The Scariest Part of Suspense - Villains and Why We Love Them!

 

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