S&S Book Club discussion

The story begins with the revelation Alicia murdered her husband. Why do you think the author made this admission at the very start?

Sierra wrote: "The story begins with the revelation Alicia murdered her husband. Why do you think the author made this admission at the very start?"

I believe the author started the book this way for an attention grabbing introduction. I believe it builds the suspense of who and why, a mystery. There are now so many ways the story can go from here.

Alex Michaelides From The Author:
I wanted the book to have a bold, attention grabbing opening. And nothing is bolder, I think, than telling the reader who the culprit is at the start of a mystery. It hopefully raises the question in the readers mind about where on earth the story can go now that the murderer has already been revealed--and what else the author might have up his sleeve. I was directly influenced by one of my favorite writers, Ruth Rendell. In A Judgement in Stone, she begins by telling us that the illiterate housekeeper killed the family she worked for because she could not read or write. That immediately makes us think "Why?" and Rendell famously said the actual details of murder did not interest her. What interested her was the reason why the murder was committed. I'm very much of the same opinion. Alfred Hitchcock said that a surprise is all very well, but it is a momentary pleasure; whereas suspense can go on indefinitely.