Saturday, March 22, 2014

March 22nd, 2014



VILLAINS



Do you need them? When do you use them, and what is the most diabolical type of villain to you?


Every mystery/thriller needs a villain or a perp as they are called in ‘police speak’.
The perpetrator is as necessary to the plot of a mystery or a thriller as sunshine to a plant.
In the romance genre too, the TV show Dynasty is a great example of how necessary villains are… Krystle Carrington seemed all the nicer when she was constantly battling Alexis’ ploys.
His or her wickedness throws the hero and heroine into sharp relief, draws the reader into the story and has him or her cheering for the main protagonist, the hero or heroine and hoping they will win.

In the young adult mystery series I’m writing:  The Green and Gold Mystery Series, the first three books, January, February (out now) and March (upcoming) have villains that are introduced early in the story.
They are used throughout the story and add richness to the mysteries.

In ‘The Green and Gold Mystery Series:  February’ (now available on Amazon.com), there is a unique twist on the perps.
Instead of being the usual dastardly criminal minds, they were people one can’t help liking.  They were funny, endearing and have troubles of their own.
Was I channeling Arsenic and Old Lace, a favorite movie of mine when I wrote this book?  I think so.  Though there are no murders involved in this mystery, the sisters do challenge the readers’ imaginations and the story has an unusual ending.

The most diabolic type of villains to me are the ones in the following psych thrillers,

A Perfect Murder

and

Along Came a Spider.


I love psych thrillers in which villains are disguised as good guys/gals and keep us guessing till the very end ‘whodunit’.

Please visit the next blog in the Round Rhobin for more:

http://connievines.blogspot.com

Robin thanks for organizing these and including me.