Anatomy of an Alibi is a mystery thriller novel that adheres to several key genre tropes. The novel follows the before and after of the murder of Ben Bayliss, a prominent lawyer with ties to deep-rooted corruption and a life-altering secret. Elston utilizes the thriller trope of multiple points of view/multiple narrators to add an extra layer of uncertainty to the text. This trope features heavily in the thriller and mystery genres.

Lucy Foley’s 2020 murder mystery novel The Guest List follows a narrative that switches between the points of view of five principle characters that attend a wedding at a secluded venue. The novel unfolds out of order, with chapters from the past, present, and future. The various points of view and timeline switches have a dizzying effect on the novel’s plot, keeping the mystery of who died and who killed them obfuscated until the final chapters. Anatomy of an Alibi features four narrators—Aubrey, Camille, Hank, and Ben—and each narrator knows only fragments of the truth about what happened to Aubrey’s parents and to Ben, with these fragments only converging to form a whole picture in the final few chapters of the novel. 

Gillian Flynn’s 2012 psychological thriller novel Gone Girl also alternates between the points of view of Nick and Amy Dunne, two unreliable narrators using manipulation to muddy the waters of the truth of their relationship. Gone Girl also features another prominent thriller trope that appears in Anatomy of an Alibi: Controlling and toxic relationships. Nick and Amy’s marriage is rife with secrets, just like Ben and Camille’s relationship. Another example of this trope is Paula Hawkins’s 2015 psychological thriller The Girl on the Train, which features multiple controlling and toxic relationships, including the protagonist Rachel’s former marriage to the novel’s murderer, Tom, who gaslights her into repressing the memories of physical abuse. Though Camille isn’t married to the murderer in Anatomy of an Alibi, Ben’s role in Aubrey’s parents’ deaths is a sinister secret that lurks at the heart of their relationship. Ben’s desire to use the secret as leverage over Randall Everett leads him to gaslight Camille about their relationship, leaving her anxious and uncertain about the state of their marriage.

The trope of the framed or wrongly accused character appears in Anatomy of an Alibi, as Randall Everett and Kevin Foster work to frame Paul Granger for the deaths of Aubrey Price’s parents. This trope is popular in the thriller genre. Stephen King’s 1996 novel The Green Mile, also features a wrongfully accused character, as the narrative focuses on John Coffey, a man falsely convicted of the murder of two young girls. Unlike Paul Granger, Coffey faces the death penalty, and the novel ends in his tragic execution. Though Paul Granger’s fate isn’t explicitly stated at the end of Anatomy of an Alibi, the courts would likely overturn his sentencing after the discovery of Sully’s supposed guilt.