Guest Blogger: Catherine Delors & Giveaway

Yesterday, I reviewed a fantastic book called FOR THE KING by Catherine Delors. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this novel, and I have a feeling that it's going to be one of my favorite for 2010.

I am so glad to welcome Ms. Delors to Booking Mama today. I absolutely love her guest post about whether FOR THE KING is a mystery or thriller, and I found it very interesting to learn about how the book evolved. I was also excited to get some scoop about her next novel!

FOR THE KING: mystery or thriller?

I became an avid reader of mysteries as a child, and devoured in short order the complete works of Agatha Christie and Conan Doyle. One of my ambitions then was to become a mystery writer myself. Then, as I grew into a teenager, I discovered the great American noir writers: Dashiell Hammet, Raymond Chandler, later James Elroy. Nowadays I remain a fan of thrillers, and Thomas Harris’s Red Dragon is one of my very favorite novels.

So what’s the difference between a mystery and a thriller? Both genres deal with crime stories, don’t they? Certainly, but in quite different ways. In a mystery, we have an extremely brilliant detective, whether a policeman, a private investigator or an amateur sleuth. Miss Marple, Hercule Poirot, Sherlock Holmes, Adam Dalgliesh… The story is told from a single point of view, often that of the detective’s less gifted sidekick: Dr. Watson, Captain Hastings. In mysteries, the detective is way ahead of the reader, who finds herself at the same level of information and comprehension as the sidekick.

In a thriller, on the other hand, the reader knows far more than the detective does. The writer creates dramatic tension precisely through this device: the reader can clearly see the traps of which the protagonist is unaware. The killer is generally known from the outset, and parts of the story are told from his point of view. Thus he becomes very important, sometimes more so than the ostensible hero of the story. The hallmark of a great thriller is a compelling villain. In Red Dragon, for instance, we care far more about the tortured Dolarhyde than we do about FBI agent Will Graham.

When I began writing FOR THE KING, I thought that I was fulfilling my childhood dream and penning a mystery, albeit one based on a real mass killing in 1800 Paris. Therefore, at first, I told the story from the point of view of my detective, Chief Inspector Roch Miquel.

But once my first draft was completed, I realized that it simply didn’t work this way. Certainly Roch is a clever, determined, conscientious policeman, but he is still very naïve, he puts too much trust in appearances, he is swayed by his feelings. Also it was impossible to tell the whole tale: too many details of the conspiracy to assassinate Napoléon remained hidden in the shadows.

Then I had a revelation: my novel wasn’t meant to be a mystery after all! It would only work as a thriller. In my next rewrite, I gave the reader crucial information from the start, including the identities of the assassins, which are of course unknown to Roch. In this fashion, as the story unfolds, the reader becomes aware of the tangle of lies that surround Roch, and the betrayals of those closest to him. This makes him more vulnerable, and also more likable.

Also, the thriller angle gave me the opportunity to show other points of view. In my novel everything is declined in shades of grey. Some supporters of Napoléon are no better than the Royalist assassins, or the former Revolutionaries. In the wake of the French Revolution, very few could claim the moral high ground.

Thus Limoelan, the chief of the assassins in Paris, has become a point of view character, so have Fouché, the wily Minister of Police, and Blanche, Roch’s married mistress. This gives the plot more depth, while allowing the reader far more insight into the motives of those involved.

What I discovered is that I loved writing thrillers as much as reading them. My next book, a prequel to MISTRESS OF THE REVOLUTION, is also a thriller. So will I ever fulfill my childhood dream of writing a mystery? We shall see…

A big thanks to Ms. Delors for writing such a terrific guest post!

Giveaway alert: I have one copy of FOR THE KING to share with one reader! To enter, just leave a comment with your email address telling me why this novel appeals to you. This contest will be open until Monday, July 26th at 11:59 p.m. ET, and I will notify the winner the following day. The giveaway is open to those of you in the U.S. and Canada only -- no p.o. boxes please. Good luck!