Character behaviour

[cypher_lee]

I have been working on a novel for a while in which one of the main focuses of the plot revolves around the main character's unusual side job.

He helps people he meets on suicide websites kill themselves, but instead of simply aiding he is the one who actually kills them. The people who he does this for are people who are suicidal and want to die, but have certain religious misgivings about the very act of suicide, and so he steps in and perfroms the deed himself, allowing them to die with a clear conscience and avoid eternal damnation.

I know this is a little similar to that assasin character in the sin city graphic novels, but could someone tell me if this idea has been used before in other novels?

[Aconite]

I know this is a little similar to that assasin character in the sin city graphic novels, but could someone tell me if this idea has been used before in other novels?
Why does it matter if it has or not?

[cypher_lee]

Well, i don't want there to be too many similarities. Granted, seeing as i don't know of any similar ideas and such in other books, i don't think there's much worry of me being accused of stealing ideas :)

[Aconite]

I don't think so, either. :)

[azbikergirl]

It sounds like an episode of Law & Order I've seen.

[HapiSofi]

The story's in the telling. Some setups make for better telling than others, but they're not the determining factor.

[katiemac]

I know this is a little similar to that assasin character in the sin city graphic novels, but could someone tell me if this idea has been used before in other novels?

I've seen something very similiar in an episode of Law & Order, right down to the suicide websites.

ETA: ...which was already mentioned.

[scarletpeaches]

There's just been a programme on channel 4 (U.K.) about that...anyone see it?

A suicidal 14 year old boy went into chat rooms using 6 different personas to persuade a 15 year old lad to kill him. (The 15 year old didn't know ANY of these personas was his real-life friend). It was a true story with changed names for legal reasons, but it was amazing to me that the 15 year old fell for all the tales the suicidal lad told him.

[Sharon Mock]

A Vanity Fair article about that case (http://www.vanityfair.com/commentary/content/articles/050110roco01)

It's a doozy of a story; I have it printed out just in case it should ever disappear from the VF website. Sort of not the same thing as this topic, but fascinating nonetheless.