Cathryn Grant
Suburban Noir
The line between sanity and madness fascinates me... that's why I write psychological suspense fiction. Along that elusive line, the question that haunts me is: What set of circumstances does it take to push an individual to commit a crime? To commit homicide?
Psychological suspense is a difficult genre to define. The description that comes the closest is this: suspense/thrillers that provoke feelings of anxiety resulting from an uncertain or psychological situation -- but you can leave out the bit about thrillers - no wild chases, stalking serial killers or overwrought jeopardy for me. I'm drawn to the potential for madness in everyday circumstances, the potential in all of us for slipping over the edge. Here's another description of the genre: "Suspense novels often have an undertone of unease, of nebulous threats. This is perhaps especially common in those about domestic life ..."
Still, many people hear psychological suspense and think thriller. Suburban Noir more accurately describes my fiction. Characters in noir films are often obsessed, desperate and paranoid. In noir fiction, the protagonist is usually a victim or perpetrator of a crime. A bookstore employee recently asked what kind of fiction I write. When he heard the phase, Suburban Noir, he said, "Oh, like American Beauty?" Precisely. Suburban Noir meets psychological suspense.