1: Hannibal Lecter – was there ever a baddie so charming, intelligent or warped as The Silence of the Lambs’ Dr. Lecter? This is the magnificent epicurean, created by Thomas Harris, whose favourite dish was apparently a victim’s liver with some fava beans and a big Amarone – all served on Meissner porcelain, of course. I loved him twenty years ago and I love him now.
2: Walter White – OK, so Walter White is not the creation of a crime fiction writer, but is the star character in award-winning TV phenomenon, Breaking Bad. But like the characters in my own George McKenzie series, Walter is just an ordinary guy who gets tipped over the edge by the shit that life flings his way. A seemingly benign family man, he is violent, competitive, calculating and remorseless but his motivations are almost always noble. That’s why he’s the best cook in town!
3: Annie Wilkes – Penned by Stephen King, of course! Famous for kidnapping and hobbling an author because he was “just another lying ol’ dirty birdy”, she is the undoubted star of Misery. I have a soft spot for well-rounded, female psychopaths in literature, because we see them so infrequently. Apparently just an eccentric, small-town bookworm, Annie’s utterly terrifying, unpredictable as hell and, well, kind of cockadoodie.
4: Kevin Katchadourian – A sullen, difficult, untrustworthy teenaged son to a reluctant, beleaguered mother, who tries everything in a bid to bond with her child. Kevin, the creation of Lionel Shriver, is a chilling representation of how motherhood can go badly wrong. He’s bright, he’s manipulative, deadly and lacking any remorse whatsoever. But he’s clearly just a vulnerable boy, too. I love and loathe him in equal measure.
5: The Leopard – Jo Nesbo is very, very good at coming up with really inventive violence, none more so than that used by the Leopard. For my part, the Leopold’s Apple used by The Leopard was the macabre star of the novel. I really couldn’t think of a more revolting way of being dispatched than by having a small metal ball inserted into your mouth, which expands and plunges needles into your head and then…Well. Read it and see for yourself. As a medieval history buff, I was fascinated by this fictional torture device - more suited to being used by the Spanish Inquisition than a modern serial killer.
♠ Marnie Riches is an award-winning thriller writer. The Girl Who Broke the Rules has just been released. You can see Marnie's discussion of the baddies she loves to hate by following the #goodbaddies hashtag on Twitter.
♠ Marnie Riches books on Amazon. Follow Marnie on Twitter @Marnie_Riches
Who would make your top 5 list of baddies in fiction? Let us know in the comments.
No comments:
Post a Comment