Upcoming: Reviewing Exclusively Christian Thrillers (For Now)

Hello Everyone,

       Every person has their own level of comfort.  For example, in romance books, the spice designations are important because some people want their romance novels to be light and sweet without the explicit content included.  I have started to understand my own level of comfort, and I need to explain where I’m at. 

 I have been specifically looking for kidnapping thrillers, because my own novel is a kidnapping thriller, so I have been trying to find some novels in the same genre.  As a Christian, my book had some Christian themes, so my plan was to review one “secular” or non-Christian thriller one month, and the next month review one Christian thriller the next month.  (For the sake of simplicity, I will call non-Christian thrillers “secular thrillers” going forward.) 

While I have loved some of the secular thrillers I have read and reviewed so far, there have been too many (for me, anyway) that I did not finish or felt uncomfortable reading and reviewing because of the explicit content.  Unlike romance novels, which are pretty clear upfront about the level of explicitness, finding out disturbing content in a thriller is more like a roll of the dice, and many did not have trigger warnings in the description about the book or on a page before the story started.  

Now, to be clear, of the secular titles I have read, there are some standout novels I am glad I took a chance on, like Two Girls Down or Such Quiet Girls (which did have explicit moments, but they weren’t enough to stop me from reading and reviewing) - and Such Quiet Girls did have a trigger warning, and I was very grateful author Noelle W. Ihlli included one. 

But after trying to read three secular thrillers (which left me feeling quite disturbed), I am struggling to continue to read those types of books.  (These thrillers shall remain nameless - there’s no way I want to mention the titles so anyone would be curious to check them out.)  The descriptions in the novels were way too explicit for me, and I was not enjoying the images swirling in my brain after reading those books. 

I completely understand the appeal of secular thrillers - if the content doesn’t bother you, I get the heightened tension and fun of big twists and reveals you didn’t see coming. In fact, I thought some secular thrillers did a better job overall of heightening suspense than several of the Christian thrillers I’ve read so far.  I need to be clear, though, that of the Christian thrillers I’ve read, I have really enjoyed them, and I do recommend them.  

But for me personally, and me as a Christian, I need to be mindful of what I put in my mind.  “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” Philippians 4:8.  When I read a secular thriller, and there is explicit content - especially explicit content that is glorified or placed in there specifically to shock the reader - I’m not leaving disturbed and feeling bad that I even tried to start that novel.  Those attributes do not align with the verse above.  For me personally, while I would love to read another good secular thriller, this “roll of the dice” is tough on my conscience and my desire to read in that genre.

Also, I need to be clear about the content of my own novel.  My book does explore adult themes and is written for an adult audience, but is void of the explicit, disturbing content that I had so much trouble with in those secular novels.  Especially after the most recent drafts, I have incorporated more direct Christian themes that felt right and organic to the story.  Themes of turning to God in the midst of danger, forgiveness, and not losing faith. Thus, I am now calling my novel a Christian kidnapping thriller, not just calling it a kidnapping thriller and naming Christian suspense as one of the sub-genres. 

Moving forward, I am now reviewing exclusively Christian thrillers for the time being.  I am leaving open the door to review a secular thriller in the future if it is particularly good and not full of disturbing explicit content.  I have already found at least five Christian kidnapping thrillers to review, the first review coming out next month.  

I have been open about my Christian faith, in my description about myself, posting verses on Sunday, and reviewing Christian novels. And I need to be honest with myself about how reading certain thrillers have affected me personally, and I need to be honest about the Christian themes I’m incorporating into my novel as well. I completely understand if categorically Christian novels aren’t your thing.  Nevertheless, I hope you will continue to follow me as I move forward in my journey to release my Christian thriller novel. 

All the best, Lee