WHO’S YOUR FAVORITE KILLER? Fictional, of course. I don’t like one-dimensional bad guys, and I find psychopathic serial killers boring. I mean, after Silence of the Lambs, Criminal Minds, Dexter, and every other thriller out there, we pretty much know everything there is to know about those guys.
Just in the outlining stages of my next book, the third in the series, and am deciding who the bad guys are, who gets murdered, and why. This is the fun part!
What would bring someone to the brink? How does one bad decision lead to another, until the only possible outcome is the taking of a life, even if that was not the original intent, or the intent at all, but only a byproduct of greed, jealousy, or criminal activity?
I’ve written murderers who didn’t have a chance to turn out normal, but were formed during their childhoods. As they grew into adulthood, their subsequent exposure to otherwise good people and ideas was viewed through a distorted lens. Stress builds up between their world view and reality, until something snaps within them.
Although it’s not politically correct, I’m sure, to contemplate this, let alone say it out loud, I think some people may be genetically predisposed to violence no matter what their upbringing. That doesn’t mean they have zero control, or that a great home life may not be able to keep that trait from manifesting itself or keep those tendencies at bay. I love reading about the latest brain research. It’s exploding out there. As usual, the technology is far outpacing our social readiness for tools that may be able to find, modify, remove or add certain genetic traits. It goes way beyond eye color, now.
Take sociopaths – are they missing an ’empathy’ gene, or are they missing chocolate chip cookies and being tucked in at night? Vitamin C? In fiction, these killers take lives merely as a means to an end, or completely by accident, without remorse. I find them more interesting than serial killers. They’re pragmatic rather than cruel, although the results of their actions in a mystery/thriller novel are the same.
So, whoever they are and however they got there, here’s to all the multi-faceted, intriguing murderers who keep us turning the pages!
A self-admitted book addict, Valerie was the kid with the flashlight under her pillow. A life of travel with exposure to many different cultures led to a pervasive interest in people, with degrees & teaching credentials in Cultural Anthropology & English.