Aibu to ask you to define genre for me?

[tobee]

Without wishing to sound too daft.

I was wondering how you define some literary genres, rather than just giving examples.

For starters:-

Psychological thriller. Why that and not just a thriller? What would I expect if I read one?

Chick lit. How would you define that?

Been thinking about this for a while!

Any genres that might be open to debate?

Chick lit, I would say, is a novel written by women fir women. Usually lightweight, romance often involved. Examples of authors might be Jenny Colgan, Fern Britton etc. Nice, feel good novels for beach reading, with a happy ending.

Psychological thrillers differ from ordinary thrillers imo because they involve a personal element such as domestic abuse, blackmail, etc whereas a thriller might be more on a grander scale like Le Carre.

Anyway these are my thoughts. Others will probably expand or differ in opinion

Oh, no one else?I think I should have written genres and not genre.

Psychological suspense usually involves a peril which comes from someone close to you. Although there might be ultimately a physical threat, the fear comes from knowing you might not be able to trust the ones you love.

Think of Sleeping with the Enemy - that moment when Julia Roberts is in the bath and sees the towels have been tidied - that probably sums up psychological suspense for me. If the guy had thrown a brick through her window or shot her, it would have been a thriller, but not a psychological thriller.

Oh I'm glad I asked. Some useful answers. It's just when these terms are constantly bandied around I just think do I actually know what that means?

I like Liane Moriaty, Lisa Jewell, Jodi Picoult, Diane Chamberlain, Dorothy Koomson etc and find it hard to decide what genre they best fit into.
Chick lit to me is light and fluffy eg Sophie Kinsella.

Anyone recommend good psychological thrillers? Read behind closed doors

Not sure if this counts, broody, hence my question, but how about The Kind Worth Killing by Peter Swanson. It was recommended by on here and was enjoyable.

I would recommend Into The Darkest Corner by Elizabeth Haynes. That was chilling. Or you might like Before I Go To Sleep by S J Watson, which I wasn't keen on. Both fit the psychological thriller genre.

Ruth Rendell's standalone novels (not the Wexford police series, although they're OK if you like police procedurals), and her other novels published in the name Barbara Vine.

Her last few novels lacked the edge of those written in her prime, so I would start with any of her 1970s/80s/90s work.