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The Psychopathic Mind O A Serial Killer
Manifesto for a Serial Killer follows a brilliant and likable young socialite woman who also happens to be a serial killer. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
Manifesto for a Serial Killer was a complete diversion from my normal self-help books, photography books, and my cookbook. While I had written a couple of other novellas, I hadn’t delved into the psychopathic mind of a serial killer, particularly a female one!
I got the idea for a murder app for a phone from different conversations I have had with friends and relatives. Someone said how there seems to be an app for everything. We talked about possibilities for apps that might make money, and I said “wouldn’t it be strange if there was one for confusing the police about motives, locations, and types of crime? If the crimes were completely random, could they determine a modus operandi?
That got me thinking about a possible book based on this premise. How about I made it into a female psychopath serial killer? Lots of opportunities for an app to come up with random variations of the theme.
I chose Australia as the base of operations because I live here and it’s huge! The killer could travel for hundreds of kilometers and not double back on themselves ever.
When will book 2 be available? Can you give us an idea of where that book will take readers?
There is a sequel to “Manifesto for a Serial Killer” and it will be entitled “Emergency Services. Who do you want to kill today?” (Yes, I know it should be “Whom” but that’s my choice). As you would surmise, Jessica Harper, our socialite psychopath has grown tired of killing average Joe Blows and wishes to move on to something a bit more exciting. She plans to use the Manifesto app to murder first responders at accident scenes. Accident scenes she causes, mind you!
I’m not sure whether everyone will be happy with my choice of victims, but these types of attacks happen in real life too. Killers do set up traps for emergency services personnel, just like the enemy does in war situations.
Author Links: Amazon | GoodReads
Manifesto for a Serial Killer
Wealth, thrill, the net closing in around a somewhat likable protagonist, and the gamification of murder come together in Brian Parkin’s Manifesto for a Serial Killer. Jessica Harper, a wealthy 23-year-old Australian socialite, has killing as her major hobby. A formidably intelligent and driven woman, self-taught in coding, hacking, and various other useful skills, Jessica designs an app, the Manifesto, to generate a series of random targets, murder weapons, locations, murderer characteristics, and budgets for each kill such that the cases are wholly unconnected. Detective Inspector Rob Franklin and Detective Sergeant Leanne Wilson stumble onto her trail and attempt to prove her guilt in over twenty cases of serial killing that have occurred in the entire continent of Australia.
This thrilling book is single-minded in its description of Jessica’s meticulous habits and preparations for each kill and the many aliases adopted by Jessica (the middle-aged builder, the grunge university student, the businesswoman, the inconspicuous everyday persons, the housekeeper, the photographer) are always described as separate characters. Following both the police in their hunt for the serial killer’s identity, as well as Jessica in her methodical erasing of her trail, leaves the reader almost rooting for both sides, certain that, as with most thrillers and mysteries, the police will prevail.
Manifesto for a Serial Killer by Brian Parkin, while it is an engrossing and quick read with a purposeful narrative style matching Jessica’s single-mindedness, her character does fall flat sometimes, leaving the reader wishing for a more nuanced perspective. However, Jessica remains a protagonist that the reader surprisingly finds themselves rooting for. The author’s knowledge and research of Australian geography, locales, and slang (doona being my favorite) are insightful, and a sequel to this book would definitely be a good addition!
Pages: 185 | ASIN : B00QHRCWE2
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