In a post on CrimeReads, Liz Alterman examines the role gossip plays in small town suspense novels. “From Arthur Miller’s The Crucible to Agatha Christie’s The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, hearsay and idle talk are responsible for both sparking and solving crimes,” she writes.
Beyond characterization and information sharing, gossip performs many duties in domestic suspense novel, Alterman says.
- It establishes setting and sets the tone. “Much like in real life, gossip in novels beckons you to lean in and listen up,” Alterman writes. “You may find yourself turning pages quickly, feeling like you’re part of the inner circle within this fictional world.”
- It provides backstory in a compelling way. “We’ve all read novels that contain an information dump—that off-putting wall of prose that tells us everything the author thinks we should know about a character or situation,” Alterman notes. “Having two or more characters gossip about another provides an interesting, more natural way to reveal those details.”
- It keeps the reader guessing. “Whether it’s a carjacking or a kidnapping, when there’s a crime in a small town everyone plays detective,” Alterman says. Rumors start spreading, often with inaccurate information. “Much like an unreliable narrator, gossip can be used to misdirect the reader and cast suspicion on other characters,” she adds.
- It illustrates the character of your characters. “While not quite the same as schadenfreude, gossip often says as much about the characters spreading it as it does about their subject,” Alterman writes.
- It pushes the plot in an unexpected direction. “You may think you have an ending all figured out, but once a character throws another under the bus by starting a rumor, the story may go off in a surprising direction,” Alterman adds.
