Yeah, in medias res is a fancy Latin phrase meaning to start a novel in the middle of a dramatic scene. Richard Stark (a.k.a. Donald Westlake) of the fine hardboiled Parker series was one of the best at pulling it off.

Chapter One finds Parker in the middle of another tight jam. Of course he'll find a way out, otherwise there'd be no story to come next. I'm sure other authors have used the device, too.

Some readers find it to be jarring and ineffectual, but if it can be done just so, I like jumping straight into a novel's action. After all, that's why we call them thrillers or suspense novels.

By Ed Lynskey
Twitter: @edlynskey
Author of Lake Charles
"Unusual" and "vividly rendered"
Publishers Weekly