mysteries and my first true foray into the realm of crime fiction writing. True, I'd dabbled before. I read some Raymond Chandler a few years ago and I've inhaled a few gripping thrillers over the years. But for the first time, I actually read the Stephen King book I impulsively bought 4 years ago, I invested in several Jo Nesbo novels (thanks to watching The Snowman) and I dipped into one of Michael Connolly's lesser known detective series (that is, not Bosch). And I'm not alone in this new habit.

One of the most popular literary genres during the pandemic was the thriller. According to Ellie Marney, teacher and author of Young Adult (YA) fiction, we don't just like horror stories for cathartic reasons - as many others have suggested - but because they teach us resilience. And resilience is something we all need a lot of during a pandemic.

Similarly, Cavan Scott, the author of several scary stories for children, says that frightening tales teach children how to cope with the real world, providing "a way to acknowledge that life isn’t always easy, and it’s okay to be scared". More than that though, these stories show that there's a way to work through that fear and get to the other side.

Alongside renewed interest in thrillers and crime fiction (and non-fiction) came the release of the movie, The Accountant, on Netflix. (The Accountant is actually not a new film; it's only new to Netflix.) Starring Ben Affleck as a brilliant, autistic accountant - and criminal - the film was recommended to me by the Netflix algorithm. But, while I enjoyed the movie and its partial challenging of the boring accountant stereotype, it didn't quite do justice to the notion of the accountant as a character in crime fiction. It missed out on its potential. Because, if you really think about it, accounting and crime fiction aren't all that different.

Bear with me. First, let's start with 3 ways that accountants and crime fiction protagonists are pretty similar. And then I'll tell you the crucial thing that makes them different - and even gives accountants the edge.

Both Detective Harry Hole and your regular accountant work to make sense of what's happened in the past. For Harry Hole, there's some kind of gruesome murder that's taken place in Oslo - or elsewhere - and he needs to figure out how it happened, why it happened, and, of course, who committed the crime. An accountant is not so very different, taking a look at the numbers from the past month, quarter, or year, and trying to deduce how they came to be what they are and whether it all adds up.

Both accountants and criminal detectives search for patterns or trends over time, something that will point to an explanation of what has happened, how long it's been happening, and whether it's likely to happen again.

Accountants and detectives also look for things that are out of the ordinary, things that break the pattern - anomalies. In an article describing the job of a forensic accountant, Leslie Zganjar writes:

"Accountant Ralph Summerford might stand in a company's parking lot to see what kinds of cars employees drive. Or ask workers if they've noticed changes in their colleagues. He might even go through a firm's garbage."

He's looking for anomalies that indicate something is amiss between the paperwork (or digital paperwork) and reality. While not all accountants are forensic accountants, fraud detection has been highlighted as a great skill for any accountant to have. As accountant, Nigel Iyer, says:

“Accountancy is a brilliant skill if you do it like Luca Pacioli [creator of double-entry bookkeeping], which is to watch the details and follow the money. It’s a great thought: this is the way to keep the world healthy and in balance.”

And to keep the world healthy and in balance, you need to check for anything that's out of place and figure out what it's doing there. This is the same as the crime detective. Harry Bosch needs to find the serial killer to prevent more loss of life and suffering, to maintain a healthy societal equilibrium. To make sure the debits are in the right place, the credits are in the right place, the criminals are behind bars, and the citizens safe at home.

Both the wildly impressive detectives of crime novels and everyday accountants need to have the skills associated with critical, analytical thinking to succeed. This is Sherlock Holmes' strength when he unravels twisted mysteries just as much as it is an accountant's strength when it comes to sifting through hefty financial records and making sure that every detail is accurate and up to date.

Without this careful, analytical eye, an accountant's analysis could yield inconsistent results. And a detective could arrest the wrong person.

Fair enough. Perhaps crime detection and mystery solving is not that different from accounting. But what about all the excitement and adrenaline involved in crime fiction? What about the promise of an escape from mundane, daily life?

Game designer, Jane McGonigal, commented on the idea that escapism is inherently bad in response to the frequent disparaging comments levelled at video games and those who play them. She is of the opinion that there are two kinds of escapism: self-suppression and self-expansion. These can be differentiated as follows:

Crime fiction is frequently associated with escapism, especially in the time of a pandemic. Is it really just a means of running away from harsh reality or do readers truly learn resilience and hope through readings these novels? The answer is unclear.

However, what is clear is that accounting is not at all escapist. Accounting forces you to confront a business or individual's financial situation head-on, to grapple with the past, and plan for the future. It requires difficult conversations, as well as a lot of hard work and attention to detail. This process offers self-expansion as well, in that as you work, you can learn new skills, build stronger relationships, and have positive experiences while helping clients who desperately need your expertise.

Maybe it doesn't seem as cool as solving a fantastical murder mystery and you don't quite feel like you're in an Agatha Christie novel, and maybe your job makes it more difficult to escape the reality of financial hardship that has faced many over the past year and a half... But this could be seen as a strength rather than a weakness.

Accountants are often stereotyped as dull number people, which is possibly why the movie, The Accountant, put a criminal spin on its protagonist. But you don't need to be a martial arts-trained Ben Affleck to have that pizazz. Accountants don't escape from reality but dive right into it - right into the numbers that make up what businesses do. They confront what's really happening in the real world, be that fraud or just everyday business operations.

Either way, accountants piece together what really happened behind the scenes of a business and find a way for a more logical, balanced approach in the future. As Xero South Africa's blog says: "So what does an accountant do? Really, it’s whatever you need. Because if they can’t solve your business problem themselves, they’ll know who can." The accountant confronts problems directly in the real world. She's had to deal with the issues businesses face from lack of funds to falling profits, uncovering the roots of everyday problems.

In reality, the detective stories of the everyday aren't as sexy and exciting as those you read about in the latest Stieg Larsson book either. And it's the real-life detectives who have to deal with all the dirty work and finding true equilibrium. But hey, don't let this stop you from diving into a crime thriller every now and then. Or pretending that you're Bosch when you come across anomalies in clients' accounts.

What do you think? Are crime fiction and accounting that different? Have I just been reading too many Jo Nesbo books?