What technique does Child recommend an author use
to create suspense?
creating strong characters
(You notice I haven't told you what the invention was yet?
I implied a question, and didn't answer it. You're waiting.
You're wondering, what did almost no one have in 1980
that almost everyone had in 1990? You're definitely going
to read the next paragraph, aren't you? Thus the principle
works in a micro sense, as well as in a macro one. Page to
page, paragraph to paragraph, line to line - even within
single sentences - imply a question first, and then answer
it second. The reader learns to chase, and the momentum
becomes unstoppable.)
-"A Simple Way to Create Suspense,"
Lee Child
delaying answers to questions
sequencing in chronological order
flashing back to events in the past