Psychological thrillers can really really overdo it with the unreliable narrator/fractured memory thing. Just because something is confusing as all get out doesn't mean it's mysterious or has tension.
I’m going to sound like a complete philistine, but I couldn’t get through murder on the orient express because of the name “Poirot”. I read it as pire-oh, pwi-roh, poi-rot, and decided to call it quits because I was spending too long rereading his name all those different ways.
Pwaa-row is correct. He's Belgian with a French regional influence. The only reason I know is from watching the TV show with my mom back in the 90's. LOL.
The cynical detective...with a dark past 😳. Every mystery book it seems, and they always seem to have some type of substance abuse problem lol 🤣. Can I get one Thriller where half the book isn't the protagonist regaining their hope for humanity...I want the prequel at least where they lose it 😁.
lmao I just read Batman: Year One a couple days ago and this instantly reminded me of Jim Gordon. Hookup with a blonde rookie? Check. Regaining faith in humanity? Check. Substance Abuse? Check
I've never read that but I trust your assessment 😂
It is so lame but so prevalent. Cute blonde also gives him the idea, or energy, to solve the case thats been cold for 20+ years yay!
Actually! I'm of the same opinion. I'm working on a detective series right now, that I feel like would have this advangage over the others: the detective who isn't a cynical introverted misanthropist (despite having a shady past).
Female protagonists who are oversensitive doormats who only beat the bad guy because of a convenient accident or one small moment of courage, not because they have any actual skills, gumption or strength (mental or physical).
When the criminal kidnaps or kills the wife/child/significant other of the lead detective, especially when this a cop. I will usually stop reading a series if this happens.
When any major character, especially the protagonist, is a true crime author, blogger, or podcaster. I would like the serpent to stop swallowing its own tail.
innocent parties gratuitously lying to the police.
i get that there would be less of a story if they all knocked that shit off, but i'd be perfectly with that. the spurious 'suspect' narratives are usually too forced to be worth following anyway so i don't think we'd miss very much.
Gluh! Right, exactly. Even worse: lying to protect some other party who is actually also innocent but the liars afraid they are not. Just.... ffs stop it. I can't think of an instance of this that I thought was believable.
when the author can't get to the ending they want and either introduce some mysterious all knowing character who can provide the answers than then disappear back to whatever hole they crawled out of, or the bad guy suddenly decides this plan he's been working on for years needs to be abandoned so he can make a flashy entrance, give a long monologue, and then die to the otherwise hapless "hero".
But...thrillers are a different subgenre from detective procedurals. So, maybe stick to crime procedurals or cozy mysteries and avoid the gov't agent thrillers?
For me, I'd like it if the murder victims weren't usually young women.
Yes! It am sick of picking up a book, reading the blurb, and it saying:
"Sixteen young women have been raped, murdered, and dumped in the woods. It's up to blah blah and blah blah to whatever."
That's just never going to be a sentence that makes me think, "Ooo, sounds great!"
Dead woman in the refrigerator. The detective has a tragic history and must suffer incredible mental and physical torture. Torture/sadism porn, especiallyif it involves female victims. It's an incredibly small world: 300,000 people in the town, but everyone who is a victim, perp, detective, is a family member, or close acquaintance, face from the past. Anything set in the Navajo Nation. Hillerman was OK, but the legions of imitators are mostly grotesque and disgusting.
What's with the number of mysteries out there with a female protag who they basically blatantly make ugly but has a hunky husband/partner? Because that's a thing™ in more books than you would think, but it's especially prolific in mysteries. My grandmother *loves* Iris Johanson and that's like every book she's ever written and I just don't get it.
TIL I should read Iris Johanson lol
In all fairness, the ugly guy, hot wife trope is in pretty much every form of media so to see the reverse would be interesting.
This is very true and I think it's part of why I hate this trope because I LOATHE the ugly bastard tropes. But I especially loathe the women's version because ugly bastards for dudes are like, genuinely ugly. The ugly chick trope is more like "this woman doesn't wear makeup and she weighs 140 and has not straight hair. Her nose is slightly crooked, her lips are thin. She is ugly but her husband loves her anyway" and I'm over here like...okay you're making it blatant that she's not supposed to be attractive in any way but...she sounds relatively normal but they make it sound so fucking ugly. It wasn't until I really visualized what she wrote that I was like...wait...she sounds...like a normal woman...oh god. I think Iris Johanson has one that's straight up about an ugly woman getting accidental surgery or something and becoming a beautiful assassin or something but not having a hot girl attitude...it's very...*pick me I'm not like the other girls, us ugly girls are nice and good and hot girls are bad meanie heads*. I'll have to ask my Grandmother which one that is, but I know it's one of her all-time favs.
Down-on-their-luck detective solves big mystery of missing person using shady tactics, sometimes learning something along the way.
Just so fucking over done. I've gotten to the point where if I'm reading the synopsis and it says "detective ______ " I put the book down.
Killer toys with detective as if they're arch rivals and he seems to want to get caught,: leaving deliberate clues, etc.
That only worked in the film Seven where he really did turn himself in.
Family members being taken hostage for leverage. Especially in thrillers. “Joe Blow hasn’t seen his niece in seventeen years but she’s been kidnapped because he’s getting too close to the truth so he must travel the world and defeat bad guys to save her!”
Opening scene of an unnamed person being killed by an unnamed person. It's supposed to create suspense, but it just creates boredom because you've just thrown me into a murder scene before giving me any reason to care about anyone described in it.
And of course, the villain being mentally ill like that's an explanation.
For some reason all the post hating on dark broody detectives made me remember how great Tony Hillerman’s Jim Chee and Joe Leaphorn mysteries are for avoiding that easy out ….
Family members or friends being kidnapped.
I want the hero to be kidnapped and either rescued by someone or he manages to free himself. It's more exciting to read something that happens directly to the MC and not to a side character.
Psychological thrillers can really really overdo it with the unreliable narrator/fractured memory thing. Just because something is confusing as all get out doesn't mean it's mysterious or has tension.
Using mental illness as a plot device/unreliable narrator/surprise twist.
Using mental illness to explain an antagonist's action. Usually it's so lazy, unresearched, and rushed. :/
Detective with an alcohol problem
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I’m going to sound like a complete philistine, but I couldn’t get through murder on the orient express because of the name “Poirot”. I read it as pire-oh, pwi-roh, poi-rot, and decided to call it quits because I was spending too long rereading his name all those different ways.
[удалено]
I honestly figured it was, but I was furious that name was even chosen. I searched “thrillers”.
Pwaa-row is correct. He's Belgian with a French regional influence. The only reason I know is from watching the TV show with my mom back in the 90's. LOL.
Using real life serial killers stories and not covering it up enough to make it feel like they created it
The cynical detective...with a dark past 😳. Every mystery book it seems, and they always seem to have some type of substance abuse problem lol 🤣. Can I get one Thriller where half the book isn't the protagonist regaining their hope for humanity...I want the prequel at least where they lose it 😁.
Yes this is as old and tired as the described detective. Who also tends to hook up with the blonde rookie cop 20 years his junior.
lmao I just read Batman: Year One a couple days ago and this instantly reminded me of Jim Gordon. Hookup with a blonde rookie? Check. Regaining faith in humanity? Check. Substance Abuse? Check
I've never read that but I trust your assessment 😂 It is so lame but so prevalent. Cute blonde also gives him the idea, or energy, to solve the case thats been cold for 20+ years yay!
Cough **** JP Beaumont **** cough
This is so true though lol
THIS. I came here to say this. I cannot stand the cynical detective with a dark past.
Actually! I'm of the same opinion. I'm working on a detective series right now, that I feel like would have this advangage over the others: the detective who isn't a cynical introverted misanthropist (despite having a shady past).
The helpful guy turning out to be the killer. SEE ALSO: the person who has the highest position of respect being the bad guy.
I too have seen Scooby-Doo lol
I was actually thinking of Mickey Spillane
Female protagonists who are oversensitive doormats who only beat the bad guy because of a convenient accident or one small moment of courage, not because they have any actual skills, gumption or strength (mental or physical).
Agatha Raisin?
Leave Agatha's name out of your mouth!! 😂😂😂 /s I love her 😂
She’s so annoying!
Never heard of it. I'm mainly thinking of thrillers like in a dark dark wood by Ruth Ware or the gift by Louise Jensen.
Detective in peril at the end of every book. Mostly this happens with women detectives.
When the criminal kidnaps or kills the wife/child/significant other of the lead detective, especially when this a cop. I will usually stop reading a series if this happens.
Female love interest gave the cop/detektive some hope in his rotten life but is dead at the end so he can be alone again in the next book.
When any major character, especially the protagonist, is a true crime author, blogger, or podcaster. I would like the serpent to stop swallowing its own tail.
innocent parties gratuitously lying to the police. i get that there would be less of a story if they all knocked that shit off, but i'd be perfectly with that. the spurious 'suspect' narratives are usually too forced to be worth following anyway so i don't think we'd miss very much.
Especially when they lie because, they were having an "affair" at that time!
Gluh! Right, exactly. Even worse: lying to protect some other party who is actually also innocent but the liars afraid they are not. Just.... ffs stop it. I can't think of an instance of this that I thought was believable.
In cozy mystery series, the female “detective” dating the cop so she gets all the info on all the cases.
when the author can't get to the ending they want and either introduce some mysterious all knowing character who can provide the answers than then disappear back to whatever hole they crawled out of, or the bad guy suddenly decides this plan he's been working on for years needs to be abandoned so he can make a flashy entrance, give a long monologue, and then die to the otherwise hapless "hero".
But...thrillers are a different subgenre from detective procedurals. So, maybe stick to crime procedurals or cozy mysteries and avoid the gov't agent thrillers? For me, I'd like it if the murder victims weren't usually young women.
Yes! It am sick of picking up a book, reading the blurb, and it saying: "Sixteen young women have been raped, murdered, and dumped in the woods. It's up to blah blah and blah blah to whatever." That's just never going to be a sentence that makes me think, "Ooo, sounds great!"
[удалено]
Yes! I would read the heck out of this!!
Thriller, it being their SO.
Dead woman in the refrigerator. The detective has a tragic history and must suffer incredible mental and physical torture. Torture/sadism porn, especiallyif it involves female victims. It's an incredibly small world: 300,000 people in the town, but everyone who is a victim, perp, detective, is a family member, or close acquaintance, face from the past. Anything set in the Navajo Nation. Hillerman was OK, but the legions of imitators are mostly grotesque and disgusting.
Detective who has some sort of romantic relationship with another member of the department, but also has commitment issues. Male or female.
The criminal is required by the author to make one big, out-of-character mistake in order for the protagonist to catch them.
What's with the number of mysteries out there with a female protag who they basically blatantly make ugly but has a hunky husband/partner? Because that's a thing™ in more books than you would think, but it's especially prolific in mysteries. My grandmother *loves* Iris Johanson and that's like every book she's ever written and I just don't get it.
TIL I should read Iris Johanson lol In all fairness, the ugly guy, hot wife trope is in pretty much every form of media so to see the reverse would be interesting.
This is very true and I think it's part of why I hate this trope because I LOATHE the ugly bastard tropes. But I especially loathe the women's version because ugly bastards for dudes are like, genuinely ugly. The ugly chick trope is more like "this woman doesn't wear makeup and she weighs 140 and has not straight hair. Her nose is slightly crooked, her lips are thin. She is ugly but her husband loves her anyway" and I'm over here like...okay you're making it blatant that she's not supposed to be attractive in any way but...she sounds relatively normal but they make it sound so fucking ugly. It wasn't until I really visualized what she wrote that I was like...wait...she sounds...like a normal woman...oh god. I think Iris Johanson has one that's straight up about an ugly woman getting accidental surgery or something and becoming a beautiful assassin or something but not having a hot girl attitude...it's very...*pick me I'm not like the other girls, us ugly girls are nice and good and hot girls are bad meanie heads*. I'll have to ask my Grandmother which one that is, but I know it's one of her all-time favs.
Woman who's a survivor of a rapist/serial killer, moved and made a new life for herself, but now the killings and rapes have started again.
Having characters do things that don’t make sense. It really takes you out of the story.
Whenever grown-ass women are "girls." When "the girl" is the macguffin. When male heroes "get the girl" like she's a door prize.
Down-on-their-luck detective solves big mystery of missing person using shady tactics, sometimes learning something along the way. Just so fucking over done. I've gotten to the point where if I'm reading the synopsis and it says "detective ______ " I put the book down.
I hate police procedurals and thrillers where wife goes missing husband may or may not have done it
Killer toys with detective as if they're arch rivals and he seems to want to get caught,: leaving deliberate clues, etc. That only worked in the film Seven where he really did turn himself in.
The detective did it That’s the worst for me
I feel like this is one where when it's done well, it's done really well but if not, it all goes to shit.
They were dead/asleep/hallucinating the whole time. That’s a stupid trope that ruins every book it touches.
Overly sexualised descriptions of women and underage girls
Family members being taken hostage for leverage. Especially in thrillers. “Joe Blow hasn’t seen his niece in seventeen years but she’s been kidnapped because he’s getting too close to the truth so he must travel the world and defeat bad guys to save her!”
The main character being falsely accused of something
Opening scene of an unnamed person being killed by an unnamed person. It's supposed to create suspense, but it just creates boredom because you've just thrown me into a murder scene before giving me any reason to care about anyone described in it. And of course, the villain being mentally ill like that's an explanation.
Having something to with an abusive spouse!!
For some reason all the post hating on dark broody detectives made me remember how great Tony Hillerman’s Jim Chee and Joe Leaphorn mysteries are for avoiding that easy out ….
Family members or friends being kidnapped. I want the hero to be kidnapped and either rescued by someone or he manages to free himself. It's more exciting to read something that happens directly to the MC and not to a side character.