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Tim Maleeny | Relationships Can Be Murder
Mysteries and Thrillers have always been popular for their fast pacing, smart
dialogue and unexpected plot twists. And as both a writer and a reader, I'd
certainly agree those are essential ingredients to any page-turner.
But what about relationships? I'd argue that characters drive plot, and your
empathy for the characters, as a reader, is what drives suspense. It's your
relationship with the characters β and their relationships with each other β
that makes a mystery work. And it's the tension in those relationships that
keeps you up at night turning the pages.
Think about it. Does the action matter if you don't care about the people
involved? We've all been to movies where we're sitting on the edge of our seat,
mouth full of popcorn, knuckles white as cars tear through narrow city streets
on the big screen. And yet we've also been to movies where a similar car chase
nearly puts us to sleep, and even the final explosion as a car tumbles down the
cliff only lingers as an after-image inside our drooping eyelids. The only
different between those two movies was our empathy β or lack thereof β with the
people in the cars.
My latest novel JUMP
begins when the city's most despised landlord plummets twenty stories from the
roof of his own apartment building. Was it suicide or did someone help
him jump? Well, it turns out that everyone living on the top floor of the
building had reason to want him dead. But the murder isn't the real story in
this novel, it's only the catalyst for uncovering the relationships between an
eclectic bunch of strangers who call themselves neighbors. Library
Journal referred to the "fast-paced, rollicking humor and characters
right out of a 1930s Agatha Christie country house mystery" and ForeWord
Magazine said, "This is one hilarious yarn [with] one of the most
bizarre collection of tenants since One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest."
Though the literary and film references couldn't be more different, clearly both
reviewers were struck by the characters, which brings me back to relationships
and their ability to drive a story.
My story opens with a dead body and ten likely suspects, which puts in motion a
plot reminiscent of the classic whodunits that I read growing up. But the
characters all have a contemporary twist, along with backgrounds and
personalities that are spring-loaded for complicated relationships and, in some
cases, trouble.
One description of JUMP
said it was "a handy guide for finding true love in the midst of a multiple
homicide," and in some respects I actually think of it as a cross between a
classic mystery and a modern romance. Because as the murder investigation
develops, the relationships between the neighbors change, alliances shift and
romances entangle, until in the end no one is exactly the same person they were
at the beginning of the book. And as readers, don't we always get caught up in
the passions of our favorite characters?
I like car chases as much as the next guy, but only if I care about who's
driving. Thanks for reading.
TIM MALEENY.com
Comments
20 comments posted.
Re: Tim Maleeny | Relationships Can Be Murder
JUMP sounds like an interesting premise...a modern-day "Murder on the Orient Express?" As a reader, I agree that the characters and their relationships in a story are key.
(G S Moch 8:31am June 18, 2009)
If the relationships don't work, neither does the book! JUMP sounds like a terrific read.
(Karen Barnett 8:33am June 18, 2009)
I absolutely loved your write-up and I would definitely buy this book! This is the kind of fiction I crave!
(Laurel La Porta Whetstone 12:07pm June 18, 2009)
Oooh sounds like cluedo in novel form.
(Sarah Keery 12:15pm June 18, 2009)
I like discovering the layers in mysteries and trying to figure out where the distractions are sprinkled in .
(Alyson Widen 12:29pm June 18, 2009)
Book sounds good...just proves there's more than one way to get rid of a 'slumlord'! LOL
(Karen Haas 12:30pm June 18, 2009)
Hello Tim,
Your book sounds like something I can sink my teeth into. The characters relationships are what I truly love. Have a great day.
(Roberta Harwell 1:11pm June 18, 2009)
This sounds like a great read! I'll have to check it out!
(Kelli Jo Calvert 1:25pm June 18, 2009)
"Jump" looks like a good mystery - right up my alley! Thanks for the great post.
(Cheryl Snyder 3:02pm June 18, 2009)
I love a good mystery!
(LuAnn Morgan 4:13pm June 18, 2009)
This sounds like just the kind of book I love to read. I love thrillers/mysteries. If the characters don't have good chemistry then the story just falls flat. Best Wishes!
(JoAnn White 4:26pm June 18, 2009)
I believe an emotioal attachment-wether negative or positive is essential to a good mystery. Sometimes its a small victory to let the bad guy get his. The solution then becomes the story. I am quite impressed that you have been compared to the indonitable Agatha Christie and would love to read "Jump".
(Dawn Raymer 4:42pm June 18, 2009)
I really like to read mysteries.
(Vikki Parman 5:11pm June 18, 2009)
Move over Agatha Christie!
(MaryEllen Hanneman 8:47pm June 18, 2009)
A good mystery will keep me up all night. I love a story that has interesting characters and a story that keeps you guessing until you read the last page.
(Rosemary Krejsa 9:45pm June 18, 2009)
I agree whole heartedly. If there are
not good characters that we care
about, no matter how much action you
put in there, it isn't going to work.
Loved Agatha Christie. She had
wonderful characters and was great at
plot development and suspense.
JUMP sounds quirky and good.
(Patricia Barraclough 12:00pm June 19, 2009)
I will have to get that book!! I know I will be up all night again reading till it is finished. My style of a book. Husband will be made again.
(Paulette Scott 11:49am June 19, 2009)
I can't wait to get my hands on "Jump".
(Robin McKay 1:37pm June 19, 2009)
This sounds like a great book!! I'd love to win a copy.
(Martha Lawson 11:04pm June 19, 2009)
Despised landlords! Murder mystery! Neighbours you don't know! Sounds like the story of my life (apart from the murder bit!). I Have to read this book!
(Vicki Benge 4:34am June 20, 2009)
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