Psychological Suspense: Genre Characteristics
Posted on September 26, 2016
by April S
What Is Psychological Suspense?
Psychological Suspense is considered to be an Intellect Genre. Some works may also be cross-listed under Suspense, Thriller, Horror, Mystery and Psychological Fiction genres.
Characteristics of the Psychological Suspense Genre
- Tangled or elaborately constructed plots are very common with this genre, which is why it appeals to the human intellect.
- Storylines are layered with frequent twists, surprises and often unresolved endings.
- Measured pacing with mental activity driving the stories as opposed to the more intense physical action common in traditional Suspense novels.
- The tone is often chilling, edgy, disturbing, unsettling, moody, ominous and foreboding.
- The writing style is often compelling, elegant and stylistic in nature.
“These suspenseful reads focus on the devious depths of the human mind. Characters explore the cunning (often disordered) psychological motivations of others — and question their own emotional stability (Novelist).”
Psychological Suspense fans enjoy the complex storylines or “edge of your seat” quality inherent in this popular genre. The focus is on building tension and uneasiness, which prompts fans to continue reading or watching to find out – what’s going to happen next? “Readers of Psychological Suspense appreciate dark stories with dark undertones (The Readers’ Advisory Guide to Genre Fiction by Joyce Saricks).” Many popular authors have dabbled in this field. If you’re interested in exploring this fascinating genre, try the following …
- Atmospheric: The Girl Next Door by Ruth Rendell
- Compelling: Keeping Watch by Laurie R. King
- Creepy: The Cellar by Minette Walters
- Fast-paced: Jack of Spades: A Tale of Suspense by Joyce Carol Oates
- Gothic Fiction: The Keep by Jennifer Egan
- Haunting: The Loney by Andrew Michael Hurley
- Historical Fiction: A Dancer in the Dust by Thomas H. Cook
- Intricately Plotted: Ink and Bone by Lisa Unger
- Menacing: In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware
- Mystery: Crash & Burn by Lisa Gardner
- Psychological Fiction: The Deepest Water by Kate Wilhelm
- Psychological Horror: Bird Box by Josh Malerman
- Suspense Fiction: Blue Monday by Nicci French
- Thrillers: Life or Death by Michael Robotham
Recent Psychological Suspense Novels
All Things Cease to Appear by Elizabeth BrundageFormats Available: Print | Large Print | eBook | eAudiobook“A beautifully written treat. . . . as much a disturbing portrait of family and town life as it is a provocative mystery.” (Elle)Arriving home to find his wife murdered and their toddler left alone, art history professor George Clare is targeted with suspicion by a relentless police officer as dark community secrets are revealed over a span of decades. By the author of A Stranger Like You. |
Behind Closed Doors by B.A. ParisFormats Available: Print | Large Print | Audiobook | Pocket Audiobook | eBook | eAudiobook“Paris grabs the reader from the beginning with a powerful and electrifying tale. Behind Closed Doors, a novel sure to make one’s skin crawl, also reveals no one truly knows what does go on behind closed doors.”(New York Journal of Books)The perfect marriage? Or the perfect lie? Everyone knows a couple like Jack and Grace. He has looks and wealth, she has charm and elegance. You might not want to like them, but you do. You’d like to get to know Grace better. But it’s difficult, because you realize Jack and Grace are never apart. Some might call this true love. Others might ask why Grace never answers the phone. Or how she can never meet for coffee, even though she doesn’t work. How she can cook such elaborate meals but remain so slim. And why there are bars on one of the bedroom windows. |
I Let You Go by Clare MackintoshFormats Available: Print | Audiobook | eBook | eAudiobookA novel with “an astonishing intensity that drags you in and never—ever—lets you go.” (Daily Mail, UK)Devastated by a hit-and-run accident that has ended the life of her young son, Jenna moves to the remote Welsh coast to search for healing while two dedicated policemen try to get to the bottom of the case. |
I’m Thinking of Ending Things by Iain Reid Formats Available: Print | Audiobook | eBook “Iain Reid fuses suspense with philosophy, psychology, and horror in his unsettling first novel…Capped with an ending that will shock and chill, this twisty tale invites multiple readings.” (Publishers Weekly, starred review) A man and his girlfriend, on their way to a secluded farm, take an unexpected detour that leaves the woman stranded in a deserted high school, wondering if there is any escape from the twisted manifestations that are haunting her. |
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Not new, but worth checking out …
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The Poison Tree by Erin Kelly Formats Available: Print | Large Print | Audiobook | eBook “A terrific suspense debut, reminiscent of Du Maurier’s Rebecca. I wish I had written it.” — Stephen King Picking up Rex after a 10-year prison sentence for murder, Karen remembers the bohemian summer in 1990s London when their carefree romance and excesses became subject to a complicated family history and ended in violence. |
Psychological Suspense fans may also like these Suspense/Thriller Movies
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