Why Good People Make Excellent Murderers
Fictional Felonies Friday | The Seven Deadly Ditties
The trouble with murderers in fiction is that they're often so damn obvious.
They lurk in shadows. They collect knives. They have disturbing hobbies and neighbors who describe them as quiet. By Chapter Three, even the family dog knows who did it.
But the truly frightening fictional murderer isn't the fellow sharpening an axe in his basement.
It's the nice guy next door.
The one who volunteers at the animal shelter. Remembers your birthday. Helps elderly neighbors carry groceries. Probably makes a respectable potato salad.
And might just have a body buried beneath the begonias.
What makes these characters compelling isn't their capacity for evil. It's their capacity for good.
A believable villain doesn't wake up thinking, Today seems like a lovely day for homicide.
He wakes up believing he's been wronged. That someone has taken something from him. That the world owes him justice.
And if justice requires a little creative interpretation of the criminal code, well, who's counting?
That's where the best thrillers find their footing.
The killer isn't necessarily a monster. He's a person who has convinced himself that something monstrous is entirely reasonable.
Jealousy becomes righteousness. Revenge becomes justice. Greed becomes survival.
And suddenly the reader faces an uncomfortable question: Under the right circumstances, how far might an otherwise decent person go?
It's a question that runs through the Braun & Lutz thrillers, where appearances are unreliable, motives are rarely straightforward, and the distinction between victim and villain can become decidedly inconvenient.
Because the most interesting murderer isn't always the one hiding in the shadows.
Sometimes he's standing in broad daylight, holding the door open for you.
And reminding you to watch your step.
After all, the begonias were just replanted.
Fictional Felonies Friday is part of The Seven Deadly Ditties, a daily exploration of murder, mystery, criminal minds, and the occasional unfortunate incident in paradise.
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