ksmith | Thursday night, hockey in the background (Reply)

I'm currently reading a thriller, which is both one of a series and the third and last in a smaller multi-book story arc. Even though I like it well enough, and want to see how the arc ends, part of me is reluctant to read on because one of the plotlines involves the set-up for abuse--emotional and possibly sexual--of a vulnerable supporting character (VSC) by the villain. The classic approach is unfolding--the isolation, the gifts, the planting of doubt concerning the others in the VSC's life. It's clubbing-baby-seal territory, and I don't feel comfortable there. Which may well be the point of the exercise, but part of me is rebelling. I am hoping that the reason other characters worry so about the VSC is not because she might crumble under pressure, but because she might go off like a Claymore mine. I would prefer the Claymore mine outcome, and it would be a twist if this weaker character bested the villain at his own game. But this is a mainstream thriller, and clubbing baby seals is one way to show just how evil the villain is.

So here I am, feeling protective of one character and wanting to bury an axe in the head of another. I guess the writer did his job.