Do serial killers have a place in romance?

There is no formula for romantic suspense. No rule saying, 60% should be romance, and 40% suspense/thriller/mystery. No rule saying it should be fifty, fifty. Nothing to gauge how to balance the two drastically different elements. If I had to gauge my story, I would say it's about fifty/fifty. Books similar to mine span the genres, some labeled simply 'fiction' or 'novel', others categorized as mystery/thrillers or suspense, and then other of course, classified as romantic suspense.

This questions comes as the result of a rejection. Here is what the agent said, "I don't believe the hard '*uck you' line taken for you serial killer blends well with the romance side of the novel. It is just too jarring to me."

In the part she is commenting on, there is no romance. None. My characters don't even like each other at this point. And the serial killer, though you get to experience his first murder early on and it is cruel, it is also sort of understandable, and this is not at all his '*uck you' attitude. He gets much, much worse.

I read tons of romantic suspense and it is jarring sometimes, but that's part of why I like it. It constantly keeps me off kilter. And many times in the beginning there are sort of two separate lines, the bad guy's happenings, and the MC's happenings. And that is how my story begins, but the reader obviously knows soon the two separate lines are going to merge. This isn't unusual for romantic suspense, so I don't think that is the problem.

I always thought of my books as romantic suspense. I mean, the relationship, which develops into a romantic one, is a fundamental element of the book and the ending, IMO, is a happy one. And my story also has mystery, suspense, action/thriller, and violence.

Now I have to wonder: Have I gotten myself stuck between a rock and a hard place, having too much suspense/action/mystery/violence for a romance novel and too much romance for a suspense/action/mystery/violence novel?

No, no, no, the hero is NOT the serial killer.

She doesn't like the serial killer as a villain. I guess he's too cruel and cold which seems, in her opinion, too clash with the romance side of the novel.

Yeah, at first the killer is sort of off screen, and I don't just throw gore and violence in there. It is only pivotal kills and the violence is actually toned down. The killer is calculating and cold because he feels justified in what he is doing. And the reader knows the killer knows h/H long before the h/H knows they know him, if that makes sense. The h/H actually realize separately that they each have a different connection to this killer, and that is when they really start working together to stop the killer.

Ok, I knew I didn't say that right.

The h/H meet within the first 15 pages. They just don't know much about the killings or that the killings will soon be connected to them. But their relationship starts well before they really become aware of any connection to the killer. The only violence near the beginning is the first incident that made SK (serial killer) start his path to being a serial killer.

The SK knows the h/H. The reader know that SK knows h/H but even in his POV, you don't know who SK is.

Something terrible happens and the Hero realizes that the killer must be one of his best friends, but he doesn't know which one.

The heroine actually has a connection to one of the victims which leads her to suspect a tight knit group of guys, which of course the Hero is part of (she doesn't suspect the Hero, BTW).

Basically, the relationship between the H/h is separated from the SK until later in the book. It's almost two separate story lines (one being the relationship between hero and heroine, the other story line is what the killer is doing and experiencing) until about a quarter of the way through the book, which is why I'm guessing it was 'jarring' but the lines are intertwined.

I agree with catagory romance, but romantic suspense is very different, at least many the ones I have read are.

Many romantic suspense books switch POVs quite often because you've got so much going on at once.

But you make a great point. That's what I'm wondering. Romance is a driving force in my book, so is the suspense. Does it still fit in romantic suspense, or do I have a thriller/suspense with strong romantic elements? (but that seems to imply the romance isn't a driving force and it is).

Ok, so I'm not necessarily stepping over the bounds of romantic suspense, which is good IMO. Thank you for helping me as I struggled with wondering if I should recategorize my novel.

You know, I'll have to reread a few scenes from the SK's POV and see if I do change voice. I don't know if I do though because I'm never conscious of my voice. I've tried to be, but I write the way I write and I can't detect my voice, though I can detect voice for others.

Thanks again. I love romance forum. Everyone is so helpful (and nice to boot) around here.

The very first page displays my heroine's personal strength. And that is actually one thing the agent liked, the immediate discovery of this character's quiet determination and strength. She is strong, so very strong. But in her own mind, she thinks she is normal, normal problems, no better or worse than anyone else. She thinks she is an average person put in an extraordinarily bad situation. She is a very deliberate person, so you know each action she takes, every word she speaks, it has meaning. She doesn't think that her courage, her analysis, and her personal strength are unique or heroic characteristics. She believes she is acting the way most anyone would in her situation. But she is incredibly strong, incredibly independent, which actually ends up being her problem later in the book. She's too strong, too independent, but that's not until later.

Mine really isn't all that violent IMO. A few times, yeah, but not that much. And it also has paranormal in it. Thanks for the info.