Writing the Contemporary PI Thriller: A Roadmap

Although the contemporary PI thriller (CPIT) author has considerable latitude in deciding how best to proceed, there are still guideposts that, if followed, may prove to be very useful.

(You Own It All: Writing the Memoir)

The author should have intimate knowledge of his or her subject matter. For example, if one is writing a thriller built around stolen technological secrets that threaten our existence, the author should have significant knowledge of the dangers inherent in cutting-edge technology.

In my own case, I’ve worked in criminal defense as an investigator and sentencing mitigation specialist for the past 20 years, which has given me a good working knowledge of not only our legal system in general, but more importantly; the players and parts involved—cops, prosecutors, judges, defense attorneys, PIs, DEA agents, FBI agents, databases, prisons, handcuffs, firearms, drugs, etc. Therefore, my own writing reflects and utilizes my working knowledge of this fascinating world.

The author needs to create a strong and engaging protagonist. The protagonist’s specific personality doesn’t matter as long as they are engaging and are able to marshal the strength and ironclad determination necessary to overcome the desperate situation they will inevitably be facing. Furthermore, it must be made clear that the protagonist, warts and all, is a caring and decent individual who is on the side of good and who will fight tirelessly the evil forces that threaten to destroy our society.

In addition, along with creating one’s protagonist, the author must decide whether to work in the first- or the third-person perspective or some combination of both. I personally like telling the story in the protagonist’s own voice, which enables me to maintain a consistently dark and foreboding tone, but many authors prefer working in the third person.

Right from the beginning, the protagonist must be confronted by a very serious and seemingly intractable problem, a problem so severe that the protagonist absolutely CANNOT fail to overcome it. In addition, given the current desperate state of the world, the concrete problem the protagonist faces should ideally be part of a larger problem that threatens to destroy our democracy. Whatever the problem may be, the stakes must be high!

In my own current novel 27 Days, I place my protagonist Nick Crane in a seemingly impossible situation. His partner Bobby has been kidnapped by shadowy, nefarious forces. If Nick cannot find and liberate Bobby within 27 days, Bobby will be shipped to Scorpion Prison in Egypt to be tortured and executed.

Nick is given the devil’s own choice. He can turn himself in in Bobby’s place, in which case Bobby will be released and Nick will be tortured and then murdered. It is a most perplexing double bind. Nick cannot fail and time is running out. You get the idea … The clock is ticking …

Once the author has created their protagonist and the problem the protagonist faces, the author should build an intricate, twisty, and compelling plot that moves energetically forward. This is the essence of the page-turner, the story so fast-paced and gripping that the reader says, “The book was so good, I literally could not put it down.”

You want to HOOK the reader, first by creating your engaging protagonist and the intractable problem, then by executing the thrilling, propulsive plot. The danger should be palpable, so real that the reader lives it right along with the author and the characters.

Although the story will naturally partake of and utilize the real world in order to create verisimilitude, the author should nevertheless create an exciting, dramatic storyline that transcends everyday life while still being plausible. Personally, I am not good at sketching out a plot ahead of time. Therefore, what I do is I find a starting point and start writing. Inevitably, the twists and turns of the plot materialize during the writing process.

This time-consuming, rather organic approach to creating a plot certainly will not work for everyone; some CPIT writers prefer to create their plot ahead of time. How the author creates the plot does not really matter; what counts is the quality of the product, in this case a plot so gripping that the reader becomes virtually a part of the story.

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Although some authors prefer to create “lone wolf” protagonists, my sense is that a story gains depth and interest if the protagonist has one or more dedicated helpers who are nearly as invested in the outcome as the protagonist himself. Ideally, if the protagonist is a male, he should have at least one powerful female helper. If the protagonist is female, she should find a powerful male helper.

In 27 Days, Nick Crane’s helper is a young, idealistic progressive female FBI agent. Having a helper of the opposite sex adds spice to the story. Generally speaking, the protagonist and the helper may clash at first due to their differences in temperament and outlook, but they will eventually find common ground as they pursue their mutual goal of neutralizing and/or liquidating the enemy.

In addition, the protagonist may have one or more close friends of the same sex who are also fully invested in solving the problem.

The above ingredients are all necessary if one wishes to write a compelling CPIT. In my opinion, there is one other essential element. At some point during the story, the protagonist will find him or herself trapped in what seems like an impossible situation.

In these moments, the protagonist should have a secret source of wisdom and/or knowledge to call upon. In 27 Days, I create Frenchy Lefevre, an old crusty PI (now deceased) who taught Nick every trick in the book and to whose teachings Nick turns in moments of extreme danger and doubt.

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