Great Reasons To Try a Thriller

Recently one of my neighbors told me he would never waste his time reading a thriller. I couldn’t decide how much to throw back at him. Did you forget I write thrillers? Worse, do you actually remember, and you made that comment anyway?

People have their reasons for avoiding thrillers: “I only read biographies,” or “I only read nonfiction.” A photographer friend offhandedly said to me, “Do people still read books?” Sometimes, I listen or chuckle, maybe shrug a little. Why get myself worked up? If the person seems receptive, though, I’ll suggest today’s a good day to try a thriller. No matter what, I’m always thinking what Mrs. B, the lady next door, used to say: You don’t know what’s good!

I love thrillers for many reasons. They’re “plot-driven,” as opposed to “character-driven,” and that’s the way I like it. Of course, the background and motivation of characters are critical elements in any good story—you need great characters! But for me, when the primary driver of a book is the plot, that is, the events, the things that are happening, then I am more easily drawn in. I confess that I get impatient, when character development alone is the focus for too long.

Perhaps the best reason to love thrillers is that they’re multidimensional puzzles. They keep you guessing in all kinds of ways beyond what actually happened—who knows what, when did they learn it, whom did they tell, who’s keeping secrets, who’s lying, who’s deluded, and so on. All the pieces won’t fall into place until the end, and it’s a game to see if you can figure it out. You’d be surprised how often you realize something was right in front of your face, but you didn’t see it. How could you have missed it? How were you misled? Where did you have wrong expectations or make bad assumptions? It’s like practice for life, without consequences.

Because thrillers have a playful—sometimes cartoonish—element, they allow you to grapple with some of the heaviest things in life. They are meant to entertain, but thrillers also have complex themes and raise philosophical questions. A race against the clock that ultimately prevents a disaster can help you consider tragic events (wars, crimes, attacks) without forcing you to get too real, so you can process terrible things without falling completely into despair.

Thrillers come in many different flavors, meaning there’s pretty much something for everyone. The Book Industry Study Group, which categorizes books into standard subject headings in the US, has broken down thrillers into 14 “BISAC” categories (Christian, crime, domestic, espionage, historical, legal, medical, military, political, psychological, romance, supernatural, technological, and terrorism). But those are not the only ones. For example, I would add “journalism thriller” to that list. I’d also call for “environmental thriller.”  

If you need to get your mind off things or pass the time, such as on a plane or in a doctor’s office, thrillers can do the job. A bonus is that the high stakes encourage you to keep reading faster and faster, which builds muscle for more demanding texts. Mostly, I think you’ll find they are a lot of fun.