What makes a good conspiracy thriller book?
Conspiracy thriller is a subgenre of thriller. A thriller keeps you on the edge of your seat and turning the page as the plot thickens.
What makes the conspiracy thriller work is the timing. You learn how deep the rabbit hole goes along with the protagonist who didn’t sign up for the adventure, but it’s too late for them to back out now. As Winston Churchill said, “When you’re going through hell, keep going.”
In my book Lottery, a reporter, who thought he was writing a human-interest-puff-piece, steps on the wrong toes. His first instinct is to drop the story, but he realizes he has a conscience after all, and puts everything at risk to expose the truth. When he appears defeated, he finds the help he needs to prevail.
Similar to a detective whodunit, the hero must discern the truth from a web of lies. The exception is it’s a conspiracy. We have layers of lies and liars, all with their own agenda. Even the good guys can have ulterior motives. The initial clues don’t make sense, and curiosity keeps the investigation going, and when more facts are revealed, the complete story comes together.
Don’t forget about the twist. The initial beliefs by the protagonist could wrong, and they must evolve as facts surface. The twist could be the initial villain turns out to be a victim, and the true villain is only exposed at the end. There are dozens of plot twists you can employ, but be careful not to deceive the reader. In the end, they should feel that the clues appeared to point to the wrong suspect, but as the whole picture is revealed, the true antagonist is obvious.
I’ve read murder mysteries where the guilty party confesses out of the blue, and the facts never seriously identified them as the killer. That’s not fair to the reader and bad plot progression on the part of the author. It’s the typical “the butler did it” scenario, even though the butler was never a viable suspect — a cheap ending to a cheap book.
Today’s reader is more sophisticated, and your plot should be as well. In my latest release, Mission, the main character has had her memories altered. She spends much time trying to discern true and fake memories with other characters telling her things that are not true. In the end, she has the truth revealed, but the fact that the truth keeps changing makes sense and is a major part of the overall plot.