Writing.Com General Discussion

Hi all, I'd appreciate your help.

I'm currently planning out the scenes for my suspense novel.

It's a multiple shifting viewpoint novel (4 viewpoint characters in total, of whom only three are 'on stage' for the first two thirds of the book). The fourth character doesn't make an appearance until the final third of the book, although when she does come on stage, her actions are the critical ones that bring the conflict to a conclusion. She is, in a way, the answer to my main protagonist's prayers, making her appearance just when all hope seems lost, and acting decisively to bring things to a positive conclusion.

My question is: Is it acceptable to introduce a pivotal character only in the final third of the book and yet still have that character carry out the decisive action that brings the conflict to a head?

My fourth character has a complex back story that informs all of her actions and illustrates how she comes to be in the right place at the right time. I've thought of bringing her 'on stage' earlier and showing her in some scenes that illustrate her lifestyle and personality and explain the context behind her later pivotal actions, but these 'character-setting' scenes would have nothing whatsover to do with the main arc of the story. She really doesn't have any link, overlap or connection with the other main characters or with the main story thread (which unfolds in chronological order) until the 11th hour, when she just happens to be in the right place at the right time and makes her game-changing intervention.

I'd welcome your thoughts....