Tense is a tool. It shapes the way readers relate to the action of a novel. Jordan Harper wrote Everybody Knows in present tense to bring readers into the same headspace of his cast. The novel is set in Los Angeles, a city of reinvention, of now. The cast are all attempting to outrun their pasts in one way or another, whether they change their name or hide their tattoos. LA is also defined by hedonism; parties and drugs annihilate the future. The present is all that exists for the characters. Protagonists Mae and Chris investigate a vast conspiracy implicating the entire LA power structure. The villains want to keep their crimes hidden and deny people the chance to imagine a future without a boot on their neck. The present becomes a prison.
It also gives the novel a frantic energy. Harper constantly bombards his heroes with crises. The present tense hypnotizes the reader, making them turn the pages as fast as they can to see how each crisis feeds into another. This is what the characters do as the conspiracy turns its attention on them. They are trying to swim in a rip current. There is no time to reflect; they must keep acting and hope they can survive their terrible now. They can hope the future will be better, but they cannot rely on it.
However, everything Harper does with the present tense applies to novels written in the past tense. The Talented Mr. Ripley comes to mind as another thriller that demands the reader turn the pages as fast as they can.
Why is present tense special? I read so many more books written in the past tense than the present tense. It is easy to forget that it is a choice authors make. It unbalances me in a good way and makes me appreciate how one decision can fundamentally change how I engage with a piece of writing.
You may note that this blog is written in present tense. I believe that literature lives. A book happens when somebody reads it, whenever they read it. Brilliant work continues to come out and classics prove they are evergreen to each new generation of readers. The best way to discuss it is to celebrate the fact that it is ongoing. I encourage my readers to celebrate that fact. I recommend a brilliant crime novel called Everybody Knows by Jordan Harper.