1. Question 1: How do suspense fiction authors hook and hold readers? Skip background data in favor of beginning with an action scene. Rather than explaining that the main character grew up in a wealthy family and attended a foreign finishing school, begin with, “Diana crouched behind a packing crate in the darkness, listening for any sound from her pursuer. Her years of training at a fine French finishing school had not included a course in running for your life.” ("How to Write a Good Suspense Story”). Suspense stories repeatedly tease the reader by presenting a solution that is just within reach of the characters and then is suddenly torn away, forcing her to seek a new option. ("How to Write a Good Suspense Story”). The best way to hook someone who’s seeking a thrill is to start with an action scene. A quick example can be seen in the James Bond movies. Bond movies always starts in the middle of some life or death situation that he’s required to bomb, shoot, or ski his way through to safety. The action hook may or may not be related to the story as a whole. But it sets the tone for what the reader can expect throughout. ("Keep Me In Suspense: Six Elements of a Thriller.“).

2. Question 2: How do suspense fiction writers persuade their readers? While people make a first impression with appearance, wardrobe, body language, facial expression—some of which is controllable, some of which is not—a story has only its title (Steele, Alexander).

3. Question 3: What is the relationship between suspense fiction and truth?

4. Question 4: What truths are best communicated through the suspense fiction genre?

5. Question 5: What qualities make a book suspense fiction?

6. Question 6: What formula do authors follow to make the book fall under the suspense fiction genre?

7. Question 7: What makes suspense fiction books connect with reality? “As a federal prosecutor in New York City, I spent most of a decade locking up hardened criminals. Specializing in narcotics and gangs cases, I knew crime inside out. By the time I left that job, I'd done so many drug trials, listened in on so many wiretaps, and debriefed so many cold- blooded killers and thugs about so many different types of crimes that I could have gone out and committed one myself. And gotten away with it. So it seemed like an obvious evolution to start writing suspense novels based on my gritty real-life experiences” (Martinez). “Nine times out of ten, your informer is telling the truth, but you still have to prove it. So you spend months meticulously building your case from the ground up, looking for corroboration and admissible evidence. You use all sorts of tried and true but dull investigative techniques, like subpoenas for telephone or bank records, and drawn-out wiretaps that require tons of paperwork. And you end up with a solid case against the same guy you knew months ago committed the crime. No gun battles, no stay-up-all-night suspense, no big surprises” (Martinez). “It had too much detail in the wrong places. And it wasn' t scary enough.” (Martinez) “The basic answer turned out to be pretty obvious: great characters, evocative settings, believable dialogue, compelling plots.” (Martinez) “I started carrying a small notebook at all times to write down snippets of overheard conversation, resonant song lyrics, powerful visual images that I happened across in the course of a day” (Martinez)

8. Question 8: What literary elements do suspense fiction books contain that keep the reader captivated?