Male Versus Female Thriller Writers
For the past couple of years, I’ve been involved in marketing my debut novel and writing a couple of others. For no particular reason, during that time I’ve read mostly books written by women, whether they were thrillers or something else. Last week, while browsing the new books section at my public library, I came upon new thrillers by two male authors who used to be my favorites. It was time to get back to writers I’d let slip.
I eagerly jumped into the first book as soon as I got home, and I loved the minimalist style and the setup for the story problem. After about thirty pages, though, I found myself wanting some distance. The male main character had just been involved in a murder, and others had also gotten injured in the fire-fight. I don’t want to overgeneralize here because I’m not an expert, but in the women’s thriller books I’ve been reading, mass shootings are rare.
If someone gets shot, it’s usually just one person and the shooting happens toward the end of the book, not the beginning. I know I’m on thin ice here—readers will probably send me titles of hundreds of books written by women that start in exactly the same way. But those books haven’t been the ones I’ve been reading. Yes, there may be a murder to be solved or someone may be pursuing the main character for something she did or didn’t do in the past, but I’m not used to carnage.
I continued reading, determined to get past my initial dismay. Had all of this author’s books been like this, and I just hadn’t noticed? I wasn’t sure, so I forced myself to complete the book. Essentially, it was about a man who protected his women by killing other men. And other people got killed along the way—some were bad people who needed killing but others were just in the wrong place at the wrong time.
I finished that novel and moved on to the second thriller written by a man. This one started more slowly, building characters and tension, and I liked it. Of course, the pace sped up, as thrillers do. Guess what? It ended up as men killing other men to protect a woman. Along the way, others got killed—some were bad and others were just in the wrong place when the bullets were flying.
In my humble opinion, thrillers written by women seem so very different from those written by men: more psychological suspense, smaller body count, more character development, bad people who have a story of their own and aren’t just bad for the sake of being bad. I like them better. Sorry, but I’ll be choosing some different favorite thriller authors, and they’re not likely to be men.
I’m open to being convinced that I’m wrong about this. I’d love to hear your opinions about whether thrillers written by women are fundamentally different from those written by men. Lay it on me!
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Diane Byington writes women’s fiction with a hefty dollop of suspense. She is the author of two novels: Who She Is—historical fiction about family secrets and the Boston Marathon—and the forthcoming If She Had Stayed—about regrets, time travel, and Nikola Tesla. Look for If She Had Stayed in the winter of 2020.
Diane and her husband divide their time between Boulder, Colorado, and Dunedin, Florida.
Find out more about her on her website http://www.dianebyington.com/
About WHO SHE IS
“Faye’s character and her concerns are nicely drawn, the twists of plot are unpredictable and different, and the story line is thoroughly engrossing. . . . Readers will appreciate Who She Is for its multifaceted approach to life and one girl’s discovery of who she really is (and can be) in the face of bullying, betrayal, and abandonment.” D. Donovan, Senior Reviewer, Midwest Book Review
“The characters are gritty and real, and the tumultuous late 1960s are depicted vibrantly. This is a tale that sheds light on exactly how much women have had to overcome in order to participate in such simple things as high school sports. A worthy, engrossing read.” Aimie K. Runyan, Bestselling Author of “Daughters of the Night Sky”
In the fall of 1967, Faye Smith’s family moves to Florida to work in the orange groves, and she has to start a new school… again. She tries out for the track team, knowing her mother would never approve because of Faye’s epilepsy.
When Faye discovers she has a talent for distance running, she and her friend Francie decide to enter the Boston Marathon, even though women aren’t allowed to compete. Desperate to climb out of the rut of poverty, Faye is determined to take part and win a college scholarship.
After the school bully tries to run her down with his car, a strange memory surfaces—a scene Faye doesn’t recognize. Her parents insist that it’s a symptom of her epilepsy, but Faye thinks they might be lying, especially when it keeps happening. To get her life on the right path, she’ll need to figure out what her parents are hiding and never lose sight of the finish line.
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Hi, interesting observation of male-female authors of thriller books you have. I have been reading these for 50 years and I also notice a similar change, but my explanation to myself was that many male writers Now think they are writing a movie script rather than a novel. Either they are hoping to sell the movie rights, or they are being influenced by the massive violence in movies today.
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Maybe it is just a reaction to the TV people trying to control eyeballs using extreme violence in news reporting and in Hollywood. I guess authors just think it is normal, or they must write in into the story to keep reader interest. I sure do miss Robert B Parker.
Thanks for your comment, Leah. I haven’t read The Chemist, but it sounds pretty gruesome. I wonder if we could say that women write thrillers that are more complex, then, if not less, er… thrilling.
Interesting comparison. I’m not personally into thrillers, but I’ve read more than a few. My impression has been something like yours, but I’d add this. I think, as a generalization, that women get more into the truly sick side of things at perhaps a higher level than an alpha protecting his mate or his money or ego and so on.
I recently read Stephenie Meyer’s The Chemist, and I had to skim over parts. It was too much for me; I mean, I was breaking a sweat (kudos to a writer who does that!). The body count is pretty high in multiple situations. And the way the FMC does it isn’t with the distance a gun provides. No, this is up close and personal.
If The Hunger Games were written for adults, it would be considered more of a thriller, I’d say. And if so, the body count is pretty high, if I recall. But it’s much more complicated than the kinds of thrillers you describe, seems like.
I don’t know if that’s a pattern, and I’m not an expert on this either, but it would be interesting to do some extensive research on it. There’s probably something somewhere.