The Mysterious Pull of Mystery Novels: Guest Post by Carol Snow

I’ve always loved mysteries. As a child, I plowed through worn library copies of The Bobbsey Twins and Nancy Drew, pages soft from being turned so many times, checkout cards going back decades. Even at the age of ten, I was disappointed by the obvious lack of chemistry between titian-haired Nancy and her roadster-driving, quasi-boyfriend Ned, but the reliable formula kept me coming back for more. What happened? Whoddunit? What clues did I miss?

From Carolyn Keene, I learned cool new words like titian and roadster (neither of which I’ve ever managed to employ in my everyday existence, sadly). From my mother, a voracious reader with a knack for recommending books, I learned phrases that would stay with me much longer. Heroine. Red herring. Plot twist.

I moved on from Carolyn Keene: to Mary Stewart, Susan Isaacs, Robert Ludlum, John Grisham, and so many more. When I finally started writing my own novels, over twenty years ago, it was only natural that many of my plots featured mysterious elements, typically within a broader romantic comedy framework. But as the years passed, I found myself increasingly drawn to reading psychological thrillers -- dark, twisted tales told by such masters as Kate Atkinson, Dennis Lehane, Gillian Flynn, and Denise Mina. The more I wrote (and read), the more I wanted to craft a true suspense novel, something rife with clues and red herrings, unreliable narrators and – of course – a shocking plot twist.

The Girl on the Beach, my new novel of psychological suspense, tells the story of a wealthy and glamorous couple, Graham and Sonia Starr. Graham and Sonia have everything: exciting careers, a precocious four-year-old daughter named Roxie, a pair of luxurious houses on the Santa Barbara coast, and an army of paid help to manage everything. But on a perfect August afternoon, Graham and Sonia’s lives fall apart when little Roxie, last seen running towards the Pacific Ocean, is declared dead. Months later, their former babysitter, mired in grief and hoping to make sense of the tragedy, returns to the Starrs’ beach house where she lived and worked the previous summer. Her first night back, she sees a child who bears a striking resemblance to her one-time charge. With neither the police nor the parents taking her claim seriously, the young woman sets out to uncover the truth.

What draws us to mysteries, anyway? Surely it would be more relaxing to know all the answers, to look away from heartache and anxiety and fear. Don’t we have enough of that in our lives already? Maybe that’s the point. Maybe we are drawn to stories of suspense precisely because the world is so unpredictable. The distance inherent in following a story, as opposed to living it, affords a sense of safety. Sure, things might seem hopeless in any given narrative, but keep pushing forward, and everything will make sense.  

As a writer, crafting ever more elaborate plots has been exciting, daunting, and remarkably satisfying. I get to determine the answers first and figure out the questions (and distractions) later, as I write my way to the big reveal.

Humans are wired to look for patterns and seek meaning, but life can be confounding. Thank goodness we have books to help us make sense of it all.

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Carol Snow is the author of ten novels, including her latest psychological thriller, The Girl on the Beach. Known for her sharp insight into human behavior, she has been recognized by Booklist as “an author to watch.” With a background in psychology from Brown University and an MA in teaching English from Boston College, Carol brings a deep understanding of emotions and language to her work.
 
Carol's website: https://www.carolsnow.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carol_snow
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/270463.Carol_Snow