I picked up Jane K. Cleland’s Mastering Suspense Structure & Plot assuming that it would be similar in approach to Save the Cat! Writes a Novel— a general plot structure applied to various suspense sub-genres. In reality, it’s more of a treatise on managing pace and tension with various literary techniques. Many of the examples are from mysteries, including the author’s own, but Cleland also draws from literary fiction and classics to illustrate her points.
This book’s main strength lies in articulating techniques that many establish authors understand and execute instinctively. Topics like exploiting surprise or confusion and betrayal for dramatic tension are central to the pacing and plot of almost every genre, but few of us consider how those techniques wok in such analytical detail. These sections may be particularly useful to newer writers who haven’t yet internalized the concepts of tension and pace.
Unfortunately, there are surprisingly few chapters on elements specific to the suspense, thrillers, and mystery arenas. Cleland covers red herrings, twists, reversals, and reveals in a somewhat cursory manner. She gives more page space to narrative techniques, like the unreliable narrator, but overall these sections serve more to help readers identify the techniques when they cross them in fiction than to actually execute them well.
Overall, Mastering Suspense Structure & Plot is a useful title for entry-level writers and a good refresh for established writers who want to dig deeper into what they already do on autopilot. I recommend this book primarily for:
- New writers who want to write their first mystery, suspense, or thriller novel but don’t know where to start
- More experienced writers struggling with dragging pace or a sagging middle
- Authors of other genres who want to incorporate suspense elements into their stories or heighten tension
