from SRP author Tracy Cooper-Posey:
Can we talk about the death grip serial killers have on romantic suspense?
Lately, it seems like every book I pick up in the genre has a villain who’s a serial killer. It’s like they’re being handed out with publishing contracts. “Oh, you’re writing romantic suspense? Great! Here’s your serial killer starter pack.”
I get it. I really do. Serial killers come with built-in drama. They’re mysterious, methodical, often brilliantly twisted. Hannibal Lecter didn’t just eat someone’s liver with a nice Chianti—he devoured an entire genre and left room for dessert.
When they first became “sexy” villains, there was a magnetic pull. That eerie, obsessive logic. The chess-match style of murder. Readers got a thrill from diving into that abyss.
But I’m full now. Topped up. I’ve ingested so many obsessive, ritualistic murderers I can tell you what triggers them before they’ve even monologued. It’s not suspenseful anymore—it’s predictable.
So I’m here with a bold question: does every bad guy have to be a serial killer?
What happened to villains who kill for practical reasons? Or profit? Or political convenience? Cold, calculating murderers who aren’t wearing someone’s skin under their cardigan?
What if the heroine isn’t their “type”? What if she’s not “the one who got away” or the perfect next addition to their serial scrapbook? What if she’s just a smart, capable woman who’s close to figuring it all out—and that makes her dangerous?
Even better, what if the killer’s not a “he” at all?
Or—hear me out—what if the killer killed accidentally, and now someone else is mopping up the mess? A powerful parent. A ruthless sibling. A lover with too much to lose.
I want more of those stories. Murders that are messy, emotional, strategic, or accidental. Bad guys who are scary because of their humanity, not because they’ve turned murder into a macabre art form.
So tell me—have you read a romantic suspense lately where the villain wasn’t a serial killer, but was still deliciously, compellingly bad? I want to know. Let’s make room for new flavors of evil.
Tracy Cooper-Posey
SRP Author
