New readers will sometimes ask me: If you could compare your books to those of another author, whom would it be? Do you write like Michael Connelly? Harlan Coben? David Baldacci?
Well, yes. And no. My novels revolve around police investigations, so to that extent, they're reminiscent of Connelly. The plots are filled with twists and turns that may remind readers of Coben. And there are pure thrills along the way, too, that you'd expect from a writer like Baldacci. Maybe that's why reviewers in publications like the Chicago Tribune and Library Journal point fans of those authors to my books. On the other hand, in the same way that those authors write very distinctive kinds of books themselves, you'll get a different experience reading mine.
I'm not a big fan of putting labels on books - mystery, thriller, police procedural, cozy, domestic thriller, etc., etc. - because I think each book should stand on its own, rather than be assigned to a formula that may or may not fit. But if you tied me down (please don't do that - I'm having flashbacks of Misery) and forced me to give my books a name, I'd call them "psychological suspense."
To me, that means building drama that arises out of the emotions and secrets of the characters. You won't find forensic minutiae a la Cornwell in my books, and you won't find intricacies of police procedure and department politics a la Connelly. Instead - through multiple perspectives - I try to paint a picture of the backgrounds and psychology of the characters, in a way that you understand what drew them across a terrible line. By the time you reach the final shocking conclusion, it should not only be the last piece in the puzzle, it should also feel like the right emotional resolution for the drama.
I don't want books where the heroes are all good and the villains are all bad. Every character in my novels operates in the same moral gray scale that we face in daily life, making the best choices we can based on our backgrounds, biases, prejudices, and beliefs. Sometimes we make the right choices, and sometimes we don't, and sometimes we're not sure which is which. That's true of my characters, too - including the detectives. Their goal is justice, but as in any complex situation, that's not always easy to achieve.
So when you open up IN THE DARK - or any of my novels - that's the world you'll enter. I hope you enjoy it. My goal is that the pace will drive you through the book at a rocket rate, because you have to find out what happens next. But I always tell readers that they should go back after they're done and read the book more slowly to pick up the nuances of the characters. That's what psychological suspense is all about.
Leave a comment