***SPOILERS FOR BOOKS 1-4***
When I first started writing The Key, I realized that I had kept Algos' nastiness more in my head than sharing it with the world. A reader brought it to my attention, so I started to share his background story (along with other characters) in The Protector. It was easy to envision a creepy old man with a thirst for nothing but death. The kind of man who knew nothing about love, only of manipulation and a thirst to end life. I'm a true crime junkie, and Criminal Minds is what I watch to go calm down and go to sleep...LOL!
Yet, a lot of serial killers can still get married, have children, and lead double lives. Why not Algos? Rebecca had already been written before I lost Nana all together, and it was Nana who forged her path of fate. A mother who would do anything to protect her children. Even in death. But it wouldn't help her last long enough to watch any of them grow up. Algos would lose interests in her constant nagging to be a better father and take her life without a single tear shed, and in front of the oldest daughter.
He groomed the youngest, Jessica, and treated the oldest, Clarice, like shit. He knew Clarice was the most loyal, but he couldn't help but want the one he could never tame. Jessica, saved by love given to her by Jack Harris, would always be the one he wanted more. The Golden Child. When she continued to defy him, he would manage to take her life just like her mother's. Her husband would die beside her, and he would focus on the child they had created...Sophie. A child he could mold into whatever he wanted before she could ever learn to say "no". And he would use Clarice to train her, just like he had with Jess. She was nothing more than a well-trained dog to him, anyway. Or so he thought....
By Dead Draw, we start to wonder if Jess can finally break the spell Algos had on Clarice for all those years. She never meant to leave her alone with him. Jess never gave up on her, even in death. Jess knew first-hand that love is more powerful than evil would ever understand. She would never stop fighting for Clarice. Now, to see if it's enough....
Clarice continues to be our beloved morally grey character, who continues to have an inner battle between the blood that runs through her, and the person her sister insists she can be. She's now being forced to babysit the niece she spent most of her life hunting, because daddy left them a crazy bitch to deal with as a parting gift. Will she give up on trying to be something she's never been? (Good...) And leave the world to fend for itself? Or will this be a surprising redemption story that no one sees coming?...
Algos may be out of the picture, but whoever was going to replace them would have to be a million times worse. Enters sweet Claudia. A college student that looks similar to Jess, the daughter who only ever disappointed him. However, that's not the only reason he took her. She was studying biology and criminal behavior. Now, it's me. So, you know that's not all.... There's a ton of reasons people become who they are. It's been proven that frontal lobe damage can cause psychopathic tendencies. So, you know there had to be a creepy doctor playing god somewhere in this story.
Some argue environmental. Not everyone raised by a serial killer becomes a serial killer, although Clarice would probably beg to differ. Yet, other kids grow up in happy homes and become the world's biggest nightmares.
Dr. Liz Banks chemically destroyed Claudia's frontal lobe in the name of science. Will it be reversible? I guess we'll find out in Reign of the Raven. One thing is for sure, I didn't cover a ton of killings done by Algos. However, the booktokers have changed that with Claudia. Daring me to "do my worst" is definitely a fun challenge I have been playing with. But does someone who has studied serial killers have their own signature? Thirst for death is one thing. Knowing how to evade the authorities like the BTK Killer puts her on another level. But that's not the only skills she has up her sleeves....
Life is much more exciting with a partner. The doctor only wants to study her like a lab rat. She wasn't chosen by Claudia. She was forced upon her. Aimee, however, is different. A killer in plain sight, amongst the booktok community she's supposed to invade. Aimee's confident in her skin, yet no one suspects her for even a second! You learn a little more about Aimee in Fate vs Foe, and will continue to get some in sight into who she is, and why she is the way she is.
Now, out of all of these characters, only Aimee is a real person. A booktoker and friend I met before I had started writing Birth of the Legend. She wanted to be in the saga, but she wanted to be a psychopath instead of a victim. I made no promises, but I couldn't help but fall in love with the idea. I'm a panser by nature, so the story started unrolling and continues to do so. Now, Aimee is far from a psychopath. I promise! But it is fun making her into one, and she loves it as much as I do, so that's SUPER fun!
Thankfully, there's enough psychopaths in play, so I don't need any more applications. Lord knows I have enough booktokers to unalive at this point! Let's see how this ends, shall we?...
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