Detective Grace Edwards is bent on stopping the serial killer the Butcher before he strikes again.
Antagonist
The antagonist is a man named Nicholas Wolfe.Nicholas is an educated former teacher who embraced the ideals of a satanic, white-supremacist group known as the Order of Nonagon.One of his Professors was a member of this group and began to impart upon him their teachings.Nicholas has dissociative identity disorder, and as he fell deeper into the group’s ideals, another identity surfaced, known as Tyler Kidwell.Tyler loves children but hates women.He refers to them as “beasts” and “corrupted.”Seeing the world as full of dirty, inferior creatures and sinful miscreants, Tyler sees children as being the only source of purity this world has to offer.He sees the only way to save these children’s purity from society’s corruption is to be intimate with them and then kill them.He feels the need to kill them because in his words, “death is the last intimate thing we do.”
Titles
The Butcher of Nonagon
Nonagon
You’re Standing in Your Grave
Comparables
You Did This – by Jamie Millen
The plot in this book is quite similar to mine.The protagonist’s family member is murdered during their teenage years and they never get over it.Years later, the protagonist is now a police detective and new victims emerge, murdered in a similar fashion, forcing a hunt for a serial killer.It’s similar to Grace, who grows up to be a detective and hunts after a serial killer who also preys upon children.They both know what it feels like to lose someone most important and never forgive themselves, but also, they are forced to revisit their terrible pasts in the present.The writer’s style is not exactly the same as mine, but his cadence and attention to detail are a bit similar as well.
The Lost Sister – by M.L. Rose
Here is another book quite similar to mine in terms of plot and protagonist.Though not set inside the U.S., there is still a female protagonist who suffers a childhood loss she never fully recovers from.Just like Grace never believed the fire that killed her mom was an accident, Arla Baker never stopped searching for her sister following her disappearance.Then sixteen years later a serial killer emerges who seems to be connected to the disappearance of her sister.And as she gets closer to catching the killer, more secrets from her past are brought to the forefront.It’s written as more of a suspenseful, exciting novel than a typical police procedural, like ‘You Did This’ and like ‘The Butcher of Nonagon.’
Hook Line
Young Detective Edwards must uncover the secrets of the mysterious Order of Nonagon to have any hope of catching vicious pedophilic serial killer the Butcher.
Grace, who had her own innocence stolen from her as a child, risks everything to stop the vicious pedophilic serial killer known as the Butcher before another child’s body is found.
Conflicts
Inner Conflict: Though Grace has no children of her own, she still cares about them a great deal.It pains her to see a child victimized.It’s personal to her because at fifteen years old she lost her mom in a fire.She looks back on that day as the moment her innocence was stolen from her and she could no longer be a normal child.As more children’s bodies are found, Grace is forced to revisit that pain from her childhood, where she was full or rage, hate, and fear.It’s personal for her as this monster is stealing the innocence from those children, taking away any chance for a normal life even if any of them had survived.It forces those terrible emotions from her past back to the surface.
Secondary Conflict: As Grace struggles to keep up with the Butcher, she is invited to her Aunt Ella’s home.She wants to talk to Grace about something important.The two already have a complicated history, as she blames her aunt for the separation of her parents and for her dad walking out of her life.Now her aunt has dementia but wants to talk to her about the fire.It catches Grace’s attention immediately.Her aunt tells her that the fire that killed her mom was intentionally set like she always thought.She tells Grace that her mom had stumbled on a local conspiracy and was silenced before she could make anymore trouble.When she’s about to tell Grace the name of the person, Ella thinks she sees him in the window outside and then refuses to talk.Grace, not seeing anyone gets angry and becomes that fuming fifteen-year-old again.The two get into a massive argument before she’s kicked out of the house by Ella’s caregiver.Grace decides to start investigating the fire again, much to the chagrin of her old friend, Allan, who fears this will take her down a self-destructive path similar to what she endured in her late teens.
Setting
The story takes place primarily in the Washington D.C. metropolitan area and a rural area in Pennsylvania.The D.C. area scenes mostly take place in Grace’s loud, busy precinct and in a couple of city parks where the killer often stalks his prey and bodies are found.I feel the quiet and serenity of the parks offset the brutality of the murders and chaotic crime scenes that follow.Grace’s precinct is also very chaotic but is more of a nerve center where the team discusses the case in detail with their captain and formulates moves to make.It’s meant to capture the fast-paced, overworked aspects of police work and overcoming this heavy diet of discordance to catch a dangerous high-profile murderer.There are multiple parts of the setting which takes place inside a hospital.It’s the same hospital both times.The first time, Grace’s partner Hickson, gets in a dramatic chase with the killer, disguised in a surgeon’s outfit.He catches them and they fight it out.Grace gets involved once they end up in the common area surrounded by people and a shootout commences.Her partner gets hit and she later goes to see him in that same hospital.This time, the two share a somber, bitter stroll down their own personal memory lanes, where an important aspect of Grace’s past is revealed.Whenever the story cuts to the country woods of Pennsylvania, it is for suspense and conflict to play out.It can be in a decaying, antique mansion where Grace’s boyfriend stumbles upon a member of the Order of Nonagon and fight or flight is forced upon him, or in that same house where Grace later stumbles upon other members of the order.There is even a later time when Grace escapes captivity and runs through those country woods to a cabin where she comes face to face with the woman from the order who has been protecting the killer and enabling his murderous rampage.
New York Pitch Assignments - March 2022
in New York Write to Pitch 2023 and 2024
Posted
Tyrone Thomas
Story Statement
Detective Grace Edwards is bent on stopping the serial killer the Butcher before he strikes again.
Antagonist
The antagonist is a man named Nicholas Wolfe. Nicholas is an educated former teacher who embraced the ideals of a satanic, white-supremacist group known as the Order of Nonagon. One of his Professors was a member of this group and began to impart upon him their teachings. Nicholas has dissociative identity disorder, and as he fell deeper into the group’s ideals, another identity surfaced, known as Tyler Kidwell. Tyler loves children but hates women. He refers to them as “beasts” and “corrupted.” Seeing the world as full of dirty, inferior creatures and sinful miscreants, Tyler sees children as being the only source of purity this world has to offer. He sees the only way to save these children’s purity from society’s corruption is to be intimate with them and then kill them. He feels the need to kill them because in his words, “death is the last intimate thing we do.”
Titles
The Butcher of Nonagon
Nonagon
You’re Standing in Your Grave
Comparables
You Did This – by Jamie Millen
The plot in this book is quite similar to mine. The protagonist’s family member is murdered during their teenage years and they never get over it. Years later, the protagonist is now a police detective and new victims emerge, murdered in a similar fashion, forcing a hunt for a serial killer. It’s similar to Grace, who grows up to be a detective and hunts after a serial killer who also preys upon children. They both know what it feels like to lose someone most important and never forgive themselves, but also, they are forced to revisit their terrible pasts in the present. The writer’s style is not exactly the same as mine, but his cadence and attention to detail are a bit similar as well.
The Lost Sister – by M.L. Rose
Here is another book quite similar to mine in terms of plot and protagonist. Though not set inside the U.S., there is still a female protagonist who suffers a childhood loss she never fully recovers from. Just like Grace never believed the fire that killed her mom was an accident, Arla Baker never stopped searching for her sister following her disappearance. Then sixteen years later a serial killer emerges who seems to be connected to the disappearance of her sister. And as she gets closer to catching the killer, more secrets from her past are brought to the forefront. It’s written as more of a suspenseful, exciting novel than a typical police procedural, like ‘You Did This’ and like ‘The Butcher of Nonagon.’
Hook Line
Young Detective Edwards must uncover the secrets of the mysterious Order of Nonagon to have any hope of catching vicious pedophilic serial killer the Butcher.
Grace, who had her own innocence stolen from her as a child, risks everything to stop the vicious pedophilic serial killer known as the Butcher before another child’s body is found.
Conflicts
Inner Conflict: Though Grace has no children of her own, she still cares about them a great deal. It pains her to see a child victimized. It’s personal to her because at fifteen years old she lost her mom in a fire. She looks back on that day as the moment her innocence was stolen from her and she could no longer be a normal child. As more children’s bodies are found, Grace is forced to revisit that pain from her childhood, where she was full or rage, hate, and fear. It’s personal for her as this monster is stealing the innocence from those children, taking away any chance for a normal life even if any of them had survived. It forces those terrible emotions from her past back to the surface.
Secondary Conflict: As Grace struggles to keep up with the Butcher, she is invited to her Aunt Ella’s home. She wants to talk to Grace about something important. The two already have a complicated history, as she blames her aunt for the separation of her parents and for her dad walking out of her life. Now her aunt has dementia but wants to talk to her about the fire. It catches Grace’s attention immediately. Her aunt tells her that the fire that killed her mom was intentionally set like she always thought. She tells Grace that her mom had stumbled on a local conspiracy and was silenced before she could make anymore trouble. When she’s about to tell Grace the name of the person, Ella thinks she sees him in the window outside and then refuses to talk. Grace, not seeing anyone gets angry and becomes that fuming fifteen-year-old again. The two get into a massive argument before she’s kicked out of the house by Ella’s caregiver. Grace decides to start investigating the fire again, much to the chagrin of her old friend, Allan, who fears this will take her down a self-destructive path similar to what she endured in her late teens.
Setting
The story takes place primarily in the Washington D.C. metropolitan area and a rural area in Pennsylvania. The D.C. area scenes mostly take place in Grace’s loud, busy precinct and in a couple of city parks where the killer often stalks his prey and bodies are found. I feel the quiet and serenity of the parks offset the brutality of the murders and chaotic crime scenes that follow. Grace’s precinct is also very chaotic but is more of a nerve center where the team discusses the case in detail with their captain and formulates moves to make. It’s meant to capture the fast-paced, overworked aspects of police work and overcoming this heavy diet of discordance to catch a dangerous high-profile murderer. There are multiple parts of the setting which takes place inside a hospital. It’s the same hospital both times. The first time, Grace’s partner Hickson, gets in a dramatic chase with the killer, disguised in a surgeon’s outfit. He catches them and they fight it out. Grace gets involved once they end up in the common area surrounded by people and a shootout commences. Her partner gets hit and she later goes to see him in that same hospital. This time, the two share a somber, bitter stroll down their own personal memory lanes, where an important aspect of Grace’s past is revealed. Whenever the story cuts to the country woods of Pennsylvania, it is for suspense and conflict to play out. It can be in a decaying, antique mansion where Grace’s boyfriend stumbles upon a member of the Order of Nonagon and fight or flight is forced upon him, or in that same house where Grace later stumbles upon other members of the order. There is even a later time when Grace escapes captivity and runs through those country woods to a cabin where she comes face to face with the woman from the order who has been protecting the killer and enabling his murderous rampage.