Writing Mystery and Suspense in the Style of Alfred Hitchcock

By Tony Lee Moral

Having written four books on Sir Alfred Hitchcock, and three mystery and suspense novels, two of which are published this month “The Two Masks of Vendetta” and its sequel “The Passion of the Cross”, I rely on the tips for suspenseful writing that can be learnt from the Master of Suspense when writing your story.

The Difference Between Mystery and Suspense

Hitchcock often outlined the difference between mystery and suspense. Mystery is an intellectual process, like a ‘who dunnit’. In my novel “Vendetta”, the mystery is who killed Miles Kingston? But suspense is an emotional process that involves the audience or reader. Hitchcock knew that the number one rule of suspense is to give your reader information. You can’t expect a reader to have anxieties if they have nothing to be anxious about. If you tell the audience that there is a bomb in the room and that it’s going to go off in five minutes, that’s suspense. “We’re sitting here talking,” said Hitchcock in an interview. “And we don’t know there’s a bomb hidden inside your tape recorder. The public doesn’t know either, and suddenly the bomb explodes. We’re blown to bits. Surprise, but how long does it last, the surprise and horror? Five seconds no more.” The secret Hitchcock maintained, was to let the audience in on the secret, the ticking bomb. In that way, instead of five seconds of surprise, you’ve created five minutes of suspense.

Creating Suspense in Novels

In the same way, I sometimes gave more information to the audience than the central characters to keep the suspense going in my novels. For example, when Catriona goes to Belvedere, the Kingston family home, unbeknown to her she is being watched by the sinister valet Ward. I paid particular attention so that the reader will be invested in Catriona’s predicament from the start. They’d ask questions such what will happen when Miles’ family find out that she’s not really Mrs. Kingston? Will the Detective catch Catriona? Will Mario go to jail? All of these questions arise from a single problem that Catriona is pretending to be someone she is not. The suspense in the sequel The Passion of the Cross is will the heroine Catriona uncover the murderer before she becomes the next target and clear Mario’s name? The suspense drives the narrative and keeps the reader interested.

Hitchcockian Character Types

Catriona is the novel’s central character and resembles the duplicitous blondes of Hitchcock’s films from Madeleine Carroll to Grace Kelly. The wrongfully accused man was also a subject Hitchcock repeatedly returned throughout his career from The 39 Steps to Frenzy, and is reflected in Catriona’s boyfriend Mario. And the serial killer or psychopath has long fascinated Hitchcock ever since The Lodger through to Psycho, he becomes my novel’s chief villain. 

The Importance of the MacGuffin

I also needed a MacGuffin, which Hitchcock described as the red herring or engine of the story, the object around which the plot revolves and motivates the actions of the characters. In Notorious, the MacGuffin is the uranium ore inside the wine bottles, and in North by Northwest, it is the statue that holds the secret microfilm. In “Vendetta”  the MacGuffin is the stolen artwork that drives the story, and in “Cross” it’s the True Cross of Jesus Christ which the characters are searching for.

The Role of Locations in Suspense

Locations are very important in Hitchcock’s films, not only for locale but to drive the plot. Hitchcock loved public and everyday places where chaos can erupt at any moment. Similarly, I set my novel in New York’s trendiest restaurants, hotel lobbies, theatres, art galleries and ball rooms. I place Catriona in theatrical situations, like the Whitney Gallery, the Metropolitan Opera House, and other Hitchcockian motifs such as wine cellars and spiralling staircases. When the second novel moves to Italy, the open piazzas, bell towers, opera houses and churches become scenes of murder. The sudden switches of location in a book are also very important to keep the reader alert. Hitchcock knew that one of the ways in which suspense drama must change is in its setting.

As well as locations, Hitchcock believed in using props dramatically. I literally borrowed the dressmaker’s scissors from Dial M for Murder, for one of the killings in my book, which is fitting since Catriona is very much involved in costume and high fashion.

Balancing Suspense with Humor

“Suspense doesn’t have any value unless it’s balanced by humor,” said Hitchcock, who was famous for his macabre sense of humor in films like The Trouble With Harry. In Frenzy, Hitchcock liked the extremes between comedy and horror and used humor to great effect between the Chief Inspector and his wife. “I invented the Chief Inspector’s wife so as to permit myself to place most of the discussion of the crime outside a professional context,” said Hitchcock. “And I get comedy to sugar-coat the discussions by making the wife a gourmet cook. So this inspector comes home every night to the discussion of the murders over very rich meals.” Comedy can make your writing more dramatic and give your reader a chance to reflect on the suspense.

The Three-Act Structure in Hitchcock’s Films

Hitchcock’s films follow the conventional three-act structure in stories as diverse in plot as Shadow of a Doubt, Strangers on a Train, North by Northwest, Psycho and The Birds. In the first act, it’s setting up who the characters are and what the situation of the whole story is. The second act is the progression of that situation to a high point of conflict. And the third act is how the conflicts and problems are resolved. The third act has the highest point of conflict, just before the resolution, and it builds to a climax that is bigger emotionally than anything that has happened in the second act.

The Art of Dialogue

Good writing is subtext, reading between the lines, rather than ‘on the nose’ dialogue. Much of the dialogue in Hitchcock’s best screenplays, such as Notorious, Rear Window, and North by Northwest, is indirect, with layers of meaning. Nobody says anything straight; the dialogue is oblique, but perfectly understandable. It’s more interesting to say things through a literary device and have people remember the lines. Good dialogue should have a rhythm and be full of conflict, like Guy Haines’ epic tennis match in Strangers on a Train, a verbal volley match, until someone scores the point. In “The Two Masks of Vendetta”, there is much verbal sparring between Catriona, the protagonist, and Radcliffe, the detective, who is chasing her in a high stakes cat and mouse game

Starting with a Bang

A good crime story should start with an earthquake and be followed by rising tension. Some of Hitchcock’s best stories start with a bang, such as the strangulation murder at the beginning of Rope or the abduction of George Kaplan and mistaken identity in North by Northwest. I start The Passion of the Cross with a murder at the opera when everyone becomes a prime suspect.

About the Author

Tony Lee Moral is a versatile filmmaker and author with a career spanning over four decades. Born in Hastings, England in the 1970s, he developed an early interest in nature and cinema. In the 1980s, Tony found success with his own software company. He then transitioned to documentary filmmaking in the 1990s, working with the BBC Natural History Unit and later in California. Throughout the 2000s, Tony created diverse documentaries featuring celebrity interviews and covering a wide range of topics. In 2015, he founded Sabana Films, producing bespoke documentaries like “The Mountain War.” Tony continues to make films globally, blending his passions for storytelling, history, and the natural world.

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Caught between love, lies, and the Italian mafia – Catriona Benedict’s life is about to take a deadly turn.Catriona, a struggling actress in New York City, finds herself trapped in a dangerous web of secrets. Approached by the wealthy and charismatic Miles Kingston, she’s offered an incredible sum of money to pose as his wife – an arrangement that will help Miles secure his enormous inheritance. Eager to escape her financial woes, and her boyfriend’s debts to a violent loan shark, Catriona reluctantly agrees.But as they toast to their union, there is a shocking murder, and a slew of suspects. The glamorous world of the Kingston family soon reveals its darker side. Now Catriona must race against time to clear her name and outwit a killer before she becomes the next target. A stylish murder mystery filled with unexpected twists and unforgettable characters, this is a thriller that will keep you guessing until the very end.

When famed curator Giovanni Montefiore’s is shockingly murdered at the Italian Opera in Rome following his bold proclamation regarding the authenticity of the True Cross, there are many suspects, but suspicion falls heavily upon his nephew, Mario Montefiore. With his American girlfriend, actress Catriona Benedict, by his side, they embark on a perilous quest for truth and to uncover the real killer, leading them through some of Italy’s most iconic and glamorous cities. But as the body count rises and the relentless pursuit of both law enforcement and paparazzi intensifies, they find themselves fleeing to Florence in search of the True Cross ,which they hope holds the answers they need. Amidst the ancient streets of Florence, Catriona assumes a daring new identity, delving into a world of shadows and deception. Will they uncover the secrets surrounding the True Cross before it’s too late?

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