Conventional wisdom holds that a crime story should start building tension quickly, and there is logic to that. If readers aren’t drawn in right at the beginning of a story, it’s hard to draw them in later. And some readers only give a book a few pages before they make the decision about whether to continue reading. The thing is, there are several ways to start building tension. Not every story begins with the discovery of a body, for instance, and not every story really has to in order for the tension to start.
For instance, Agatha Christie’s Cat Among the Pigeons begins as a group of girls arrive at the exclusive Meadowbank School for summer term. There are various conversations as the girls and their families are greeted and the pupils start getting settled in. It doesn’t take long, though, for tension to start mounting. We see, for instance, that Grace Springer, the new games mistress, is not particularly well-liked. There are other slight tensions, too, At the end of the chapter, Christie mentions that murder will come to the school, and indeed it does. Not long after the term begins, Grace Springer is murdered. Then there’s a kidnapping and more murder. But the tension in the first chapter – before it all really gets underway – is more subtle than, say, having a character find a body right away.
As Phoebe Atwood Taylor’s The Cape Cod Mystery begins, Prudence Whitsby and her niece Betsey escaped the summer heat and are staying at their cottage on Cape Cod. As you can imagine, it’s no time at all before they start getting letters and telegrams from friends and relatives who want to come and stay. They finally decide on one guest each: Prudence’s friend Emma Manton and Betsey’s friend Dot Cram. Also there for the summer is writer Dale Sanborn, who’s staying in the cabin next door. All goes smoothly until one night when Prudence’s cat Ginger goes missing. She traces the cat to the house next door, where she finds that Sanborn has been murdered. Local sheriff Slough Sullivan opens the investigation and soon settles on Bill Porter, a friend of Prudence. Prudence doesn’t believe Bill is guilty, and neither does his cook/’man of all work’ Asey Mayo. Together, the two look into the case and find that more than one person had a motive. In this case, the tension doesn’t start right away; it builds gradually against a background of a peaceful seaside summer.
Aditya Sudarshan’s A Nice Quiet Holiday begins peacefully enough, as the title suggests. Justice Harish Shinde (called the Judge throughout most of the novel) and his law clerk Anant visit the town of Bhairavgarh, in the Indian state of Rajasthan. They’re hoping to relax and beat the Delhi heat. While they’re in Bhairavgarh, they’ll be staying with Shinde’s old friend Shikhar Pant, who is also hosting a group of other people. At first, everything goes smoothly as the Judge and Anant meet the other guests: Shikar’s cousin Kailish Pant, who is a well-known writer; Kailish’s friends Ronit and Kamini Mittal, who run an NGO; Shikhar’s friend Pravin Anand and Anand’s son Avinish; and Dr. Davendra Nath and his daughter Mallika and sons Ashwin and Nikhil. The tension begins to build as we learn that the guests have very diverse views on the Mittals’ NGO, which is concerned with HIV/AIDS education. There are a few disagreements, but things are still relatively calm until one afternoon when Kailish Pant is found murdered. Inspector Patel investigates, and he finds more than one motive. In this novel Sudarshan begins by setting the scene and introducing the characters, so that although we feel mounting tension, it’s not at the breaking point right away.
In Louise Penny’s A Rule Against Murder, Chief Inspector Armand Gamache and his wife Reine-Marie follow a long tradition and visit the Manoir Bellechass to celebrate their anniversary. They’re well known there, and the owner, Clementine Dubois, greets them warmly. They’re prepared for a relaxing time together, enjoying each other’s company and the lovely hotel and setting. The first part of the novel is peaceful as the Gamaches arrive and settle in. But this year, things are a little different. A reunion of the Finney family has been booked at the hotel, and those guests have taken most of the rooms. It’s going to mean that the Gamaches have to take a much smaller room, but for them, that’s not a major problem. Little by little, though, we see that the Finneys are not a big, happy clan. There’s a great deal of tension and it builds as the Gamaches witness some of the family’s interactions. As if that’s not enough, there’s a serious storm brewing, and it could mean the loss of power or worse if it’s bad enough. The tension keeps building and the storm strikes. Then there’s the discovery of a tragic death. It’s a difficult case that will strike close to home for the Gamaches. But it starts out quite peacefully.
And then there’s Herman Koch’s The Dinner. The novel starts out on a superficially very peaceful note. Paul and Claire Lohman, and Paul’s older brother Serge and his wife Babette, meet for dinner at an exclusive Amsterdam restaurant. As their dinner begins, the talk is a little light, and the atmosphere is of course luxurious. As the evening progresses, though, the tension builds as we learn about each of these people, and as we learn the real reason for their meeting. It seems that their fifteen-year-old sons have committed a terrible crime. Now, the couples have to decide what to do about it. And that discussion reveals some very dark things about all the people involved. The novel starts out calm, if not happy, but as the suspense builds and readers learn the truth, we see that all is not as it seems.
And that’s the thing about some crime novels. They can and sometimes do begin peacefully, even pleasantly. But that doesn’t mean they don’t have plenty of suspense and tension. Which ones have stayed with you?
*NOTE: The title of this post is a line from Tom Petty’s Running Down a Dream.
Crime Writer Margot Kinberg 
Fascinating Margo, and so true. If the first chapter doesn’t grab my attention I have a quick flick through the book, sometimes cheat and look at the last few lines of the last chapter before deciding whether or not to continue. I am a naughty girl I know.
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You’re not alone, Jane. I think a lot of people decide within the first few pages whether or not they want to invest themselves in a book. They’ll check out the blurb, the first chapter, and maybe flick through the rest. It’s an investment of time and energy to engage with a book, and a lot of people don’t want to make that investment if it won’t pay off.
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I have often stuck with it and been surprised that I enjoy it in the end, but it is like music, I guess. If the first 30 seconds does not hook and the chorus is too late coming, then most give up. I think of it as making music, making a movie – the opening sequence has to grab and make you ask questions about what comes next, why has X happened (or not) and who are the character and which ones are going to dominate. Hard to do, but worth the hard work if a reader reads beyond the first chapter.
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You make such an interesting comparison, Jane, between music and writing. It’s true that the first few measures really matter. There are a lot of ways to grab attention during those critical first seconds, but in some way, it needs to happen. Same with a film. Even if the beginning is peaceful, there’s got to be something that, as you say, makes the reader/viewer/listener want to know what’s coming next.
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I wonder if our – we older readers/watchers- attention spans are shorter. I know we are told, and we notice ourselves, that kids have a much shorter one than adults these days but I look at old movies and notice they are a lot slower in pace, They take longer to get to the point and when first viewed – even as a teenager – I never got the feeling that what I was watching wasn’t moving fast enough to bore me. Looking back these days I feel myself getting restless for ‘something’ to happen! Perhaps it is the same with books and reading. We’ve been spoiled.
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Now, that’s a fascinating point, Jane. I’ve read some studies that suggest that watching television (and now social media) shortens attention spans. I’m not completely convinced that’s true, but I will say that I can see the relationship. As you say, we’ve gotten spoiled, and we want something to happen right away. It’s a bit like an online shopper who wants that parcel immediately.
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Online shopping – I avoid it like the plague. Except for books, and I have to sit on my hands now and again to prevent uninhibited buying. I guess as humans we are thrill seekers and need immediate satisfaction, and reading, watching movies/TV and buying things possibly meets this need. Then of course we want more, and we enjoy fear…hence we love the odd cliff-hanger page turner we all strive to achieve. See, you thought reading was simples!!
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Reading isn’t simple at all, Jane, is it? And it does reflect our ways of thinking. It’s funny, too, that we want that instant gratification (‘Where’s my parcel!’ ‘What do you mean, you don’t have ___ in stock?’). It’s certainly impacted, I think, by the age we’re in, and online shopping doesn’t help matters. I do it once in a while, but I can see why you don’t.
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I don’t know if any impulse buy sticks with you all your life – a favourite dress/hat/pair of shoes, perhaps – if some special event took place when you were wearing them – but a book… think about books that have stayed with you all your life! How many do you go back to read again and again? Plenty, I imagine. Decades later can you even get into the dress? The impact of words, meanings, feelings, location, being taken away from the mundane to enter another world, now that is special. I can’t think of much else that can do that except the Arts.
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Oh, I so agree with you, Jane. Those shoes you had to have? They’ll get scuffed, worn, or worse. Or they’ll go out of style so you’d look ridiculous in them. Or….. But a book? That’s another thing entirely. Books are worlds of their own, and honestly, I don’t think I’ve ever regretted buying a book, even a book I wasn’t fond of, really. Words stay with you…
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Yes, they stay with you forever. Imagine if you and I were to write a book that in generations to come found their way off of library shelves, were still purchased in bookstores, lived on the shelves of bookcases around the world, loved, cherished, and even quoted now and again. We would never know. Our words may well have an impact way beyond anything we could ever imagine. Enjoyment of them may live on well past our demise on this planet, but they may well go on and on somewhere. That is something to contemplate! However, I for one am under no illusions about my contribution to literature. LOL. I guess a charity shop somewhere might have a copy or two in some forgotten dusty corner of the shop and one day someone may think that paying 50p isn’t a step too far. But when you think that modern book buyers think is is OK to pay £6+ for a coffee in a well known coffee shop chain, but that is extortionate to spend on a book which gives pleasure forever… we are perhaps living in hope. Perhaps books will no longer exist, AI writes digital books in the style of… dear God! What a thought.
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Oh, the very thought of AI writing books in the style of…. well, I don’t even want to think about it, Jane! And yet, that’s not far off. At any rate, it does make you think when you imagine a book you’ve written being read and commented on fifty or more years later, or that book inspiring someone. Of course, I don’t have illusions about that. But it’s a nice thought, isn’t it? You make a good point, too, about the way people spend money. They’re happy to spend £30 a week at a coffee shop, but £3 for a book on Kindle? Nope, they don’t want to spend it. Funny, isn’t it?
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Priorities! Instant gratification or the gift that gives on giving. I know where I’ll spend my money. Yes, I have heard AI written journalism pieces and short stories and there is something missing in each of them. What? Not sure, but possibly soul. That something special in music and art and literature of all genres. The act of creation related from pain, experience, love, loss, I think. AI is just mimicking something each time. Innovating? I wonder.
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You raise some good questions about AI, Jane. There’s so much to think about, isn’t there? And yes, money almost always follows priorities…
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I agree Margot that it needn’t be the discovery of a body to have a tense beginning. In fact, I much prefer the undercurrents to a straight-off murder. I hadn’t heard of Aditya Sudarshan but now will look for his book.
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There is definitely an appeal to a story that begins with an undercurrent of tension, Neeru. That can let the author build real suspense. If you do read Aditya Sudarshan’s novel, I hope you’ll enjoy it.
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Interesting post, Margot. I tend to agree that a book doesn’t need to chuck the murder or main event at you straight away – I do tend to prefer a book to build a little first and establish the characters etc. That said, there has to be something to hook you in and want to make you read further!
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Exactly, KBR! On the one hand, it can really add to the story if the author builds a bit of background and character first. But hooking the reader and spurring the reader to keep turning/swiping pages is really effective. I think it’s a balance, when all’s said!
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I think E.C.R. Lorac is very good at slow starts to her crime novels. She always set the scene very well indeed and it’s often several chapters into a very rural, idyllic setting before someone is brutally done in. LOL! A Rule Against Murder is a very good Gamache novel, I agree. I quite like a slow burner, I must admit, so it won’t surprise you to learn that The Cape Cod Mystery is now on my Kindle.
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Oh, I do hope you’ll enjoy The Cape Cod Mystery, Cath. It’s the first in the Asey Mayo series, and it does have a real sense of time and place. And that scene-setting comes before the murder. I agree about A Rule Against Murder, too. But then, I’m quite biased, as I really do like this series. Thanks, too, for the mention of Lorac. You’re right, I think, about her ability to use a slow start to build tension!
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I’m more likely to stick with a slow starter if I’ve enjoyed previous books by the author. I agree that there doesn’t need to be a corpse or other dramatic happening right away but if there isn’t it’s all the more important for the author to entertain in some other way, usually by introducing characters in a way that makes us interested. A prologue can work but I find it’s overused now, and foreshadowing has to be done well if it’s to hook rather than irritate. A tricky one! But the best authors seem to make it all seem so effortless. Two of my favourite openings are complete contrasts: Johan Theorin’s extremely tense and creepy prologue to The Voices Beyond, where a young boy is adrift in a rowing boat and climbs aboard a ship only to find it full of dead and dying men; and Christie’s A Murder is Announced, where she introduces her characters by means of telling us what newspaper each is reading over breakfast – full of humour and indicating the class structure of her village setting in such an original way.
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You make a good point, FictionFan, about the need to hook the reader quickly into a story. If it’s not going to be a body, then it needs to be something, whether it’s a character or something else. Plenty of people decide within the first few pages if they’re going to continue, so those pages have to count. And you’re right about Theorin; he does it so well with that creepiness. Christie did a great job with A Murder is Announced, too. We get to know the characters and where they all fit in, and we see their different reactions to the newspaper notice. That tells us a lot of what we need to know about the characters and it works brilliantly. It’s foreshadowing, but done in an innovative way, as I see it.
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I never give up on a book just because it has a slow start, and don’t mind at all if a mystery builds slowly. If the writing is good and I am learning about the characters, I am fine. I rarely give up on a book though.
I have always planned to read Herman Koch’s The Dinner. I do hope to get to it someday.
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I know what you mean, Tracy. If I’m enjoying a book, and if the characters interest me, I don’t ‘mind a slow start, either. Sometimes a slowly building mystery can be very compelling.
As for The Dinner, it’s an unusual story. I felt as though the ‘slow burn’ writing approach worked very well for it. If you read it, I hope you’ll be glad that you did.
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I think one that has stayed with me is The Birthday Party by Laurent Mauvignier. Although it isn’t exactly a crime novel; it is a dark, mystery novel. The tension is there in the beginning but it’s not as intense as the violent tension at the end. Another book is Sacred Games by Vikram Chandra. I’m reading it now and the book starts by exploring a minor plotline that doesn’t seem to be connected with the main story. But I think it’ll all come together eventually. I’m one of those people who persist even if the first few pages are dull. I think that’s because the years have taught me to approach a novel in different ways. It isn’t only the plot that grabs me. Sometimes it’s the style of writing, etc.
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Thanks for mentioning those books, OP. I’ve not read them, but I do know what you mean by books that do have tension from the beginning, but don’t start with a big event (like a murder, etc..). Sometimes that darkness and suspense build slowly, and that can engage the reader. You’re right, too, that it’s best not to approach all novels in the same way.
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