Plotting and Writing Suspense Fiction by Patricia Highsmith

 Recommended by thriller author Rick Mofina during a Crime Writers of Canada presentation, I jumped at the chance to better my own craft as thriller writer and found a bunch of excellent suggestions by this award-winning author. From developing, plotting and revisions, the author speaks of her own experiences in the publishing world and her work with multiple editors and publishers. This is real world experience which makes it so rewarding.

Much thanks to @RickMofina, and @crimewriterscan for the presentation and the recommendation.

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

 Alicia, a prominent painter is found with the body of her husband, the gun still smoking. In her defense, she says nothing. The courts believe she has lost her mind and she is sentenced to a forensic unit to live forever in silence.

Enter, Theo Faber. A criminal psychotherapist who feels he can help Alicia find her voice. Confident and young, he hides his own demons well. The two will begin a journey to find out what happened that fateful night.

The story began slower than I liked, but the writing was memorizing. It pulls the reader deeper and deeper into both Theo’s and Alicia’s story. The climax comes from so far left field, that it is mind numbing. A tremendous story. I had heard that the novel was one of the best in its genre and I was happy to find that the rumors were right.

Nina by Michael C. Kelly

 This must be the first story to come out of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. When a Russian soldier is captured, his jailer contacts his mother and tells her that the only way they will release her son is if she makes her way to the Ukraine and picks him up. Having lost her husband to the fighting in Syria, Nina drops everything and begins a desperate trip through war-torn Ukraine to save her son.

The story is a testament to the love of a mother for her child, while also emphasizing that neither side in the conflict wanted anything to do with the fighting. They are all being forced into the insanity of war by a fanatical dictator bent on world domination. The story is exciting, harrowing, and humorous at times as it shows how similar the two fighting peoples are to each other. There can be no winners in this conflict.

This is a story to be cherished.

The Madness of Crowds by Louise Penny

 After reading and enjoying Penny’s collaboration with Hillary Clinton, I was anxious to try out her solo stories. The writing is flawless and the attention to detail is brilliant.

Chief Inspector Armand Gamache is given an assignment to oversee a lecture concerning controversial scientist that offers a severe solution to the troubles Canada faced during the pandemic. Against all his warnings the lecture is held and an attempt on the scientist’s life happens. But there is much more going on behind the scenes than is first revealed.

This is a real who-done-it and we are unsure who the real killer is until the last few pages. There are many twists and turns in this police procedural and those who love suspense will adore Gamache and his team as they pick through the evidence.

The Bone Code by Kathy Reichs Temperance Brennan #20

 Temperance Brennan is a forensic anthropologist. While examining a pair of corpses that have obviously been murdered and washed up in a medical shipping container, she remembers a similar case she had worked on fifteen years earlier. With the help of her lover, Ryan, a former police detective and a rough homicide detective she searches for clues as to how the two cases can be related. What she finds puts her life in danger, as the killer is desperate to silence her.  

This is my first story by Reichs. I found that the story was slow to start, but it heated up as the plot moved forward. I would definitely watch for her other novels.