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Let’s be honest. Like many writers, I pinch bits from several other
genres when writing my books – a bit of action, ‘what if’ and romance here, a
bit of mystery, history and crime there – but they are essentially thrillers.
But what is a genre? More precisely, what’s the difference
between crime, mystery, action and thrillers? And what do we, as readers, get
from each of them?
Action stories feature a
lot of movement-heavy, exciting scenes including but not limited to fights,
shoot-outs, car chases, foot chases, explosions, fast flying helicopters – you
name it. Sometimes they feature one character, but more often an ensemble each
with different tasks and expertise. Often, these stories and films have a
straightforward plot, but sometimes huge plot holes and lack of continuity. The
fun is in the fast and furious pace and in films, heart-stopping CGI sequences
such as in Mission Impossible.
Adventure stories centre on an exciting mission/quest and often have an
old-fashioned tone as in H. Rider Haggard’s classic stories, or those by John
Buchan, Ian Fleming and Eric Ambler, or an epic one as in space opera such
as the Vatta’s War series by Elizabeth Moon. Exotic settings,
puzzles/riddles/challenges that may or may not be physical, plus a supporting
team of trusty locals, comrades, experts and ‘elder statesperson’/guru are all
in the mix. The good guys usually win, although there may be bitter loss or
sacrifice along the way.
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| heroines... |
Action-adventure is a hybrid in which both action scenes and puzzling challenges are combined. Raiders of the Lost Ark is a good example of an action-adventure film since it contains both strong physical action scenes as well as a defined quest. Raiders includes fights, stunts and shootouts along with period settings, travel, historical puzzles and death-defying challenges.
Suspense stories have danger but not necessarily action. Much of the
danger and tension come from the unknown or apprehension of potential danger.
The protagonist acts in a state of excitement, misplaced hope, anxiety and/or
uncertainty about what is about to happen. Readers often know something
the characters don’t and hold their breath as the characters’ dread increases.
Should a vulnerable, young character venture upstairs to find out what’s making
those noises in the attic? We know they shouldn’t and we have a pretty good
idea why they shouldn’t. We may possibly know EXACTLY what’s waiting for
them up there…
Mysteries have a puzzle or sometimes a seemingly impossible
quandary to understand or explain. Often relating to a crime like murder, they include
family secrets or a cover-up, plus a sleuth to dig out the truth. The solution
is revealed only at the end. Agatha Christie was the past mistress of this.
Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett mixed mystery and suspense. This mystery
genre is considered one of the most cerebral (and least violent) of the
crime/mystery/thriller genres.
Crime stories cover a raft of types from police procedurals to
almost full-blown thrillers, passing through cozy, psychological and historical
crime genres and tinged with elements from other categories in this post. Essentially,
the central characters are involved in an act against the law, either as investigator
or perpetrator.
Thriller stories are more
nuanced than action stories and build more on tension and complexity of plot.
Traditionally, the plot appears more important than the characters, but the
best thriller writers develop both equally fully. Often, something bad happens
to the protagonist externally, e.g. they are mistaken for a criminal,
kidnapped, attacked by ‘persons unknown’ or are betrayed by the authorities or
seeming colleagues – anything to ramp up the tension. Equally often, the only
solution is for the protagonist to act alone at great personal risk or in
certain danger. Internal conflict, illness and psychological pressure and
self-doubt add to the tension.
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| classics |
Legal thrillers: Anything by John
Grisham who has made the sub-genre his own.
Intellectual or pseudo-intellectual thrillers: The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown is a prime example. Using a professor
as protagonist gives an air of credibility and attracts readers by delving into
a mystery most people would love to know about, and moves very fast.
Epic/high-concept thrillers: These deal with terrorism, trained assassins or
space opera. A ‘pull out all the stops’, ‘save the world’ genre. Tom Clancy’s Executive Orders would be a good example of this.
Socio-political thrillers: Frederic Forsyth’s The Day of the Jackal is one of my favourites!
Espionage thrillers: Le Carré is, of course, the master here with The Spy Who Came in From the Cold as an excellent place to start. Mick Herron is another terrific spy story writer, with anarchic insight into his cynical protagonist Jackson Lamb and team of competent incompetents of Slow Horses.
Techno-thrillers: Tom
Clancy’s The Hunt for Red October and Clear and
Present Danger. Both are fast-paced and with sympathetic and complex main
characters.
Historical: My favourite is Lindsey Davis’s Roman detective Falco and the spin-off series featuring Flavia Albia. Ellis Peters’ 12th century Brother Cadfael series is a a well-loved classic.
What ifs: Fatherland by Robert Harris remains my favourite alternative history story as it combines a thrilling manhunt by a disillusioned cop and a shocking revelation. Oh, yes, and there’s the Roma Nova series of thrillers with stories set in a Roman society in the 20th and 21st centuries full of betrayal, rebellion and ‘tough gals’… 😉
And even writing a new contemporary series, I couldn’t leave thrillers alone…
My protagonist, Mel/Mélisende, a Franco-British ex-special forces solder, has to deal with a dead body on page one. Then there’s a grumpy British cop, McCracken who wants to pin the murder on her, but both soon realise the real game has only just begun...
The key to a successful mystery or thriller?
Successful mysteries and mystery series are those which have investigators who readers root for. While not all cops are hopeless alcoholics and many have happy home lives, they should not be perfect. Without an engaging central character to care about, we’re unlikely to care and, however intriguing the plot, we may not read on. But if we do care about the main character, however irritating they may be, we’ll want them to succeed. And we’re likely to want to know what happens to them in the next book. And the next…
Alison’s books on Amazon:
https://Author.to/AlisonMortonAmazon
Where to find Alison…
Alison’s world of thrillers website and blog:
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Who is Alison?
Alison writes award-winning thrillers featuring tough but compassionate heroines. Her eleven-book Roma Nova series is set in an imaginary European country where a remnant of the Roman Empire has survived into the 21st century and is ruled by women who face conspiracy, revolution and heartache but use a sharp line in dialogue.
She blends her fascination for Ancient Rome with six years’ military service and a life of reading crime, historical and thriller fiction. On the way, she collected a BA in modern languages and an MA in history.
Alison lives in Poitou in France, the home of Mélisende, the heroine of her two contemporary thrillers, Double Identity and Double Pursuit. She is writing a third ‘Double’ adventure.
You might also like
books written by Helen Hollick
Website: https://helenhollick.net/
Amazon Author Page: https://viewauthor.at/HelenHollick
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| https://mybook.to/AMemoryOfMurder |
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The Jan Christopher Cosy Mysteries set in the 1970s |
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| Coffee Pot Book Club Bronze Award2022 |
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| The story of the events that led to The Battle of Hastings in 1066 Harold the King (UK edition) I Am The Chosen King (US edition) 1066 Turned Upside Down an anthology of 'What If'' tales |
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| The Forever Queen (US edition) a USA TODAY BESTSELLER A Hollow Crown (UK edition) |
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THE PENDRAGON's BANNER TRILOGY |
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| US editions |
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Historical Stories of Exile by 13 popular authors Cryssa Bazos, Anna Belfrage, Elizabeth Chadwick, Cathie Dunn, J.G. Harlond, Helen Hollick, Loretta Livingstone, Amy Maroney Alison Morton, Charlene Newcomb, Elizabeth St.John, Marian L Thorpe, Annie Whitehead. With an introduction by Deborah Swift |
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| Amazon: FREE ebook! |
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