Three reasons why we love suspense



Why We Love Suspense

Chances are you are reading this because you love a good suspense novel.

Do you ever wonder why you love reading suspense? Is it the surprising twists, the intellectual challenge of figuring out what’s really going on or is it the comfort of being thrilled and/or afraid while knowing, on a deeper level, that you are completely safe?

For me it’s all of those.

Ever wonder why we escape into suspense fiction when we would not voluntarily put ourselves in real danger? Here are three reasons why.

Twists and Suspense

Twists are great, aren’t they? That moment when something happens that makes you question what you thought you knew. Of course, it can’t be so far out of the story world or character behaviour that you go ‘What the…?’ You want to go ‘Oh my God!’ or at least turn the pages faster to find out what happens or how you could have missed that amazing twist, probably also wondering what else is coming up.

Reader OMG moments

My best ever Oh My God moment (at least in recent memory) was reading Claire Mackintosh’s I Let You Go. If that title seems familiar to you, it may be because I mentioned how much I loved this book in one of my earlier blog posts and on my Facebook page. Perhaps you’ve already read it.

Everyone raved about this book. Raved! Naturally, I had to see what all the fuss was about, and I figured if it was that good I might learn a thing or two.

Did I? You bet.

I won’t give it away because the twist is incredible. Worth the wait. Up until it happens, however, it reads like the run-of-the-mill police procedural and I almost abandoned the novel. Nothing against police procedurals. I just prefer watching them to reading them. Yet what Claire Mackintosh does with her twist was a revelation to me as a reader and as a writer.

Writer OMG opportunities

Why am I telling you this?

Because when I saw the opportunity to add another OMG twist to Bad Things Happen, I took it. Even though it was just about ready for the publisher. Even though my editor said it was fine as it was.

In last year’s reader survey The Twist was the most picked reason why you loved reading suspense, and as I am determined to always deliver you my best book possible–with OMG twists–I couldn’t resist adding another layer to ‘what was really going on’.

Which leads neatly into the second reason you may love suspense.

The Suspense of What’s Really Going On?

Why is ‘What’s really going on’ important to suspense? First and foremost, it keeps us guessing. It keeps us questioning and challenging what we understand about the characters and the word in which they live.

What is psychological suspense?

Earlier in the year I included an article in which I summarised of the five essential elements of Psychological Suspense–or Grip Lit, which was the term being bandied around at the time. You’ve probably also seen the term Domestic Noir, which for now seems to have replaced Psychological Thriller or Psychological Suspense among the publishing world (although you’ll struggle to find that keyword phrase in Amazon).

Key elements

If you missed the article or just want a refresher, you can read it here.

The cliff-notes version is:
• The protagonist is female: She’s flawed, often isolated by circumstance or choice, and is forced to discover her strength to fight back, sometimes against the unknown. She is most often alone, mistrusted, and/or has a history that makes her unreliable.
• Point of view is often first person or very close third person. We are either in her head or sitting on her shoulder. Emotions are paramount.
• Settings and characters are usually highly relatable. The ordinary is rendered extra-ordinary by the nature of the disturbance. Settings are often domestic. Characters have jobs, desires and fears that we readers understand.
• Does not feature graphic violence. Violence and danger are a key part of the story but rarely is there a voyeuristic display of blood, gore or torture.
• Utilises a complex psychological landscape. Tension comes from the question: what’s really going on? Can you trust the narrator? It contains twist after twist, and misdirection is a key suspense device.
For me, it’s the use of this psychological landscape–the ‘what the hell is going on?’ aspect–that defines the genre.

Suspense and the Thrill of Vicarious Fear

There is no better feeling, in my humble opinion, than reading a book that gets your heart pumping and has you on the edge of your seat. You can’t read fast enough. Sometimes you might find the anticipation is too much and you can’t keep going.

If our lives are already stressful enough, why do we seek out these feelings in our leisure time?

Reading is all about escape, don’t you think? Yes, it’s entertaining, but so are many things. For me the joy of reading is falling into another world, another life, perhaps even another time. It is pure escapism. And yet I most often like to escape into a world that keeps me on the edge of my seat.

Do you question this too? It has always intrigued me, and now that I’m writing books to appeal to readers like us–we lovers of suspense–I figured it was time I looked a little deeper.

Comfort and Control

It turns out that our love of that vicarious thrill we get through reading is about comfort and control.

We are quickly able to recognise what is and what isn’t a real threat. When we know it can’t hurt us we feel in control.

Our ‘thinking’ brain tells our emotional responses that we are in a safe place and so our fear shifts to excitement.

When we feel impervious to the danger happening ‘out there’, it heightens our comfort with that situation. Think about our delight when we are tucked up safe inside when the wind and rain howl or the elation when realising that fin in the water nearby belongs to a dolphin not a shark. (Note to self: don’t go kayaking at dusk!)

It’s the same when we read about a character in jeopardy. We are invested enough to care, but we know the danger isn’t real, it’s not happening to us or to anyone we know. This sense of safety is why journalists always tell a disaster story from the point of view of one or two victims. It humanises it and bring it closer to our door; it builds empathy. As Charlotte learns in Bad Things Happen

“The death of one man is a tragedy. The death of millions is a statistic.” –Joseph Stalin

Another reason vicarious danger appeals to us so thoroughly is because in life there are things outside of our control. We know we cannot be safe at all times, so we seek to find situations in which we feel safe—like reading about suspenseful, thrilling or dangerous situations happening to fictional characters.

Personally, in times of high stress, especially when I feel that things are outside of my control–like my mother’s recent health battles and her need for my assistance while deadlines loom–I most often want to escape into an engrossing suspense.

Does this explanation ring true for you? Or do you get something else from reading suspense? I’d love to hear your thoughts.


If you enjoyed this article, why not join my suspense community? I share with you my favourite books, latest news and reviews, and each newsletter includes an article about writing, reading or the inspiration behind one of my novels. And as a community member you get this before anyone else. You can also grab a free eBook anthology of short stories by yours truly!

Join my suspense community and download your free copy of Strange Shorts: Ten tales of love, death and a relationships

Ten gripping tales of love and relationships. Includes tasters of each of my novels.

 YES! SEND ME MY FREE BOOK


Rowena Holloway Suspense Author

About Me

Rowena Holloway Suspense Author

I consider myself a reformed academic who discovered fiction writing was preferable to the real world. My love of suspense fiction is thoroughly indulged through writing novels and short stories about Fractured Families and Killer Secrets. My novels have been nominated for the Ned Kelly Award and semi-finaled in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award, and my short stories have been included in several anthologies including the Anthology of Award Winning Australian Writing. I also review my favourite books, interview fellow writers, and blog about books and writing.

  • the links to various sites in this article are purely for your convenience. I do am not affilliated with any businesses and do not generate income when you click a link.
https://www.facebook.com/rowenahollowayauthor/
https://www.instagram.com/rowenawrites/

Read more here

2 Comments on “Three reasons why we love suspense

  1. That’s an interesting point that people read to escape from the ordinary world. Having suspense in a book make you feel like you are in a more exciting world. It helps you feel the excitement without actually putting your self in danger.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *