The Importance of "The Precious"

Did you ever begin watching a movie or reading a book only to suddenly realize that you didn’t like any of the characters and didn’t care what happened to them? Unless you’re into the “anti-hero” genre, liking and caring about at least one of the characters is essential, especially in a suspense story. Think about it. What draws you into a story more than a threat to a character you have gotten to know and care about? I think that is essential to a good mystery, whether it be an intense hard-boiled detective story or a cozy mystery. After all, shocking things can happen even in “The Vicar’s Rose Garden.”




































The fate of a loving couple is always a good hook. I found myself becoming fearful for the fate of Jill in Bonne Femme. It was not just the threat to this remarkably strong young woman, but also the threat to the all but stillborn love affair of my main characters.













Adding a baby so that we worry about the fate of the entire family is frightening and effective if handled carefully and tastefully.



My favorite is to let the threat be to a family whose characters are sympathetic and well developed. And then make the key member of the family unit, the wife and mother, be the character so precious to the reader that the danger and suspense is palpable. Then again, I’m that most common of male stereotypes, the genteel chauvinist who thinks that a man’s role is to protect “the fairer sex.”





























That does not mean that the woman has to be fragile and helpless. Indeed the strong and confident woman becomes that much more precious to male and female readers alike.