This project, Understanding the Human Psyche: Criminal Consciousness and Pursuit of Justice in Long Shadows by David Baldacci and The Night She Disappeared by Lisa Jewell, explores the psychological dimensions of crime, trauma, and justice within contemporary crime fiction. The study examines how criminal behaviour is shaped not merely by external motives but by complex psychological patterns such as repression, coercive control, gaslighting, vengeance, and moral distortion. Through a qualitative textual and comparative analysis, the project investigates the fractured psyche of investigator Amos Decker, whose hyperthymia binds him to perpetual trauma, and contrasts it with Tallulah’s experience of psychological abuse, manipulation, and enforced silence. While Long Shadows foregrounds institutional crime, moral ambiguity, and the tension between legal and emotional justice, The Night She Disappeared emphasizes domestic abuse, victimhood, female solidarity, and restorative healing. Drawing upon psychoanalytic theory (Freud), Jungian archetypes, trauma studies, and criminological perspectives, the project argues that justice in psychological crime fiction operates beyond courtroom verdicts. It becomes a deeply personal and emotional reckoning—where truth, memory, and narrative reconstruction function as mechanisms of healing. Ultimately, the study demonstrates that crime fiction serves as a mirror to human consciousness, revealing how trauma reshapes identity and how the pursuit of justice becomes both a legal and psychological necessity.
Nag et al. (Thu,) studied this question.