Suspense

What is the Suspense Genre?

Suspense is the feeling that something bad is going to happen. In fiction, it's the slow growth of uneasiness that the reader feels over the outcome of the book and the fate of the main character. Many times in suspense, the reader is aware of things that the character is not, which allows the reader to feel anxiety over something happening in the future.

Suspense could be categorized as it's own genre rather than a simple subgenre of Mystery. Suspense is often categorized along with Thrillers, but there are differences. Either way, you'll often find Mytery, Suspence, and Thrillers in the same asile of the book store and all three genres often include elements of each other.

Suspense Characteristics

Level of Characterization

The characters can be full realized or cardboard. Characters must be likable though as no one particularly cares if the unliked main character dies or not..

Level of Plot

Suspense is a function of plot, since suspense is all about the conflict in the story. Will the main character get what he/she wants, or will the character fall short of the desired outcome?

Level of Mystery

The novel may have some mystery which needs to be solved, but the mystery may end early or may be revealed to the reader early on.

Level of Suspense

well, of course!

Level of Thriller

There may be some thriller elements in the book, such as the villain or the stakes for the outcome.

Level of Strangeness

Probably not as much as other subgenres. Part of suspense is relating to the danger at hand. So the fear has to be something recognizable.

Level of Violence

Violence may be a part of the suspense, especially if death is a possible outcome for the main character.

Level of Action

The action runs high in a suspense novel. There has to be palatable acts that threaten the main characters for the suspense to be held.

Degree of Thriller, Suspense, Crime, or Mystery in the Suspense Subgenre

This definitely falls squarely under the suspense category. There may be thriller type elements in the use of the antagonist or the stakes if the characters fail. The book is unlikely to be crime fiction, though the book may be a mystery if there is a strong element of whodunit with the suspense in the book.

Related MYSTERY Subgenres

Thrillers.

Suspense isn't for you IF...

“ like series characters (since the reader will know that the protagonist lives through each adventure)

Popular Suspense Books

1. And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie. One by one, people on an island are dying off, but who is killing them and why?
2. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn. The story of a bad marriage and the disappearance that follows.
3. The Spy Who Came in from the Cold by John LeCarre. A Cold War spy novel where the stakes slowly grow as the entire espionage department is suspected of being a mole.
4. A Dark Adapted Eye by Barbara Vine. A family custody battle goes horribly awry.
5. The Black Echo by Michael Connelly. Bosch has to solve the murder of a fellow Vietnam Vet.
6. Killing Floor by Lee Child. The debut novel by Child introduces Jack Reacher who travels the country righting wrongs.
7. Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane. The happenings at a mental institution slowly build until the reader doubts everyone.
8. Strangers on a Train by Patricia Highsmith. Two men joke about committing a murder for the other, but one of them takes it seriously.
9. The Postman Always Rings Twice by James M. Cain. The noir master writes about a young hot wife and the man she finds to help her kill her husband.
10. The Fiend by Margaret Millar. The story of two girls and a possible molester.