The Family Game

The literary thriller is a popular subgenre that uses tropes from the mystery genre to create a story of suspense, intrigue, and ultimate resolution. The thriller genre has long been popular, with texts as ancient as The Odyssey exploring the nuances of human emotions and actions in precarious situations.

Thrillers rely on what is called the “Three Cs”: the contract, the clock, and the crucible. The contract is an author’s implicit promise to the reader that all mysteries will be revealed in time. Withholding certain facts from the reader is an important trope in thriller fiction as it enhances the drama and tension of the novel. The reader discovers elements of suspense as the plot unfolds, maintaining engagement and anticipation. Importantly, anything that a thriller novel’s plot brings up must be resolved. In The Family Game, Robert’s tape-recording is an essential tool in developing the contract. As Robert reveals more insidious secrets about the Holbeck family, Harriet starts piecing together mysteries one by one, and each of these mysteries is resolved by the end of the novel. This provides a parallel structure to the narrative and satisfies the reader’s suspense.

The clock refers to a trope in the thriller genre in which time is used as a structure to put pressure on the events of the novel. Steadman introduces Harriet in media res in the Prologue on Christmas Eve, then in Chapter 1, she jumps back to mid-November. This immediately signals that Harriet’s narrative is beginning, and she will end up in a precarious and dangerous situation, which adds nuanced suspense to the plot. Each of Steadman’s chapters is noted with a date, creating a sense of urgency to Harriet’s story. There is roughly a month between Harriet’s meeting with the Holbecks and the Holbeck family secrets nearly ruining her life, which gives the novel its thrilling pace.

The crucible is a trope of thriller fiction wherein characters are constrained without an escape. This trope is important to the climax and denouement of the novel. In The Family Game, the estate The Hydes represents a physical constraint. No one can leave for help because the nearest town is too far away, and no phones are allowed. Thus, the Holbeck family are forced together, and anything bad that will happen can only be resolved by them. This crucible helps Harriet become the heroine that she has always been. She is able to master the labyrinth of The Hydes estate, find survivors, find Edward, and defeat him. The Hydes house is the location for both the climax and the denouement, as the family is forced together in relatively tight quarters.

Another important trope of the thriller genre is the role of the outsider. Outsiders are important in genres like the thriller or the mystery novel because it is essential that someone with a fresh perspective analyze the network of secrets that others are keeping. In this case, Harriet is the outsider. She is not wealthy or from an influential family, and she is a writer, which makes her extremely observant. Harriet’s role as the outsider is emphasized by her role as the narrator. As Harriet tries to make sense of the Holbeck family history of secrets, she brings the necessary outsider’s moral code to the novel and is able to read through the carefully hidden signs and secrets of the family precisely because she is not one of them and has a more objective hold on reality.

Surprises are also a major trope in thrillers. There are several surprise twists and turns along the way, but the climax of The Family Game reveals the most intense surprise: Edward, not Robert, has been the antagonist the entire time. This plot twist is important because it means that Harriet will not meet a neat ending with Robert.