A Good Thriller discussion

Does the setting of a book affect your reading experience?

Are there time periods or locations that you prefer to read? Why?
Are there time periods or locations that you don't read? Why?
How do you feel when the location is generic and you can't determine where it is?
How did the time and place influence the story?

I can't really get into novels set before the Sherlock Holmes era or between there and the 30s detective era - Sam Spade et al - I can't say why. They just don't 'click' with me. Anything from there to present day is fine.
Except for books set in the British Isles I don't really enjoy books set outside the USA. They just have no appeal to me.
I like books with a firmly set location because I can feel a connection to the area.
Time is a different story. I love Parker's Spenser novels - even those written by others after he died - but I find them a bit disconcerting because if they were set in real time, Spenser would be in his 90s today yet he still acts like he's in his 30s and 40s.

PamG wrote: "Does the setting of a book affect your reading experience?

There is an extra dimension to reading a story where you've been to many of the settings that are included in the novel.

It feels less like fiction and more like deja vu.

I enjoy books set in villages or small towns although I've read some set in busy places like NY which I've enjoyed.

I like the idea of neighbors being close, because I'm on 7 acres and never see anyone unless I make a point of it, and I like it when people can walk to the store or some type of shop.

I'm not a fan of Victorian era literature.

I seem to be more of a fan of the classics in general, but like some modern type settings. I like mysteries that move around a little in setting, take place on trains, locked room styled ones. I just don't like being around settings that are dysfunctional or overly hostile all the time, like a mystery surrounding a dysfunctional family or in prisons, etc.

David wrote: "...I like books with a firmly set location because I can feel a connection to the area...."

I totally understand the need to feel a connection to the area. If the novel is written in such a way that it could take place anywhere, I don't feel that connection and the book can almost make me feel detached from what is happening.

David wrote: "...Time is a different story. I love Parker's Spenser novels...."

I enjoy the occasional Spenser novel as well. They seem like a guilty pleasure. You're right about the main character.

˜”*°•.˜”*°• Sheri •°*”˜.•°*”˜ wrote: "I enjoy books set in villages or small towns although I've read some set in busy places like NY which I've enjoyed.

I like the idea of neighbors being close, because I'm on 7 acres and never see ..."

I can see why you enjoy that type of setting. It's amazing how our own setting can affect our reading preferences.

Franky wrote: "I just don't like being around settings that are dysfunctional or overly hostile all the time, like a mystery surrounding a dysfunctional family or in prisons, etc..."

Mysteries/thrillers that center around dysfunctional families are one of my least favorite types to read.

The setting does affect my reading experience sometimes. I tend to prefer modern, contemporary settings because they feel more relatable. I especially love suburban and small-town settings, isolated locations, and I'm also drawn to mysteries/thrillers set around water, like oceans, lakes, since they give that eerie "something lurking beneath the surface" feeling.
If a setting feels too generic, it can sometimes make the story harder to visualise and less immersive for me. I love when the setting feels like a character itself.

I enjoy atmospheric settings in unusual places that are either in remote places, like Alaska or the mountains or forests or maybe in a different culture in Asia or Africa for example.

I also like historical mysteries set in Regency or Victorian eras. I think because it's a time that isn't yet modern, but attitudes and inventions are starting to change. Although there are still strict rules about how people should behave there is still a murky, edgy underworld beneath the genteel surface that bubbles up into the thrillers.