Okay, I
confess, I love reading about villains who keep me up at night and stay with
me long after I’ve finished the book.
In suspense,
the villain is every bit as important as the hero and heroine. We need a bad
guy to create conflict and set the story into motion. Villains unite the main
characters in a single cause. Defeating the bad guy.
Have you
ever read a villain that’s just a level above normal bad guys? One that really gives
you the creeps. There have been many villains who have accomplished this for me. One
that comes to mind is the villain from Linda Castillo’s, Sworn to Silence. This
is the first book in the Kate Burkholder series. If you haven’t read the book,
it’s good, but it is hard to read.
Villains
come in all different forms. Some are the person most trusted by the protagonists
like the killer from Don’t Close Your Eyes, book one of my Hallowed Halls
series. Angel was someone close to the FBI team searching for him and it came
as a complete surprise when his true relationship to Megan was revealed.
Other villains
are strangers with motives that range from revenge, to covering up another crime, to someone seeking financial
gain such as a drug smuggler or a trafficker in stolen goods or human lives.
In my
upcoming Love Inspired Suspense, Ambush in the Mountains, the villain is a
human trafficker. The heroine has escaped, and he wants her
back. He will stop at nothing to accomplish that.
But some villains
have far more twisted motives. Such as Embalmer, the serial killer in my upcoming
book, The Last To Know.
So, what’s
your favorite type of villain? Is there one you think is overdone, or
maybe just too creepy.
I’ll be
giving away a copy of my upcoming release, THE LAST TO KNOW, to someone who
comments. Be sure to leave your email address. I’ll announce the winner in a
few days!
Here’s a
little about THE LAST TO KNOW:
An FBI agent
with a dark secret.
A killer on
a mission.
A murderous
past that unearths an unexpected connection.
BAU Special
Agent Hannah London’s troubled past reminds her that life is fragile. And hers
has an expiration date that can’t be denied.
When the
bottom drops out of Hannah’s world, and a killer ramps up his victim count,
Hannah and fellow agent, Cooper Delaney are in a race against time to catch the
killer. A bombshell revelation has Hannah and Cooper reeling after the killer’s
cryptic messages seem to hint at a connection. . .to Hannah.
As Hannah’s
feelings for Cooper deepen, her head tells her to end things before Cooper gets
hurt. But her heart, the one that threatens to betray her, doesn’t want to walk
away.
PREORDER IT HERE