The modern thriller has four narrators. Each has a name at the top of the chapter, a timeline (NOW, THEN, THE NIGHT OF), and a secret. At least one is lying to you. At least one is lying to herself. One of them is dead and doesn’t know yet.
If you’ve found yourself flipping back to work out whether it was the sister or the sister-in-law who was in the boathouse, this is for you. A filing system, so you can enjoy being lied to in an organised way.
1. The card
Before you start, or as soon as you realise what kind of book this is, take an index card (a bookmark will do, a due-date card is ideal) and write the narrators’ names down the left. Four names. That’s the card. You’ll add to it. You will not need a second card; if you do, the book has a problem.
2. The three columns
Next to each name, three columns:
| Column | What goes there |
|---|---|
| Wants | What they say they want. One word. |
| Hides | What you suspect they’re hiding. Pencil. It’ll change. |
| Lies | Page numbers where they’ve said something that contradicts another narrator. |
The Lies column is where the book happens. When Narrator A says the party ended at midnight and Narrator B says she left at one and the house was still full, write both page numbers next to both names, and draw a line between them. The lines are the plot.
3. Trust nobody who narrates in the present tense
A small rule with a good hit rate. The narrator who speaks in the present tense (“I walk into the kitchen. The knife is gone.”) is the one the author wants you closest to, which usually means she’s the one with the most to hide. Past-tense narrators are reporting. Present-tense narrators are performing.
4. The one who’s “fine”
Someone will tell you they’re fine. Repeatedly. “I was fine. We were fine. Everything was fine.” Put a small mark next to their name every time. By the midpoint the marks will outnumber the pages, and you’ll know.
5. Don’t flip back
The urge to flip back and check is strong and should be resisted. Flipping back is the book winning: it’s spent its energy making you doubt your memory, and now it has you doing its work. Trust the card. If the card says she was at the boathouse, she was at the boathouse. If the book later says she wasn’t, that’s a lie, and it goes in the column.
6. When the timelines meet
Around the three-quarter mark the THEN and the NOW will arrive at the same night, and the book will start running. Put the card down. You’ve done the work; now let it carry you. The last fifty pages of a good thriller shouldn’t be read with a pencil. They should be read in the bath, at speed, with the water going cold.
7. Afterwards
Look at the card. Count how many of your Hides were right. Write the score on the back. Keep the card in the book. In five years you’ll find it and remember, which is the only reason to keep anything.