How to Write a Thrilling Thriller, Pt. I
A well-written suspense book is never boring. No matter whether it is a classic “whodunit,” a ‘ripped from the headlines’ narrative or a psychological thriller, creating a compelling storyline that slowly reveals hidden secrets can be tricky. This requires the author to hook the reader from the outset, while also stretching that tantalizing thread to nearly the conclusion of the manuscript. How does one begin? And do writers always know the twisty ending they are leading their audience to—or does it manifest as a creative revelation as the book is in progress?
I asked three authors—Jennifer Pearson, Rachel Peterson, and Dinesh Thiru—with new releases on the horizon to speak candidly about how they developed original tales that were suspense-filled enough to snag them book deals.
Jennifer Pearson is a former teacher and author who lives in the northeast of England with two energetic boys and her somewhat energetic husband. She’s the author of several middle grade novels, writing as Jenny Pearson, and has been short-listed for the Costa Children’s Book Award and the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize, and was the winner of the Lollies (Laugh Out Loud Book Awards). When she’s not writing, Jenny can either be found doing something sporty or binge-watching true crime documentaries while eating astounding quantities of cheese.
Rachel Peterson graduated from Miami University of Ohio with a degree in English and creative writing. Born and raised in Ohio, she started her career in advertising before spending nearly a decade in New York City as a marketing executive for technology companies. An avid traveler, Rachel now splits her time between Manhattan and the Midwest, where she lives with her husband, Ken, their dog, Olive, and horse, Hope.
Dinesh Thiru is a writer and stay-at-home dad currently living in Barcelona. He grew up in North Carolina, married his college sweetheart, and spent over a decade in San Francisco. Dinesh is half-Indian, half-white. He loves the ocean. He used to have other interests, but he swapped them for kids. Those kids are eight, five, and a dog. He is the author of Into the Sunken City and My Killer Family Reunion.
What was the original creative spark for the suspense-filled plot you crafted?
JP: I hope this doesn’t sound too dark, but it was the Eras tour! When Taylor rolled into the United Kingdom in the summer of 2024, I saw how huge the public response was, which got me thinking: What if one of these megastars—the kind who can fill stadiums and cause a nationwide friendship-bracelet shortage—suddenly ended up at the center of a crime scene? And from that, I came up with the plot of Drop Dead Famous in which an international pop star (Blair Baker) is murdered and her sister (Stevie) has to find the killer.
RP: The original creative spark for my debut novel Killing Sadie came from reflecting on my teenage experience growing up in Ohio (shoutout to my fellow Midwesterners!). I chose to explore how certain big moments or life events that impacted everyone I knew were somehow interpreted in a totally different way by every individual. It got me thinking about the idea of truth, identity, and the stories we tell ourselves.
Another recurring spark for me personally as a writer is the fun of falling in love with characters one moment, then absolutely loathing them the next. And when a shot goes off and the countdown clock starts, even the most seemingly innocent characters can sharpen their knives (which I just adore as a lens). There is certainly a nod to the experience of teenage relationships. However, pieces of inspiration were also pulled from what I loved as a younger reader. As an adult, Lucy Foley was my reintroduction to thrillers. Although these days, my ‘to-be-read’ pile is full of them.
For those of you working on a new thriller or mystery manuscript, my advice is to pay attention to characters you like the most …Are you protecting them at the expense of your biggest twists? This can sometimes be a blind spot. And I have to keep putting my favorite characters in the worst possible situations to understand them and push the story forward.
DT: The plot spark came from two legends in my family. The first is my Indian grandmother who was an unkillable matriarchal force. She lived to be 103 years old; was the last of 12 siblings; met Gandhi; and bossed everyone around from a single plastic chair in her living room. She could speak politics, religion, and physics all in the same breath. So she's the original inspiration behind Grand Mom in the book.
The second is my Indian great-grandfather (my grandmother's father) who was something like a billionaire in India in the mid-twentieth century. His business ventures involved lumber, gold, sugar, real estate, cinemas, banking, and more. Then he had a heart attack, changed his will at the last minute, and subsequently died from a second heart attack. Unbeknownst to the family, his new will left all the money to charity! There was a massive blow up, during which family members filed an injunction with the Indian high courts (I have the documents!), trying desperately to get the money back. They never did.
Personally, I think it's absurdly cool that he gave it all away. But at the time, people freaked. So the inheritance drama in my family is real (albeit going back generations). I channeled that and my own reunion experiences into this narrative.
Stay tuned for Part II next month! Pearson, Peterson, Thiru share tips related to character development, book marketing and MORE.
Check our Rachel’s upcoming summer creativity-mapping sampler, publishing sampler, and classes: Map Your Book and Publishing for Newbies!