58 pages • 1-hour read
The Stillwater Girls
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Background
Authorial Context: Minka Kent
Minka Kent is the author of a dozen domestic and psychological thrillers. Her work often centers on strong female protagonists—like Wren and Nicolette in The Stillwater Girls. Citing authors like Gillian Flynn, Caroline Kepnes, and Chevy Stevens as influences, she explores the darker side of family dynamics and shows the complex truths hidden underneath the surface of ordinary lives. The Stillwater Girls examines both the highly controlled and isolated environment Wren’s mother has created for her children and the troubling undercurrents of Nicolette’s seemingly ordinary life. In her official bio, Kent notes that she has “always been curious about good people who do bad things and loves to explore what happens when larger-than-life characters are placed in fascinating situations.” Her novels Gone Again, Imaginary Strangers, The Memory Watcher, People Like Them, and The Thinnest Air all feature female protagonists struggling with secrets hidden under the facades of family lives that seem perfect to outsiders. The female protagonists of When I Was You, After Dark, The Perfect Roommate, and The Silent Woman find themselves in more unusual situations, but, like the protagonists of Kent’s other novels, these women must find the courage to confront their circumstances and the determination to triumph over antagonists who have given in to the darker side of their natures. Kent’s work has been nominated for two International Thriller awards and a Shirley Jackson award, and one of her novels—Unmissing—was adapted for television in 2024. Kent acted as an executive producer for the adaptation, I Thought My Husband’s Wife Was Dead. Under her other pseudonym, Winter Renshaw, Kent has also written more than four dozen contemporary romances.
Literary Context: Domestic Thrillers
As a subgenre, domestic thrillers represent a departure from a history of thrillers featuring dramatic locations and protagonists with exciting, exotic professions—spies, undercover officers, treasure hunters, mercenaries, etc. Such thrillers are generally plot-focused, centering on a central adventure or crime, such as a heist, assassination, or mission of espionage, and traditionally feature a male protagonist. The James Bond novels, such as Casino Royale and From Russia With Love, are archetypical examples of this kind of classic thriller. By contrast, psychological thrillers that focus on the domestic sphere tend to be more character-driven, feature female protagonists, center on families and relationships, and take place in more mundane and familiar settings. These “domestic thrillers” have ancient roots—Euripides’ 431 A.D. play Medea, for example, might be considered a domestic thriller. Charles Perrault’s “Bluebeard,” a folktale from 1697, is often pointed to as a key early text in this subgenre, and the 1944 classic film Gaslight is a well-known example of a domestic thriller.
In a contemporary context, domestic thrillers have gained popularity, as audiences are increasingly interested in stories about the trust issues that arise in ordinary lives. The conflicts in domestic thrillers are generally focused on relatable problems having to do with things like money, fidelity, family secrets, and illness. These stories allow audiences to peek inside the lives of complex and imperfect characters who seem as familiar as neighbors, to vicariously experience cathartic emotions, and to enjoy the thrill of seemingly safe spaces suddenly turning sinister. The Stillwater Girls, which explores the psychological ramifications of an isolated family environment and the suspicions Nicolette has about her marriage, is a prime example of the domestic thriller. Other contemporary examples include Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl, Tarryn Fisher’s The Wives, Liane Moriarty’s Big Little Lies, and Oyinkan Braithwaite’s My Sister, the Serial Killer.
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