21 Popular Thriller Tropes for Writers
In the real world, I’m not much for wild thrills. I don’t ride roller coasters or parachute out of planes. I drive the speed limit and slow down at yellow lights. But I’m a sucker for a good thriller. There’s something fun about living vicariously in a thriller novel, knowing that my coaster car won’t leave the tracks or that there’s no killer lurking in the shadows of my house. So I’ve collected a few popular thriller tropes here.
Now, there’s nothing wrong with most tropes in any genre. A few can definitely be problematic, but many are useful because they help set expectations for readers. And writers who are trope-aware can subvert those tropes judiciously to great psychological impact. Or just lean into the tropes, knowing that readers love them.
21 Popular Thriller Tropes for Writers
Here are 21 examples of thriller tropes for writers to consider and subvert when writing their twisty, edgy, thrilling tales.
Broken down vehicle. The car runs out of gas (or gets a flat); the boat runs aground; the plane crash lands in the woods. Suddenly, the characters have lost their preferred mode of transportation, which they might soon wish they had.Isolated locale. While trillers can happen in the most populated cities, there’s nothing like an isolated locale to put a character (and reader) on edge. Whether it’s a cabin in the woods or a ship in the deep depths of space, isolation powers up the thrill-o-meter.Mysterious stranger. The stranger could be a completely “normal-looking” person (whatever that means), but they could also be wearing a mask (or lurking in the shadows). The stranger suddenly makes the story more stressful, because they’re out of the ordinary, so what could they be up to?Missing person. The missing person could be a child, a friend, a family member, or that mysterious stranger who recently appeared. Now that the person is missing, there’s the mystery of what happened to them and the threat of whatever it was not being good (and possibly happening to someone else).Stalker or unhinged ex. Thrillers are often filled with many misdirections and red herrings. There’s no greater red herring than the unhinged ex or stalker. They’re the obvious suspect…until something happens to them and/or it’s proven that they’re actually the main threat.Toxic friendships and cults. Speaking of unhinged people, what about toxic friends and/or cult organizations? These shadowy people and groups are capable of so much mayhem. At the very least, they’re another great possibility for red herrings.Powerful protagonist. Many thrillers have protagonists who are up to the challenge of whatever thrilling adventure is happening. An ex-police officer, a former spy, or whatever skill is needed. The powerful protagonist helps the reader feel secure even as everything else is falling apart.Fearful protagonist. Of course, the other side of the coin is the protagonist who is afraid of their own shadow. Have a character who is afraid of the water? Have them chase a shark in a not-quite-big-enough fishing boat. What about a character who has trouble with heights? Put them on the roof of a high-rise building (or hanging from the bottom of a helicopter). In these thrilling tales, the protagonist has to face their fears to win the day.Victim gets revenge. The victim may or may not be the protagonist. One story’s revenge might be celebrated, while another story’s revenge might be viewed as the main threat to the characters you’re following. Revenge can be thrilling in both good and bad ways.So many weapons. A lot of thrillers feature guns, but don’t neglect knives, axes, chainsaws, lasers, wood chippers, machetes, katanas, lead pipes, rope, and about anything else you can imagine. Not a book, but Grosse Pointe Blank even uses microwaves and cheap pens.So many bodies. Of course, a thriller could conceivably not have any deaths, but most thrillers pile up the corpses (or at least feature multiple fatalities). Often, it’s not just about the dead body, but how (and where) it is discovered. Many of the best thrillers get very creative with this.So many lies. I don’t know what it is about thrillers, but they often feature characters who just find it impossible to tell the truth about anything…even what they had for lunch or the color of their socks. These lies on top of lies add to the uncertainty in thrillers.Intelligent psychopath. Thrillers often feature intelligent psychos. In fact, they’re usually otherworldly in their intelligence, and they often either act as the main antagonist or as a sounding board for someone who is trying to catch the main antagonist. Of course, it’s not completely unusual to make this person the protagonist of your thriller as well.Tight circle of suspects. One fun trope in thrillers is when the suspects list is very short. There may be six characters in your thriller, but every single one of them could be a suspect.Deadlines and countdowns. There are few things that add more thrills than having super high stakes (like someone’s life being on the line) juxtaposed against a deadline or countdown. Your protagonist needs to find and disable the bomb in less than five minutes…or it will explode and kill everyone.Robberies and heists. As with many thrillers, the robbery or heist can be told as if the robbers are the protagonists…or as if they’re the antagonists. Either way, the experience of a robbery or heist is a thrilling event.Unreliable narrators. Know what puts me on edge? Reading a thriller in first-person narration. Because (nearly) everyone lies all the time in thrillers, and that can include our lovable first-person narrators. Do you really trust them?Blackmail. This is one of the most tried-and-true ways to get characters to do what you want in thrillers. Threaten to share their dark secret. Threaten to harm their spouse…or their child. Speaking of which…Kidnapping. Remember the missing child, friend, or family member? They could be dead, sure, but they could also be kidnapped. Your protagonist might be on a mission to rescue them.Framed. Another popular trope in thrillers is framing your protagonist. That heist appears like it was done by a former convict. Or that murder weapon had your protagonist’s prints all over it. Or whatever other crime could be committed. Suddenly, your character has to clear their name…usually by doing some very thrilling things.Unassuming villain. To tell you the truth, I always think the least likely person is the most likely villain. But that doesn’t mean this trope is going away from thrillers any time or soon…or that thriller authors can’t do their best to misdirect readers until, boom!
Hope this list helps get you started. There are definitely more thriller tropes, and I’d love to know your favorites in the comments below.
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