What’s one of the most difficult issues facing authors of crime or thriller novels?
Well, hopefully one of them is that we haven’t actually committed any of the crimes or the serious misdemeanours we write about. I mean, I know they say “write what you know,” but no one’s suggesting we launch a string of murders just to shift a few copies. OK yes, some might point to Anne Perry or even William S. Burroughs, but thankfully, the list of writers-turned-criminals is shorter than this sentence.
For me, however, the main difficulty when I set about writing The Light and Shade of Ellen Swithin wasn’t avoiding a court appearance. It was deciding to swerve the traditional whodunnit formula. We already know whodunnit—Ellendunnit. It’s a whydunnit. Moreover, it’s a will-she-keep-getting-away-with-it story. I wanted readers to cheer for a murderer, which, is a tad conflicting. So how did I do it?
Inspired by characters like Dexter Morgan (Dexter) or Villanelle (Killing Eve) killers that are equal parts fascinating and relatable. I had to make Ellen, morally complex and magnetic. They’re charismatic, flawed, and maybe even a little bit vulnerable. For them, humanity is a flex. Readers meeting Ellen learn she’s total nerd who loves Star Wars, live music, and tech. She’s just trying to bag a promotion, pay for her wedding, and navigate life as a Black woman in a White male-dominated profession. She’s ambitious, smart, and a bit of an outsider.
Beneath her overachieving Chief Actuary exterior lurks her emerging “dark passenger.” The book explores the light and dark sides within us all—hence the title. Ellen’s duality makes her resonate. Ellen’s not just looking for a man in finance, she’s killing him.
Creating Ellen meant finding the perfect equilibrium of dark humour approachability and being an likeable agent of chaos. I had to make her crimes so skilfully ahem executed that readers could almost admire her. Ellen him; she’s practically developing a new premium CV skill set.
But once I nailed Ellen’s character, I had to tackle the first rule of crime and thriller writing: suspense. We already know the culprit, so the tension must come from elsewhere, it’s about digging into why it happened—and whether it’ll happen again.
Maintaining momentum became another challenge. To keep the story gripping, I had to dive into Ellen’s psychology, her ethical dilemmas, and the emotional fallout of her actions. I wanted my readers to feel like they got her, even when she crossed lines. Feeling that twinge of sympathy for her? Mission accomplished.
My biggest hurdle, however, was balancing suspense with suitably jaw-dropping twists (sorry no spoilers). I spent days in actual conversations with my characters, piecing together a story where motives unfold gradually, complications arise unpredictably, and moral ambiguities leave readers questioning themselves. The second rule? A satisfying conclusion.
Did I manage to hinge this all on a moral payoff or an emotional provocation rather than just tying up lose ends? Oh no, I’m not telling you that …
The Light and Shade of Ellen Swithin by DG Coutinho is published by Vintage and is out now.
