New thriller from local author hits shelves

St. Vital

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This article was published 12/07/2023 (840 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A central character in his latest novel might be missing, but Ryan Souter’s passion for writing remains clear and present.

The St. Vital resident recently released his third self-published novel called Missing Maria, which is described as a psychological thriller mystery story about a mother searching for her missing teenage daughter, who enlists the help of her detective brother.

For the book — which follows 2020’s Little Devil Inside and 2022’s Hope Rises — Souter said he enlisted an entourage of support to help with the book — including hiring former Winnipeg Free Press reporter Bill Redekop — and he’s happy to have created working relationships with everyone involved with his most recent project. Other contributors include Riley Martin, who designed the cover and has helped with social media content creation; Kali MacDonald, the book’s interior designer and website designer; and beta reader Marilyn Souter — his mother — who provided feedback.

Without giving too much away, Missing Maria centres on a woman’s teenage daughter who goes missing one evening. The book’s blurb describes aspiring novelist Dalia Comb, who lives “a luxurious life with her loving family and professional husband until the fateful night their teenage daughter, Maria, doesn’t return home.”

“There are psychological twists in the story, and there are things going on beneath the surface,” Souter, 43, said.

“The woman lives a lavish life, but she also sees the dark side of life. This opens her eyes to reality.”

To help keep the creative process fresh and interesting, Souter said he likes switching the voices of his protagonists — the main character in his first book was male, and the main characters in his last two books are female.

“I like writing from the perspective of strong female characters,” Souter said, noting he has lots of male characters, too. “Not necessarily aggressively tough, but strong on their own two feet.”

“I like to think I go back-and-forth between the two. The most important thing is to do your best to make your characters human. I like to believe you can craft characters you can meet in the street,” he added.

Not one to rest on his artistic laurels for too long, Souter’s next novel — Hope Becomes — is slated for release next year.

Go online at www.ryansouter.ca for more information, including how to buy the book.