Heroes or heroines elevate mystery plots, and, in the case of series, are one of the reasons we look forward to the next novel.
Isn’t that why we want to read about Harry Bosch, Tess Monaghan, Kinsey Millhone, Elvis Cole, Joe Pike, Spenser, Quinn Colson, Thorn, Doc Ford, Helen Hawthorne, Jane Ryland—OK, I am going to stop now because this list could get massive.
But where would these series characters be without villains to bring to justice? Heroes/heroines need villains, and readers need both.
I've been thinking about some outstanding villains lately who have made a plot even stronger. A couple of weeks ago I wrote about the year's best villains.
A good villain has to be germane to the story. The kind of criminal who Harry Bosch pursues in Michael Connelly’s police procedurals isn’t the same kind of criminal that Connelly’s attorney Mickey Haller goes after. Alafair Burke’s NYPD detective Ellie Hatcher and her Deputy District Attorney Samantha Kincaid each have different caseloads. A cop would be in a different kind of situation than a lawyer would be.
It’s doubtful that the set of criminals who wander into the small Mississippi town where Ace Atkins’ Quinn Colson is sheriff would be the same kind that James W. Hall’s Thorn deals with in South Florida.
Laura Lippman’s Tess Monaghan, Kelli Stanley’s Miranda Corbie and Sue Grafton’s Kinsey Millhone would find similarities in their stories since both are private investigators. The differences being, of course, locale—Baltimore for Tess, San Francisco for Miranda, and Santa Barbara for Kinsey—and era. Tess operates in the 21st century while Kinsey is still in the late 1980s and Miranda’s time frame is just before WWII.
Robert Crais’ private investigators Elvis Cole and Joe Pike would also find that the type of villain they are after would overlap with those who bother the clients of PI V.I. Warshawski in Sara Paretsky’s series.
Reporter Jane Ryland in Hank Phillippi Ryan’s series chases stories that revolve around nasty deeds. But Ryan’s villains are not career criminals, rather they are ordinary people who see an opportunity and let greed and power take over their soul—and in some ways that is much worse.
Carrie La Seur’s The Home Place, M.P. Cooley's Ice Shear, and Elizabeth Little’s Dear Daughter are debuts set in small towns, and that brings up a whole new set of people to deal with.
Elaine Viets’ Helen Hawthorne, Alison Gaylin’s Brenna Spector, Julie Hyzy’s Oliva Paras, Tim O’Mara’s Raymond Donne, and Greg Herren’s Chanse MacLeod each have a different sort of lowlife with whom they cross paths.
Tell us your favorite type of villain.
Photos: Top: Alafair Burke; Bottom: Michael Connelly
