(I posted a similar but different topic before - about the best ways to hide a murderer, see here: https://absolutewrite.com/forums/in...thods-to-conceal-murderers-in-a-story.360814/ but this time I want to talk about the types of villains/murders as well.)
I'm choosing three main types I can think of but at the bottom of this post I've also listed a couple more, and there's many more. So feel free to discuss other types as well as the ones I've listed. (I'm also mainly focusing on murder mystery and thrillers here but we can also incorporate all sorts of non-murder mysteries such as crime capers/heist stories into the discussion too so thieves, con men/women, etc. They don't all have to be killers as there's a lot of great mysteries without murders too - it's just easier to come up with examples of those types off the top of my head.)
1. The "obvious" killer - if the writer at least attempt to make us doubt it?
You know, the character that might as well have a neon sign over their head screaming THIS GUY (OR GIRL) IS A KILLER! They're often the horrible, mean-spirited character - the abusive ex, the frenemy type, the nasty neighbour, or the deadbeat guardian. The type of person that just screams KILLER early on. And often they're so obvious the reader (or viewer in the case of a movie/TV show) dismisses them instantly. And usually they do end up being innocent, just a red herring.
But sometimes, just sometimes, they ARE the culprit. A classic example in movies that comes to mind might be the movie
How do you feel about them when you read a book (or watch a movie or TV show)? Do you feel disappointed even if the writer made you feel they were too obvious to be the killer and you dismissed them - does a lingering sense of disappointment still show up once they're revealed even though you'd already convinced yourself it wasn't them?
Usually I'm disappointed to be honest. Less so if I've since ruled them out because they had a strong alibi or seemed to be dead or even just they were so obvious, but still I think there's some residual disappointment. What tips would you give a writer who might have one of those obvious killers in their book but still wants it to be them to avoid the residue of disappointment? Other than rethinking the character entirely and choosing another culprit. I mean, sometimes the obvious nasty type has to be the killer, it can't always be the one you least expect that's sweet and/or on the sidelines or they too become too obvious by virtue of seeming to be the least likely.
2. The "least likely" suspect
Which brings us to the second type. How do we feel about those characters - the ones it seems it possibly couldn't be - the innocent mother, the innocent child - in at least one Agatha Christie novel
or the nice neighbour, the sweet little old lady who lives down the road, the best friend with a heart of gold. Sometimes these types seem so obviously NOT the killer that, like I said, to a seasoned reader of crime/mystery fiction (or viewer of crime/mystery movies/TV shows) they too might as well have a neon sign.
Many writers are encouraged to use this type and many do but now readers and viewers are (consciously or unconsciously) trained to look out for them so they too have often become just as obvious as the first type.
3. The "hidden" (or sidelined) villain
Sometimes keeping the character on the sidelines, on the very edge of the novel or movie can work too (countless examples - such as in the novel and movie
or the movie
and many more) but if not done carefully it can seem very cheap and comes with its own disappointments as we feel we don't know the character, almost like they're a deus ex machina, barely seen delivering something or fixing a piece of equipment or being a cop or reporter on the sidelines (in many of these stories, they often work as a cop/reporter, or are in the service industry so they seem to be just sideline characters, or are on the sidelines in other respects, popping in here or there but not focused on as main characters, so seemingly unimportant for the bulk of the story) at the start of the book/movie and then pop up at the end, suddenly evil with a big speech.
If done well, these ones DO still work for me though, simply because by virtue of keeping them so hidden, I might not have even noticed them. But, again, that can feel cheap or unsatisfying when the reveal comes.
Other thoughts but Villain Types 4 - 99,000+.
Above are the three main types I can think of. How do we feel about them? What trips YOU up as a reader/viewer - what, aside from the tropes of strong alibi, lack of motive, or seemingly dead, do you find pulls the wool over your eyes?
And feel free to list more - there's lots, the secret relative is another one that springs to mind which often coincides with the last example above, the police detective who turns out to be a baddie, etc. etc. ad infinitum. (I'm not sure if these villain/killer types have actual trope names - if they do, feel free to name them too.)
I'm choosing three main types I can think of but at the bottom of this post I've also listed a couple more, and there's many more. So feel free to discuss other types as well as the ones I've listed. (I'm also mainly focusing on murder mystery and thrillers here but we can also incorporate all sorts of non-murder mysteries such as crime capers/heist stories into the discussion too so thieves, con men/women, etc. They don't all have to be killers as there's a lot of great mysteries without murders too - it's just easier to come up with examples of those types off the top of my head.)
1. The "obvious" killer - if the writer at least attempt to make us doubt it?
You know, the character that might as well have a neon sign over their head screaming THIS GUY (OR GIRL) IS A KILLER! They're often the horrible, mean-spirited character - the abusive ex, the frenemy type, the nasty neighbour, or the deadbeat guardian. The type of person that just screams KILLER early on. And often they're so obvious the reader (or viewer in the case of a movie/TV show) dismisses them instantly. And usually they do end up being innocent, just a red herring.
But sometimes, just sometimes, they ARE the culprit. A classic example in movies that comes to mind might be the movie
SCREAM, where the skeevy boyfriend is clearly the killer but we're made to doubt that as he's so obvious and then near the end of the film he's apparently killed until it turns out he wasn't really
How do you feel about them when you read a book (or watch a movie or TV show)? Do you feel disappointed even if the writer made you feel they were too obvious to be the killer and you dismissed them - does a lingering sense of disappointment still show up once they're revealed even though you'd already convinced yourself it wasn't them?
Usually I'm disappointed to be honest. Less so if I've since ruled them out because they had a strong alibi or seemed to be dead or even just they were so obvious, but still I think there's some residual disappointment. What tips would you give a writer who might have one of those obvious killers in their book but still wants it to be them to avoid the residue of disappointment? Other than rethinking the character entirely and choosing another culprit. I mean, sometimes the obvious nasty type has to be the killer, it can't always be the one you least expect that's sweet and/or on the sidelines or they too become too obvious by virtue of seeming to be the least likely.
2. The "least likely" suspect
Which brings us to the second type. How do we feel about those characters - the ones it seems it possibly couldn't be - the innocent mother, the innocent child - in at least one Agatha Christie novel
"Crooked House"
Many writers are encouraged to use this type and many do but now readers and viewers are (consciously or unconsciously) trained to look out for them so they too have often become just as obvious as the first type.
3. The "hidden" (or sidelined) villain
Sometimes keeping the character on the sidelines, on the very edge of the novel or movie can work too (countless examples - such as in the novel and movie
The Bone Collector
Scream 2
If done well, these ones DO still work for me though, simply because by virtue of keeping them so hidden, I might not have even noticed them. But, again, that can feel cheap or unsatisfying when the reveal comes.
Other thoughts but Villain Types 4 - 99,000+.
Above are the three main types I can think of. How do we feel about them? What trips YOU up as a reader/viewer - what, aside from the tropes of strong alibi, lack of motive, or seemingly dead, do you find pulls the wool over your eyes?
And feel free to list more - there's lots, the secret relative is another one that springs to mind which often coincides with the last example above, the police detective who turns out to be a baddie, etc. etc. ad infinitum. (I'm not sure if these villain/killer types have actual trope names - if they do, feel free to name them too.)
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