Intrigue, suspense and contract killings
A journey into the dark through the eyes of a killer
In some of our previous blog posts we have extensively talked about horror stories, crime stories and thrillers. Their popularity, especially in the UK, has been growing in the past years.
Writers Online (2018) claimed that, “in 2017, crime became the UK’s most popular adult fiction genre, outselling general and literary fiction for the first time. Nielsen BookScan figures revealed that 18.7 million units of crime books were sold, compared to 18.1 million of general and literary fiction.
Also increasing in popularity are short stories. Spread the Word (2018) suggests that “short stories are in the ascendant. As a literary genre it flourished in the 19th century, was popular amongst modernist writers like Katherine Mansfield, saw a resurgence with writers such as Raymond Carver in the seventies and eighties, and has seen a huge growth once again in recent years. In 2017, almost 50% more short story collections were sold than in the previous year. Short story writer Alice Munro won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2013. The Times Literary Supplement reflected in 2012 that the short story ‘has perhaps never been more alive’ and in the following year the New York Times announced that short stories were ‘experiencing a resurgence.’ Storytelling nights are popping up everywhere. For a long time dismissed as just a step on a writer’s path to publishing a novel, short stories are now seen as an enjoyable and commendable end in themselves.”
Happy London Press is incredibly proud to present our latest book, a short story collection from thriller writer and author of the Tammy Pierre series, Andrew Segal. Andrew’s latest book, I’m a contract killer features 10 short stories and is the second book in the Aberrations Series.
About the author
Andrew Segal is a licensed insolvency practitioner by profession but has written a number of books, diving into a variety of genres. Not only does he keep his readers in suspense with crime thrillers and books that feature black magic (The Black Candle Killings), but he is also a fabulous writer of dark short stories and, in a wonderful twist of variety, a writer of children’s fiction. Based in London, his day job provides the basis for many entertaining tales and his imagination conjures characters and situations that may or may not have ended up in his very many enticing stories.
Murder, abuse and deviation pepper this shocker of a book
“The glint of steel defined the blade held in the man’s right hand.
The shank was at least eight inches long.”
I’m a contract killer is a collection of suspense and thriller stories to tease and tickle. We spoke to Andrew Segal and got his take on his latest release. He is posing a poignant question to his readers: “How would you feel if you came face to face with a contract killer?”
If you struggle to answer this, you are not alone, but Andrew has all the ingredients to help you get an experience that will shake you to your core. In a recent interview, Andrew told us about the process of writing this book and his thought processes along the way:
“I put myself in the killer's place, writing in the first person. It was an interesting exercise. My killer is actually a man with a conscience. He'll only kill to order if the mark is a menace to society.”
By putting himself in the shoes of a contract killer, Andrew has created a book that holds a collection of sinister short stories, designed to keep its readers awake into the early hours, and beyond.
We asked Andrew how he came up with the details and plots in his fascinating writing.
“Most, if not all of my yarns have a foundation in something I’ve heard, read or personally experienced. I’ve kept a diary, for example, but have not had as macabre an experience as the old man in my tale, Dear Diary. Does the leopard ever change its spots? You’ll have to read ‘I’m a contract killer’ and find out for yourself.”
So, who is his protagonist and what can a reader expect from the contract killer?
“Brought up in a wealthy middle-class family after his mother had been murdered by one of her clients, he’s become a man who frightens yet fascinates women. A vengeful character perfectly cast in the mould of a contract killer.
Silently moving into and out of people’s lives, an assassin on the loose, he leaves no trail and has never been questioned by police. He is, for all, like a ghost who knows he will never be caught.” (I’m a contract killer, Andrew Segal, 2022)
Fascination with serial and contract killers
People have been fascinated by serial and contract killers for centuries. Think about Jack the Ripper, and the legacy his killings hold till this day. People pay money to go on a Jack the Ripper Tour in London, tracing the footsteps of a notorious killer whose identity to this day has not been proven. Whilst Andrew Segal’s protagonist is a far cry from the vicious serial killer of London, the question as to why people kill, over and over again, remains and it keeps giving interesting material for books or TV documentaries. Think of the most recent TV hit shows Killing Eve and Barry. They have captured audiences worldwide and left its viewers crying out for more after each series ended. Bramesco (2018) explains in The Guardian why viewers of both hit shows were hooked from the start:
“Eve’s half of the narrative speaks directly to the public’s enduring fascination with the assassin figure, and the complicated mix of aspirational envy and queasy relatability that its fiction still inspires. Killing Eve has already amassed a vocal contingent of supporters in the critical community, falling in line with a recent uptick in superficially similar material. Also building a dedicated fanbase is HBO’s Barry, a black comedy revolving around a masterly but reluctant hitman improbably played by less than commanding presence Bill Hader. The title tough guy of the long-running Ray Donovan isn’t a gun for hire per se, a distinction about which he can get testy, but ending lives is no small part of the job description. Looking a ways into the future, Hulu recently gave the green light to a series adaptation of shoot-em-up video game Hitman courtesy of John Wick creator Derek Kolstad, who’s also executive producing a spinoff for Starz set in the world of Keanu Reeves’ unstoppable killing machine. Bullets are whizzing by in every direction.
While the shows containing these characters manage them with a wide array of tones ranging from deadpan humour to pitch-black brutalism, their appeal and thematic concerns remain surprisingly consistent in their commentary on the average joe’s relationship to work. A highly specified profession requiring years of careful training, the assassin business offers “competency porn” in its purest form, dazzling viewers with the pocket-watch precision of its procedure-based elements. Both Killing Eve and Barry relish their scenes in which the camera can quietly sit by as the main character goes through the steps of expertly dispatching a target. Barry can be a bumbler from time to time, but he’s never more comfortable than when going through the elaborate process of unpacking and assembling a sniper rifle. His lifestyle is a few shades grittier than that of the international spy, while sharing in the excitement and danger that captures regular folks’ imaginations.
Barry doesn’t feel so unambiguously positive about his work, however; few hitmen do. For all the slimming black outfits and clever one-liners and ravishing locales, contract killers must always wrestle with a reluctance over being bound to the kind of job a person can’t just quit. The primary action of Barry is the main character’s fish-out-of-water attempt to professionally pivot to acting from murder, an existential lunge at redemption that he sees as freeing him from a life beyond his control. As she observes Villanelle from afar, Eve might as well be a Barry viewer, at first taken with all the glamour before recognizing that resignation to her own fate. Her pilot episode begins with Eve trudging into work hungover on a Saturday, positioned parallel to Villanelle having no choice but to take on a bloody new assignment. Whether wielding a pen or firearm, everyone’s bound to some manner of labour.”
Physiological reasons for human fascination with killers
The psychological reasons behind the intrigue of murder and killing other humans are explained by Mattiuzi (2011):
“In real life, we also tend to focus acutely on whether or not it could happen to us. I am certain that no one is going to kill me for my fortune, but I am not so certain about my safety when I read about a senseless shooting of an innocent bystander or a burglary gone wrong that left the homeowner dead. We pay attention because we want to know if we are safe.
In the end, the fascination with murder is natural because there are so many different ways to judge each crime. We wonder about the victim, about the perpetrator, and about the circumstances. We are intrigued by the motive and the method and how they got away or how they got caught. We wonder who would be capable of the crime and whether they are “normal” like us or hopefully quite different.
In the real world, we are fascinated because of the powerful emotions aroused when we consider the fate and fortune of the victim and the pain that remains for their survivors. In reality, it is the cold realities that draw and demand our attention. We actively seek the clues that tell us that we are safe, that it couldn’t happen to us.”
Whether the stories are based on facts or are completely made up is mostly not relevant:
“Murder is fascinating whether it’s real or not. Every case creates a set of questions to ponder. In the real world, we need to be intrigued and aware to remain safe. We need to examine each case and judge for ourselves: was this a matter of primal instinct or some unnatural act? Was it a matter of evil intent, a result of human frailty or a justified response to threat or provocation? When it’s art, all of those questions make it what we call a “thriller” or a “mystery.” When the body is real, the “thrill” may be gone, but the questions and the fascination remain” (Mattiuzi 2011).
Questions Andrew Segal’s book will make you ask yourself
Andrew’s new book will satisfy not only our natural curiosity about murder and killing, but it will also answer questions that will occur whilst you are reading:
What was the outcome of the meeting between the Courtesan in this book and the Gigolo who appeared in the title story, in Book 1 of the series, I’m a Gigolo?
How does an old fashioned macho male father cope with the notion of a son who wishes to change sex?
What do you know of taxidermy, car crime, conditions under which an innocent journalist might be tortured and imprisoned in Vietnam?
Andrew Segal is a master of suspense and a gifted storyteller who will take you into a different world. We know you will enjoy his work as much as we loved editing and publishing it.
You can purchase your copy of I’m a contract killer here from March 2022
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References:
The most popular book genres: what do your readers want? - Writers Online (writers-online.co.uk)
The rise of the short story - Spread the Word
Small screen hits: why we're so fascinated with contract killers | US television | The Guardian
Everyday Psychology: Why are we so fascinated with murder?
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