Villains: A Guest Post by Jeri Westerson, Author of "Serpent in the Thorns: A Medieval Noir"

We are delighted to welcome this guest post from Jeri Westerson, whose second novel in the Crispin Guest mystery series, Serpent in the Thorns: A Medieval Noir, is due to be released on September 29th.

Villains

By Jeri Westerson

Villains. Holmes has his Moriarity; Bond has his Blofeld; Maxwell Smart has his Siegfried. For most of us, we don’t have a nemesis (although I’m betting most of you can find someone in the office who can fit the bill).

But in the case of a mystery, there is a need for a villain or villains. He may be the murderer or the one who instigates the actions that lead the hero on his merry chase throughout the novel.

The word stems from old French, meaning a low rustic, a class of serfs. As early as the 1300’s, this term could mean someone who would go out of their way to cause harm.

It’s funny, but I can relate far more to the villain than I can with the hero. What does that say about me, I wonder? In my newest medieval mystery, SERPENT IN THE THORNS, my ex-knight turned detective Crispin Guest is the undoubted hero. He possesses qualities of loyalty, bravery, and self-sacrifice.

I can’t really relate to him, but I can put myself in his shoes like any good actor studying a part, seeking motivation and digging deep enough to make Stanislavski proud. Yes, I can much better identify with the villain.

Now a villain need not be a Snidely Whiplash type, swirling his waxed mustache, and sneering at the hapless female victim in his clutches. A scarier villain is one that is the quiet guy who lives next door. The one that all the neighbors are so surprised had a torture chamber in his basement. It’s the stuff that nightmares are made of.

But I think, for the most part, that your average villain is a narcissist. That is, they want what they want and they do their utmost to get it. I don’t think this makes them necessarily evil, though they might perform evil deeds to satisfy that agenda. No, what sets off these persistent fellows, is the problem of the hero. The hero gets in the way of the villain’s fulfilling his role. And this lays the groundwork for what is to follow: murder, mayhem, and all manner of badness. Sometimes, it just spirals out of control and it’s all the damned hero’s fault.

Then there is the accidental villain, the antagonist, who didn’t mean to murder. It was just that the argument went ballistic...and so did that gun he had trained on the victim. He didn’t mean to pull the trigger...or use that dagger...or spill the poison. They didn’t mean to do it. It was outside influences forcing their hand...or so they would like you to think. So they believe. Denial is a big part of the villains’ make up.

Let’s face it, without the villain—whoever it may be—there is no story. They are the yin to the heroes’ yang; the black to their white; the cold to their hot. Opposites. But perhaps what makes a more interesting villain—and a more interesting hero, for that matter—is when that line cannot be so easily drawn between the two.

Jeri thinks of herself as both hero and villain of her Crispin Guest novels. Decide for yourself by going to www.JeriWesterson.com for an excerpt on her latest release, Serpent in the Thorns: A Medieval Noir.