The Art of Thrillers: Behind the Shadows

4. Moral Struggle

By defining the concepts of good and evil in your story's world, you are positioning your hero on the good side of the moral spectrum. However, this does not imply that everything should be painted in black and white, with good and evil being the only options. Your main character can still be an anti-hero and face off against a villain who just so happens to be more corrupt in a circumstance like this. Although there may be many murky regions in this situation, you still need a moral conflict and a hero who is on the side of goodness.

Here are some novels that you can read related to this type:

Amnesty

by Aravind Adiga

Dhananjaya Rajaratnam, who goes by Danny, is an undocumented immigrant working in Sydney as a cleaner, slowly trying to build a better life for himself. All is going according to plan until one of his clients is brutally murdered, and he suspects one of his other clients of having perpetrated the deed. Danny's faced with a life-altering dilemma: come forward with what he knows and get deported back to Sri Lanka, or say nothing and keep living his life with his job and girlfriend as justice goes unserved? Heartbreakingly beautiful, AMNESTY explores the challenges of being undocumented and the quandary of doing what is right within a system that consistently punishes people regardless of their character.

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Falling

by T. J. Newman

Who doesn't love the "trolley problem"? If you don't already know, the "trolley problem" is a philosophical thought experiment. It basically posits that you're a trolley driver who has lost control of the trolley's brakes, and you can choose to continue your course and hit multiple people stuck on the track or change tracks and hit only one person. In T.J. Newman's Falling, swap out the trolley for an airplane, and the lives at stake are all the passengers on one side and the pilot's family on the other. Who will pilot Bill Hoffman choose to save? This book is definitely one to pick up if you plan to stay grounded for a while.

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Hell University

By KnightInBlack

The plot of Hell University is fast-paced and action-packed, with plenty of twists and turns to keep readers engaged. The story begins with a group of teenagers going on a haunted group outing and stumbling upon a hidden school where students are allowed to kill each other after sunset. From there, the characters must fight for their lives while trying to uncover the secrets of the school.

The plot is well-constructed and keeps readers guessing until the very end. The themes of survival and justice are woven throughout the story, adding depth and meaning to the plot. There are also several personal story arcs for the characters, adding an emotional layer to the novel.

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