Riley Sager and Johanna Copeland set thrillers in suburbia

Todd Ritter, who writes under the pseudonym Riley Sager, dives into the thematic elements and settings that make thriller novels chilling page-turners that both entertain and unsettle readers.

Suburbs: A Setting of Contrasting Realities

Familiarity Breeds Terror

Suburbs and cul-de-sacs, usually associated with safety and tranquility, can transform into eerie landscapes in the hands of a skilled thriller writer. Ritter’s novel 'Middle of the Night' illustrates this concept, as it is set in a leafy New Jersey suburb where a boy vanishes during a sleepover. This incident disrupts the perceived security of the neighborhood, exposing the frightening possibilities that lurk beneath the surface of any community.

Ominous Mundanity

Ritter capitalizes on the power of mundane objects and incidents to evoke terror. In 'Middle of the Night,' common sightings like a baseball on a lawn or motion sensor lights suddenly activate become harbingers of dread. For instance, Ritter recalls an unsettling night where motion sensor lights were triggered sequentially down his own cul-de-sac—a phenomenon he jokingly attributed to a ghost but which nevertheless stirred his imagination.

Insularity and Claustrophobia in Suburbia

The setting of Ritter's Hitchcockian narrative—H ...

Authors often draw from their personal experiences to craft compelling thriller novels, exploring themes like domestic violence and utilizing settings that increase suspense, such as times before modern technology.

The author's personal experiences

Johanna Copeland introduces the character Stella in her book after experiencing a real incident in which her neighbor, who had been beaten by her husband, came to her for help. This event significantly influenced her writing.

Witnessing domestic abuse

Copeland was deeply upset when she helped her neighbor who had been a victim of domestic violence, only to later find out that some in the neighborhood doubted the woman's account due to her history with alcoholism. Despite knowing the abuse was real, as she had witnessed the evidence first-hand, Copeland spent an entire summer fueled by anger and frustration toward the victim-blaming she observed. This anger and frustration motivated her to explore these issues around domestic violence in her writing.

Setting a thriller novel in the 1980s

Andrew Limbong provides insight into Johanna Copeland’s debut novel, "Our Kind of Game," which moves between the p ...

Thriller novels are often known for their suspense and excitement, but they also have the capacity to delve into sobering realities such as violence against women. These narratives can serve as a means to examine the various forms and impacts of violence.

Thriller novels can examine the different forms of "small v" violence that women face

Johanna Copeland has pondered the subtler kinds of violence against women in society. She categorizes them as "small v" violence—acts where women are not believed or are interrupted, talked over, or disregarded. These seemingly insignificant acts contribute to a larger culture that views women as smaller and less important.

The author wanted to explore the connection between these "small v" violences and the more overt "capital V" violences

Copeland expresses a desire to explore the connections between "small v" violence and the overt "capital V" violence, such as domestic abuse, assault, and rape. Her insights underscore how these lesser aggressions can feed into and normalize a culture that minimizes women's experiences of violence or disbelief's them altogether.

The protagonist Stella's character is designed to subvert

In her novel, Copeland crafts the protagonist, Stella, to challenge and subvert the stereotype of the "perfect" suburban mom. Stella is imbued with layers of secrets and insecurities that serve to challenge the reader's assumptions, thereby ...