by Cole Salao | May 16, 2022 | Book Recommendations, Thriller Tropes
An eternally inebriated detective still wearing his clothes from the day before. A messy office full of cheap furniture and loose files. A mysterious client with a suspiciously easy case. These are the typical images of a hardboiled detective story. Hardboiled...
by Cole Salao | May 9, 2022 | Thriller Tropes
You know how it goes: you’ve been riveted by a movie or TV episode for the past hour, enjoying scene after action-packed scene. The hero and villain finally come face to face, weapons ready. But just as they leap toward each other’s throats, the screen...
by Cole Salao | Apr 25, 2022 | Book Recommendations
How many times have you imagined punching someone because of an insult? How about conning your way into a life of luxury? We all have dark urges, but most of us recognize that they’re bad and rarely act on them. Then there are those who don’t recognize...
by Cole Salao | Mar 28, 2022 | Book Recommendations
What’s greater than a thrilling mystery? Why, a thrilling supernatural mystery, of course! Ordinary thrillers are heart-pounding enough—but throw in some ghosts, curses, and demons, and you create a story that drags you deep into its refreshingly strange and...
by Cole Salao | Mar 16, 2022 | Book Recommendations
If you’re an avid fan of thriller fiction, chances are you devour books like a kid devours candy. You only need to get hooked once and you suddenly find yourself constantly yearning for stories that are intense, suspenseful, and mysterious. And the more books...
by Cole Salao | Mar 9, 2022 | Book Recommendations
The literary market has been saturated with psychological thrillers following the success of books like Gone Girl (2012) and The Girl on the Train (2015). Despite the flood of similar titles, Alex Michaelides’s The Silent Patient (2019) stands out as one of the...
by Cole Salao | Feb 2, 2022 | Thriller Genres
When you think of detectives in fiction, you might immediately think of Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot, or C. Auguste Dupin. These gentlemen occupy much of crime fiction’s real estate, even years after their peak popularity. But while they are the originals who...
by Cole Salao | Jan 29, 2022 | Film and TV, Thriller Tropes
It’s nearly impossible for a story not to be suggestive of its future scenes. It’s also inevitable that viewers will form an assumption based on the developments of the plot. Clever directors and writers take advantage of these expectations to shock their...
by Cole Salao | Jan 26, 2022 | Book Recommendations, Film and TV
The best thrillers always have compelling antagonists. The conflict they generate is an integral part of creating suspense in a story. But there are enemies, and then there are villains—the god-awful characters that either scare the hell out of you or make you...
by Cole Salao | Jan 22, 2022 | Thriller Tropes
Also known as a phantom thief, the gentleman thief is a popular stock character in fiction. Characterized by impeccable manners and style, they often use guile and charm to commit crimes, unlike common criminals who go straight to violence. Imagine James Bond going...
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