I found this:
People In Medieval Art Who’re Getting Murdered But Just Don’t Give a Damn
Do you sometimes feel, when reading a murder mystery, that this is how the victim has been portrayed?
Sometimes it feels as if the victim has been inserted as a prop, to make the story happen for other people. Especially in the Golden Age detective fiction.
In Clouds of Witness, by Dorothy Sayers, the Duke of Denver discovers a body by touching it with a foot in the dark.
“Well, I was so shocked and surprised at the whole thing. I think I said to (Lady Mary Wimsey), ‘Don’t look,’ and she said, ‘Oh, it’s Denis! Whatever can have happened?” (Dorothy Sayers, 1926, p4)
This is also how victims tend to be treated in some of today’s cosies.
I think it’s important to see a murder victim as fully rounded humans who were once alive.
Let us not forget how absolute and monstrous murder is.
“Murder is an act of infinite cruelty.” Raymond Chandler
For that reason I try to allow my readers to meet the victim at least once before they are found dead.
Images found on: https://www.sadanduseless.com/happy-killing/
JOANNA BAKER 