My new thriller, The School Gates, centres on the murder of single mum, Lola Martinez, whose body is found on the riverbank the morning after a primary school parent Christmas social. Suspicion soon falls on Lola’s mum friends, but it’s also clear that someone from Lola’s past may have wanted her dead and that a friend Lola confides in online might have the answers. The story is told through the eyes of the investigating police officer as he interviews the various suspects in the present day, and from Lola’s perspective in a series of flashbacks starting from when her son joined the school up until her death.
It is, of course, a classic domestic suspense thriller being set against the very relatable backdrop of a local primary school where the tricky interpersonal relationships between a diverse range of morally grey characters are explored in a tense, claustrophobic atmosphere, each of them hiding dark secrets which are gradually unveiled as the action progresses. However, with my main protagonist, Lola, murdered in Chapter One, and half the ensuing story told through the eyes of the investigating officer, DI Banner, The School Gates is also a whodunnit, making it a particularly stimulating, fascinating novel to write. And hopefully, to read!
This isn’t the first time I’ve ventured into the intriguing, ever popular world of ‘whodunnits’ as far as my psychological thrillers are concerned. My third foray into the genre, The Final Party, centres around three couples who spend a week together in Italy to celebrate a fortieth birthday party. In the Prologue, the reader learns that one of the party is dead, and they are then taken on a complex, twisty journey back in time to discover who the victim is and how they met their unfortunate demise. The School Gates, however, is more of a classic whodunnit, in that we know Lola is the victim from the outset, and we follow Banner’s chain of enquiries as he interviews various suspects in Lola’s immediate parent circle, each of whom have a credible motive to have wanted her dead.
Whodunnits remain a much beloved variety of crime fiction for a whole host of reasons. For readers, they offer the tantalising challenge of trying to solve a puzzle by making deductions from a series of clues the author will drop into the narrative, only to be thrown off track by a surprising twist or clever red herring which brings them back to square one. Whodunnit fans love nothing better than being taken on a rollercoaster ride of twists and turns before having the wind knocked out of their sails by a final revelation that leaves them open-mouthed. That being so, it takes great skill to craft a story in such a way as to ensure that happens, with the reader left satisfied rather than short-changed.
Trying to discern the killer from a varied range of credible suspects (as my detective tries to do in The School Gates) is a simple concept all things considered, but the crime writer will make it more compelling, suspenseful and difficult for the reader to solve through strong character development, the exploration of complex motives, and intricate backstory, all of which will hopefully keep them guessing and turning the pages and, even better, will mess with our minds!
Domestic suspense is, of course, a type of ‘psychological thriller’, and in recent years classic whodunnits have adopted more of a ‘psychological’ spin due to the former’s popularity since the release of Gone Girl. The focus isn’t just on the puzzle, clues and final reveal, i.e., the who, anymore, but each character’s inner monologue and what’s driving their actions, i.e. the why. They are still mysteries, of course, but they now tend to explore the psychology of the various suspects more deeply, thereby, in my view, enriching the story. Being a psychological thriller author, I really enjoyed exploring this combination in The School Gates, the school setting providing for a hotbed of simmering tension, poisonous mind games and deep discontent and in turn, ramping up the suspense in the reader’s mind. Likewise, rather than making him a gritty tough-talking detective, I purposely gave my investigating officer a much softer side, giving the reader an insight into his own inner struggles, attempting to show how the case affects him deeply having a young son himself, along with the stress and frustration he feels while investigating Lola’s murder and coming up against dead ends.
In short, whodunnits are no longer confined to locked-room puzzles and smart deductions leading to the capture of a killer. They are now much darker and more complex, delving more deeply into the protagonists’ psychologies with reference to wider societal and social issues. This is turn makes them more relatable, with none of us being infallible human beings, but prone to the darker traits of human nature and susceptible to taking a self-destructive path.
In The School Gates, while the reader follows Banner’s chain of enquiries which eventually lead him to unearthing Lola’s killer in the style of the classic “whodunnit”, we’re also offered an in-depth insight into events leading up to her death through Lola’s eyes; not just her own mindset and motivations, but that of other parents, thereby ramping up the suspense and uncertainty in readers’ minds, a device which hopefully keeps them guessing until the end!
The School Gates by A A Chaudhuri (Canelo Publishing) Out Now
First comes gossip … then comes revenge. When single mum Lola Martinez’s son, Luca, starts school, she feels that she’ll never fit in with the yummy mummies in the playground. Confident, married to wealthy men, with ample free time, they are everything she isn’t. However, Lola is invited into the inner circle, surrounded by seemingly friendly people, even if Lola’s silence about her child’s father puzzles them. Despite herself, Lola quickly becomes involved in playground politics, making as many enemies as friends. But then Lola is brutally murdered, her death rocking the close-knit community. As the police investigate the case, they discover that Lola was hiding many secrets – as are the mums in her new social circle. But who had the most reason to kill her? And who else might unwittingly hold the answers to what happened that night?
More information about the author can be found on her website. She can also be found on X @AAChaudhuri, Facebook, Instagram @a.a.chaudhuri, Tiktok @alexchaudhuri0923 and Blue Sky - @aachaudhuri.bsky.social
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