Saturday, July 25, 2026
Friday, July 17, 2026
Guest Post: A Suspense Story Isn't (necessarily) a Thriller by Ed Teja
For some time now, you have seen news of author Ed Teja’s publishing success in my “Thursday Treats” roundup of publishing news columns. Please welcome Mr. Teja to the blog today as he discusses his latest novel, Songs of Saigon, and category placement.
A suspense story
isn't (necessarily) a thriller by Ed
Teja
In writing my latest novel, SONGS OF SAIGON, I
wound up doing a strange thing, at least for a writer who wants to sell books
that wind up categorized as thrillers — I took out several action scenes.
Those scenes weren’t badly written; they provided excitement
and drama. But in terms of advancing the story, they failed the book. They had
to come out.
To be fair (to me, of
course), I had set out to write an espionage thriller. But as the characters
and situations evolved, I found myself drawn into the personal stakes facing
Cole Miller, my main character. A young Chinese-American OSS agent, after his
mentor is killed, he finds out he is working for a boss who hates both
espionage and half breeds. An odd situation for a spy, and given the cauldron
he has been dropped into, he either evolves or dies.
When my focused changed from the larger political landscape
to the story of this man, it meant the bulk of the action — the war, the
convoluted administration of the Vichy government running the colony for the
Japanese, the gun smuggling — all became the stage. The story does revolve
around a murder mystery, but while the murder and the political intrigue
provide tension and suspense, I saw that they weren’t the story. When the novel
asserted itself, my espionage thriller had morphed into a historical crime
suspense novel.
And it took me along for the ride.
Revisiting the action scenes and cutting some of them was
not an easy decision. The realization that they didn’t fit took a long time and
three drafts. In my defense, I am a discovery writer at the moment, and that is
one of the perils of declaring one’s freedom from outlines. But I came to see that
exciting action didn’t necessarily make the suspense story come alive. And
although the murder is rather central to things, solving the crime wasn’t
exactly the point either. Learning this made me confront. in a new way (for
me), some of the many distinctions between a suspense story and a thriller. One
of the biggest distinctions was pacing and tone. Atmosphere, if you will. A suspense
novel can be quieter; its conflicts are often as much internal as external. When
the stakes increase, taking action isn’t always the best solution.
But you knew that. I should have. As with so many epiphanies
I’ve had as a writer, no sooner did I sit back in my chair to stare at my
bookshelves and mutter: “aha,” than it settled down into a dull: “Duh, Captain
Obvious.”
That’s okay. Catching on, even belatedly, was incredibly
helpful, although it had me spending an inordinate amount of time contemplating
the lesson — thinking about the nature of suspense, what creates it, and how
the tension in a suspense novel can be different from the sword of Damocles that
hangs over a thriller novel.
That was productive, but it got me thinking about the damn
categories — those irritating labels the sales platforms use to “help” readers
find your (my) book. And here is where this goes off the rails.
My artist wife likes to point out that, fundamentally, such
issues are a word thing. But then all our writing headaches are word things and
seldom do I stumble into more word traps (with deadly punji sticks in the
bottom) than in the publishing industry’s godawful (to use the technical term) distinctions
(or lack thereof) between “suspense” and “thriller.”
Let’s start with suspense: As Lee Child so eloquently points
out, all stories have suspense in them, or you wouldn’t read them. Good one.
Yes, suspense keeps the story moving, and I can’t take issue with that at all.
In fact, he goes on to suggest inserting tension into the writing at the paragraph
and sentence level, which are other excellent thoughts.
The problem, to my mind, lies more in the use of the
omnivorous and ubiquitous term “thriller.” According to the wise heads at
Wikipedia, a thriller is a story that “generally keeps its audience on the
"edge of their seats" as the plot builds towards a climax.” Sort of
like suspense, you (and me, and Mr. Child) might say. The implication that
suspense stories are thrilling goes without saying. The problem is that our online
bookshelves lump them together.
I’d go so far as to argue that the publishing industry (I
include the platforms in this) conflates these two (quite different kinds of
stories) together to an incredible degree. For instance, while surrealism is
given its own BISAC code, mystery, thriller, and suspense stories share a
single category.
Of course, there are a few subcategories that let a clever reader
summon from the algorithm a list of cozy mysteries or even assassination
thrillers. Unfortunately, the suspense reader will have less luck doing that.
Searching on suspense leaves her confronting the task of digging through a less-than
homogenous pile of titles in an uber category called, unhelpfully, “thrillers
& suspense.”
A case in point: On its Amazon product page, Patricia
Highsmith’s THE TALENTED MR. RIPLEY is listed as: Books > Mystery, Thriller
& Suspense > Thrillers & Suspense > Crime
In all fairness, it is a crime novel. But a thriller? I
can’t see Mr. Ripley even concerning himself with global stakes or impending
doom. He’s a bit self centered for that.
And the bestseller list this book would fit into (thriller
& suspense, subgenre, crime) includes numerous books that are also listed
as “domestic thrillers,” “psychological fiction,” and “amateur sleuths.” (I
should add that delving deep into those narrower subcategories can lead the
unwary into other treacherous and equally murky miasmas.)
A quick interaction with Amazon’s online chatbot lying in
wait in the sidebar of the bestseller page assures me that the most popular
suspense crime fiction books are Lee Child’s Jack Reacher stories. Stories his
publisher calls thrillers.
All this suggests that, like so much jargon, the term
“thriller” might be a tad overused, a bit too ubiquitous, while its unwanted stepchild
“suspense” is simply misunderstood.
Of course, this essay has wandered into the dark forest that
is marketing. None of this should have anything to do with the writing, and
yet, in this age, it does. Those two intermix annoyingly. This isn’t even
restricted to abuse of us, the modern suspense writers, or even just books. If
you look at the listings for several of Hitchcock’s most famous suspense
stories, such as Vertigo or Rear Window, you will learn that, in today’s
jargon, the “master of suspense” produced thrillers.
There isn’t much one can do about this situation. It’s just
a frustrating reality confronting a writer who fancies writing suspense fiction.
Her suspense novel will inevitably enter an arena face a cohort of fiction that
is action oriented and plot driven.
From the cheap seats, the situation seems unavoidable. Using
“common sense” or even “English” (as in relying on dictionary definitions
rather than influencer-coined catchwords) to pick your book’s categories will
lead you straight off the nearest cliff. No, success lies in going with the
flow. Thus, after a lot of painful research to select the terms to feed the
platforms, I’m not thrilled by my choices. Honestly, Amazon and its ilk
sometimes ignore your input and substitute their own judgment, so even that can
be futile. For better or worse, my book is categorized as:
·
Literature & Fiction › Historical Fiction › World War II
·
Literature & Fiction › Historical Fiction › Thrillers
·
Mystery, Thriller & Suspense
› Thrillers & Suspense › Suspense
As I write this, the book is on preorder, leaving me waiting
to see if those word crumbs will lead the right readers to my book. I don’t
find that particular suspense all that thrilling.
Amazon Associate Purchase Link for Songs
of Saigon: https://amzn.to/3RlxyfA
Amazon Associate Purchase Link for the
Storefront Assassin series: https://amzn.to/4fcM6WR
Ed Teja ©2026
Ed Teja is a
full-time writer and part-time martial arts instructor. A member of The Short
Mystery Fiction Society, his recent publications include stories in Black Cat
Weekly, Punk Noir, Yellow Mama, Black Petals, Thrill Ride, Wyldeblood 13,
Anotherealm, Mystery Tribune, and several Crimeucopia anthologies. In addition
to writing suspense, he actually writes a thriller series: THE STOREFRONT
ASSASSIN STORIES. https://edtejaauthor.com/
Tuesday, June 30, 2026
Publication Day Review: Storm Tide: A Novel by Paul Doiron
In some sense what began in The Poacher’s Son
long ago is about to come full circle. As Storm
Tide: A Novel by Paul Doiron begins, Maine Game Warden Mike Bowditch,
who had a very problematic relationship with his own father, is about to be a
father. His wife, Stacey, is just a few weeks away from giving birth. The clock
is ticking on the arrival of their child in a world that has seen dad demoted
back to patrol and about to lose his career with the Maine Warden Service.
On this October night others have lost far more. The
roaring blaze in the shattered remains of the house means people have lost
their lives. Somehow, a baby made it out, and a nearby neighbor has the child.
Allegedly, the father brough the baby out and went back in for his wife. Bowditch
had made it to the scene fast after the call came out and tried the same feat.
The intense heat almost killed him as he entered and saw a man in flames collapsing
to the floor. Bowditch managed to pull the man out of the raging inferno, but
it was too late.
It is only in the aftermath with the arrival of Detective
Sergeant Delphine Cruz of the Maine State Police Major Crimes Unit that Bowditch
realizes something is up. Originally from Boston, she has made it to the scene
before the Arson Investigator. So too has her attitude as she doesn’t like
Maine or, as she sees it, what Bowditch represents. Through her, while
answering her questions, he learns this is the home of the Malloys.
Specifically, the home of the infamous Brian Malloy
who has been in the news for over a year due to his infidelity, a child out of
wedlock, and the disappearance of the child shortly after he was ordered to pay
child support. Many in the area searched for the missing child that has yet to
be found. The court of public opinion has found them both guilty as people
think dad took and killed the child and his wife lied for him. Their alibis had
proven unshakable. There is a lot of anger amongst the locals who believe the Malloys
got away with it all.
Now, both are thought to be dead in what is left of
their relatively new home. Bowditch is pretty sure that something is off about the
fire and the situation, in general, but he isn’t an investigator anymore, and
never has been one for arsons anyway. Nobody is going to listen to him on this.
Especially with his record and the fact that he is about to lose his job due to
his recent actions.
Then some really weird things start happening.
Somebody is once again toying with Bowditch. To mess with him is one thing.
But, now Stacy and the baby are at risk.
What follows is a complicated read full of twists,
turns, and links to the past. If Maine Game Warden Mike Bowdicth does not
figure it out fast, he and his family may not survive.
Storm Tide: A Novel
by Paul Doiron is the latest outing in a strong series best read in order. It finds
Bowditch contemplating faith, fatherhood, and family, while also trying to
prove that he isn’t just a conspiracy nutcase with a badge and gun. Sometimes
you aren’t paranoid if they really are trying to get you.
Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/3Mia20a
My digital ARC reading copy came by way of the publisher,
Minotaur Books, through NetGalley, in early November 2025, with no expectation of
a positive review.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2026
Saturday, June 13, 2026
Friday, June 12, 2026
Saturday, March 28, 2026
Saturday, March 14, 2026
Sunday, March 01, 2026
Saturday, February 21, 2026
Tuesday, February 03, 2026
Publication Day Review: Stolen in Death by J. D. Robb
It is September 2061 and Eve Dallas and Roarke
are attending a gala event to benefit a charity that assists victims of
domestic abuse. While Dallas thinks their mission is great and very worthwhile,
she isn’t a fan of getting all gussied up and trying to make small talk. But,
the night has gone well and she has had a lot of fun with friends and Roarke.
The night has not gone so well elsewhere
in the city that never sleeps. As a result, her night out gets cut short as there
has been a murder. Dispatch sends her to the legendary Barrister House. Until late
last year when the wealthy shipping magnate, Harry J. Barrister died, the home
had not seen a death. Now it has seen another death just a few months later.
The son who inherited the house and a lot more, Nathan Barrister, CEO of Zip Global,
is very much dead on the floor of his office.
The blood on the floor, as well as on
his head and in his hair, make it abundantly clear that this was no accident.
He was struck over the head very hard by some object. Probably the decorative
amethyst rock that the victim had on his desk. The same rock that still has his
blood and other material on it.
The murder might have something to do
with the vault that still hangs open for all to see inside. The vault that is still full of artwork, jewelry, and other fantastic treasures. Treasures that were
stolen at one point or another, according to Roarke, and they found their way
to this vault in NYC.
Of course, Roarke knows a thing or three
about liberating treasures from others. Some items, according to the meticulous
inventory, are missing from this vault. That includes a treasure Roarke lifted
long ago when he was a mere lad.
Once again, Roarke’s past is both a hinderance and a major help in solving the current case. Lieutenant Dallas is again dealing with the two headed coin of being involved with Roarke. On one side---solve, find, and arrest those responsible. That mission never changes. The flip side of the coin is to try and protect the man she loves from the long arm of the law should his past deeds come to light. There remain many in law enforcement that would like to take Roarke down.
Stolen in Death by J. D. Robb is the latest in the long running series and another solidly good read. This book, as well as the series as a whole, is primarily a police procedural with a hint of romance. Family, the one you have by blood, as well as the one you make by way of good friends that care, plays a role once again here in this fast-moving read. The chase is on for a killer and the read is a good one well worth your time.
For another perspective on the book, make sure you read Lesa Holstine’s review.
Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4mTNDTM
My ARC digital reading copy came from
the publisher, St. Martin’s Press, by way of NetGalley.
Sunday, January 25, 2026
Sunday, December 21, 2025
Sunday, November 30, 2025
Sunday, November 09, 2025
Saturday, October 04, 2025
Sunday, September 21, 2025
Tuesday, September 16, 2025
Review: Framed in Death by J. D. Robb
A frequent theme in the Eve Dallas series
is the wealthy parent, usually the mother, who overindulges every whim of their
offspring, usually a son, from early on, and in the here and now of the setting
of the read, is a serial killer. Sometimes mother explicitly knows and other times
she is an unwitting dupe. Said serial killer has a trust fund that pays out
monthly and/or yearly installments of large amounts which gives the killer the
freedom to stalk and kill the citizens of New York City. The person dabbles in
something, art perhaps, and is not very good at all. When rejected, the person
never takes it well that their creative gift, their vision as it were, is just
not good at all. Said killer begins to lash out, again and again, in murderous ways
designed to prove their own unappreciated greatness and to garner media attention.
Such is the case here in this latest installment of
this long running series, Framed in Death by J. D. Robb. It is
September 1961, and the body has been posed at the door of a basement apartment.
Thanks to an on-scene fingerprint scan by NYPSD Lieutenant Eve Dallas, she is
able to identify the victim as 22-year-old Leesa Culver who worked as a
licensed companion. The murdered woman is posed in such a way to resemble the painting,
Girl with a
Pearl Earring by Johannes Vermer. A painting that is in The Hague,
Netherlands.
She is the first of a string of art themed murders that
keep Dallas, Detective Delia Peabody, and the team working hard to stop. As
almost always happens, readers know the identity of the killer and much of the
why from early on in the read. Catching the killer, and how it is done, is a
major point of these reads—not figuring out the case as a reader.
As always, there is a major secondary storyline
involving Dallas, Roarke, and their friends who have given her the family and
support she never knew she needed. The Eve Dallas of this book has come a long
way from the woman she first was when she hit NYC and she knows it. She does appreciate
that fact even when there are moments that the friendships and the “marriage
rules” drive her nuts too.
Always entertaining, these books are fast police
procedurals with a small dose of romance. A very enjoyable series that I never would
have started if not for a push by Lesa Holstine. Thank you again, Lesa. And, by
all means, go read her review
for this book.
Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/48jUGkJ
Ignored by the famous author and the publisher, St.
Martin's Press, on NetGalley for nearly three months prior to publication day
earlier this month, I settled in to wait a long time for the Dallas Public
Library System to get it. While I was very far back in the print que, I
happened to catch the eBook listing within minutes of it going online at OverDrive/Libby
and grabbed the 3rd slot for their one eBook copy. That meant the
book came to me last week which was relatively quickly. Especially with the
ongoing budget cuts.
The next book in the series, Stolen in Death, is currently
scheduled for publication in February 2026.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2025
Saturday, September 13, 2025
Tuesday, September 09, 2025
Publication Day Review: Crime Writer by Vinnie Hanson
Any police officer will tell you there
is no such thing as a routine traffic stop. Things can go bad in a second. That
is exactly what happened to Officer Austin, and his ride along, Zoey Kozinski,
in the new novel, Crime Writer by Vinnie Hansen.
Zoey is a writer and in the police car
this September evening because she is working on her project. The novel is
pretty much stalled and she is hoping that the ride along might provide some real-world
inspirational details that will help get it going. Her agent certainly would
like to see some progress too.
It is the night shift for those on the
job in Playa Maria County in the central coast of California and the ride along
isn’t doing much at all for her. Officer Austin isn’t sharing much with her at
all despite her best efforts.
After several unremarkable situations,
Officer Austin decides to pull over a random car. It takes a considerable distance
for the driver to stop as the person seems oblivious to the lights and siren.
Once it does stop, the officer approaches the vehicle. Within seconds he is
dead on the roadway.
The shooter immediately speeds off and
then, within a couple of minutes, as Zoey tries to comprehend what she saw and
get help, comes back and passes the scene. There is no way the shooter did not
see her as the car came by. That means the shooter knows she is a witness.
A witness that needs to be eliminated.
A witness that the police believe is
actually the suspect.
A witness the devastated widow firmly believes
needlessly distracted her husband and father of their children and thereby got
him killed.
What follows is Zoey trying to come to
grips with what she saw and the aftermath of the tragedy. At the same time, she
has to deal with suspicious members of law enforcement who treat here as a
suspect as well as killer who is trying to find her and silence her. Things are
complicated in her life before the shooting. All that gets way worse afterwards
and gets even more complicated before long.
Don’t forget Mom. She is sure she knows
best on all things and Zoey isn’t having it.
Crime Writer by Vinnie Hansen
is an entertaining fast moving read. It starts with a compelling idea about an
officer killed during a ride along (a thankfully rare event) and builds out
from there in a myriad of ways. Zoey is smart, funny, emotional, and a fiery
redhead bundle of energy and contradictions.
It all makes Crime Writer
by Vinnie Hansen a solidly good read.
Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4n6abkC
My ARC digital reading copy came from
the publisher, NetGalley where I was already preapproved and with no expectation
of a review.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2025
Friday, August 08, 2025
FFB Review: Kill Devil Falls: A Novel Of Suspense by Brian Klingborg
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For U. S. Marshal Helen Morrissey, it was supposed
to be a fairly routine pickup and transfer of a prisoner from jail in the
Sierra Nevadas. But, the frigid weather has not helped matters and the locals
could not get the prisoner, Rita Crawford, where she was supposed to be for
pickup. Instead, per her boss at the
Sacramento office and a man who is probably paying her back for refusing to go
out with him and more, the locals can’t do it so Morrissey has to go to Kill
Devil Falls where Rita Crawford was arrested and pick her up there.
Rita and her still missing fugitive partner, Lee
Larimer, were notorious in recent weeks as they went about a robbery spree. A
spree that netted them quite a lot of money before the inevitable happened as
they were not the smartest criminals ever. Especially Lee. The cops got on
their trail and were closing in when Rita did the smart thing and left her
idiot partner behind. Then she made a dumb move and got caught in Kill Devil
Falls and is sitting in the local lockup awaiting pickup and transport.
Now, with Rita in Kill Devil Falls, a place that
does not exist on Google, instead of Donnersville where she was supposed to be,
Marshal Morrissey has a bit more diving to do on what has already been a nasty
day. A day that gets worse on the way as she suffers a tire blowout that was
nearly catastrophic. Lucky to have survived the trip to Kill Devil Falls, all
Morrissey wants to do is do the paperwork and get her and her prisoner out on
the road to Sacramento as fast as possible.
It soon becomes very clear that they are going
nowhere. Instead of a routine mission, Marshal Morrissey finds herself in a
decaying, and in more than one way, and deadly town. A town that is the scene
of a succession of events and deaths that become the basis for what really is
an open air locked room mystery.
Kill Devil Falls: A Novel Of Suspense by Brian
Klingborg was the subject of a recent review by author Kaye George on my blog.
Her review caused me to look for the book. Unfortunately, the book was not
carried in the Dallas Library system. It was available in Houston so I paid the
$3.00 fee and requested the read through the Interlibrary Loan System. As it
happened, it was available in large print which was even better for me.
Kill Devil Falls: A Novel of Suspense was well worth
the time, money, and effort. An intense read full of misdirection and action,
the story unravels at a rapid clip from start to finish. Kill Devil Falls: A
Novel of Suspense is mighty good and well worth your time.
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Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4oiIjex
My thanks to the good folks of the Harris County
Public Library down in Houston, Texas as well as the good people of the Dallas
Library System for working their magic and making this read available to me. It
was and is very much appreciated.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2018,2025
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