Who do you think you are? It's the philosophical question that you must answer at some point in your life. For once successful science fiction writer Raymond Spinner, that question is very dangerous. Suddenly, his books aren't selling and his frustration is mounting. His mind begins to talk to him as if it were a separate entity. Raymond's mind tells him that he's a failure and that he needs to change everything about himself; his appearance, the genre he writes in and basically his entire life. The reward? A best selling novel is in the cards if he will just do what his mind tells him to do.
In the beginning, the changes seem innocuous. Raymond changes his hairstyle, his clothes, leaves his old girlfriend behind and leases an apartment in Manhattan. After Raymond has a meltdown in the presence of his literary agent and potential publishers though, he is forced to admit that the life he once knew is over. Raymond's mind begins to take an even stronger role in his life and asks him to do things that are beyond what he would normally do. Readers will enjoy the constant interplay that occurs between Raymond and his mind, who eventually takes on a name of his own. Edgar Wyld (E.W.) is what his mind demands to be called, and ultimately gets Raymond to agree to use that name on any books they create together.
The Deviant chronicles the decline of a man's mental capacity to distinguish between good and evil. Through Edgar's persuasive dialogue, he convinces Raymond that he needs to experience some of the darker pleasures of life. With each experience, Raymond's thought processes and desires begin to sink deeper and deeper into the unknown and he no longer has the desire to stop it. These experiences are chronicled by Raymond in a journal and include chilling details that will make readers ponder if this is really what happens to a person who slips into the darker side of human existence. This can easily be seen in passages such as the one below. This is but one of the many chilling excerpts found in The Deviant:
Another side of me exists, and now I've seen it. To the average suburbanite, this tale will seem evil and cold. It's difficult to explain the sensations I felt as I watched her dangling helplessly from the water pipe. The look of terror in her eyes said more than I could ever write down. Her imagination must've been racing with all sorts of terrible thoughts of what I could do to her. The best part wasn't that she was helpless, but that she knew she was helpless and that's worse than any physical harm a person can do. It's the unknown. It's the fear of knowing that I could torture her all night long before her body would succumb. In the end, beating her until she was unconscious was only a resolution to the situation. This time it was just a worthless hooker. Who will it be next time? It could be someone innocent like a person's wife, sister or girlfriend. All I can tell you is that it will happen again, and there's no stopping that addiction once it's released.
Readers will also be treated to unforgettable characters that include the introduction of the powerful, yet flawed female NYPD detective, Mallory Sommers. Mallory finds herself investigating the death of a prostitute purported to have been murdered by Raymond Spinner's ex-girlfriend, Rita Tate.
As she continues to investigate, she begins to see that there is something devious and evil about this mysterious author. From the moment she begins to suspect him, a game of wits is played out between both characters, revealing their unique personalities.
When Rita Tate turns up dead from an apparent suicide, Mallory knows that she's dealing with a man on the verge of becoming a serial killer. The intelligence that he and Edgar display in committing the crimes leaves Mallory very little evidence to go on, so she has to use every ounce of her intuition and investigative skills to prove that Raymond Spinner is the true murderer. With two dead and Mallory knowing that more will follow, she has no choice but to think like a killer herself.
I would love to give you the ending to this novel, but quite frankly it would spoil it for you. Aren't you dying to know how the story ends?
Youll just have to read the novel for yourself.
E.W. is becoming a killer...
