I’ve always drifted toward mysteries when it comes to reading; in elementary school I read nearly every Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys mystery book the school library had. This and my love of police procedural dramas and sitcoms has no doubt helped my current reading taste to be nearly entirely thrillers. And it was around the time of my reading The Boyfriend that I noticed how popular of a writing trope it is to have these books have multiple timelines or perspectives.
Why does every thriller have to have a “Then” and “Now”? Why do we have to jump around in the timeline? I know why authors do this — it keeps the reader guessing, it helps them come up with theories, it helps multiple parts of the story to build up and eventually converge — but why does it have to happen every time? Can I please have one thriller story that stays in one timeline, doesn’t have any flashbacks, and strictly takes place in the present? It’s not a bad trend, just one I’ve seen and cannot unsee and will probably be on the lookout for in my future reading.
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