Why the Villain Is as Important as the Hero in a Thriller Novel

Creating a thriller that hooks readers and keeps them guessing means creating more than an interesting plot. Multidimensional characters should become the building blocks to a sensational mystery. This means constructing characters readers find interesting and either admire, dislike, sympathize with, or relate to in a passionate way. Too often writers put all their energy into developing the lead character, the plot, and the mystery, while ignoring the role the cast of characters play in the evolution of their story.

(7 Critical Steps to Crafting a Compelling Villain.)

This is when I ask you to think of a house that is decorated beautifully, but sits empty, with no one inside. It’s just a house. The people inside that house make it a home, make it whole. The people in your story should be tools to make it whole, while also framing an interesting mystery. Think of your characters as the cast that inhabit your storyline and animate it into a new reality for your readers.

In a mystery the story could be multiple points of view or only one—that of your narrator. Writers who are writing a narrator’s POV and no other can be especially hyper-focused on that character’s story. When in both situations, be it one POV or many, the cast of characters are incredibly important to delivering an addictive mystery readers can’t put down.

For instance, in You Look Beautiful Tonight, I write from the point of view of Mia Andersen. Mia is relatable because Mia feels invisible, something all of us have felt at least once in life. She works at a library and finds joy in the adventures between the covers of books but feels in real life she is overlooked while those around her are not. Even at her favorite coffee shop she stops by daily, the staff never remember her or her order.

Then one day, someone leaves a note on her table complimenting her. This begins a journey in which more notes arrive and then a secret admirer starts calling. She is finally “seen” but becomes vulnerable when she exposes too much, too soon to a stranger. Now this stranger wants to right the wrongs in her life anyway he can. When things turn deadly, Mia could be implicated in murder and cannot speak up to those around her.

Now, you could easily think this becomes a solitary journey for Mia, and while it may seem that way on the surface, the secret admirer could be anyone sharing Mia’s life, be it personally or professionally, or even casually in that coffee shop. Her friends, who always try to pull her out of her shell, become suspects. Her family, who also tries to push her to believe in herself, could be at the root of the dangerous turn of events in Mia’s life. Her boss who finds time to encourage her to do more for herself, even during her own illness, is likable, even sweet, but what if she has a dark side?

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Each supporting cast member must have dimensions and insecurities as well as life challenges that readers relate to, in some way, to create a story environment where the villain is elusive to the reader. Even if one of the supporting characters is a jerk to the lead narrator, but you show them at home, dealing with struggles—that will make them create empathy with your readers.

Because how uncomfortable would it be for the killer to be someone the reader understands? And yet if the reader relates to all the characters in some way, what do they do but start guessing? The readers then find themselves considering characters as suspects that they would not otherwise, but still rejecting the very idea that someone they connect with is the villain.

Always remember that somewhere in the perceived cast of supporting characters, or even if your lead narrator is a villain, creating that villain means creating a believably flawed human being.