Omnimystery News is pleased to welcome Mark Capell, whose debut thriller is Run, Run, Run (Aptus Creative, September 2011 ebook).
Today Mark asks an interesting question: How "bad" can a "good guy" be?
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In writing my novel, Run, Run, Run, this is the question I had to ask myself: can the hero of a crime thriller do bad things and still be a good guy?
Photo provided courtesy of
Mark Capell
Not to give too much away, here's some story information you will need to understand my dilemma. In Run, Run, Run a law abiding man gives evidence that puts an influential gangster in prison. Such is the reach of the villain's gang that our hero, Dan, has to disappear into the Witness Protection Scheme. But that's not enough to keep him safe. The problem is that the gang's influence is so widespread they even have a police officer in the Witness Protection Unit in their pay.
This means that Dan and his wife, Sally, have to go on the run from both the vengeful gang and the corrupt police assigned to look after them.
But Dan and Sally are a normal, everyday couple, unprepared for life on the run. Think about it. Would you be? We've all read enough crime fiction, watched enough spy thrillers to know that there are some things you must do to avoid being tracked - don't use your credit cards, for instance. That's fine. But what happens when you run out of cash? How do you deal with that? Especially if your wife's eight months pregnant. Her body, at this stage, is not built for running away and sleeping rough.
So Dan needs cash for himself, his wife and his unborn child. What does he do to get it? He can't take a job. They're constantly moving to keep one step ahead of the gang and they can't trust the police anymore.
The only way to get cash quickly is to steal it.
But that isn't easy. He can't just explain his problem to a friendly looking cashier at the local store and hope for the best. So he might have to take a gun. Now he's carrying out an 'armed' robbery. Does this make him a bad guy even if he's only doing it to survive? What if the gun accidentally goes off and kills somebody? Is he now on the same level as the gang leader he helped put away?
I guess this takes us back to what a hero should be. Luckily, I think we've moved on from the days where the good cowboy wore the white hat and the bad guy wore the black one. Characters these days tend to be less black and white. They're more rounded. After all, there's good and bad in us all, right? But it's still difficult to give your hero bad traits, or have him do bad things. As a writer, even as a person, you feel guilty, even embarrassed. You want to put your head in your hands and hide from the character for making him do bad things. An apology just doesn't seem enough.
But I like it when the hero of a novel does bad things or has less than pure thoughts. That's real life. And though my novel is a thriller, not a slice of reality, I like my hero because he has to draw upon his 'inner criminal'. I don't think that makes him a bad person.
I once met a famous British gangster, called 'Mad' Frankie Fraser. He'd spent forty-two years in prison for his exploits. He's legendary, having been a member of the Richardson gang and hung around the Kray Twins. When I asked him about the murder of Jack 'the hat' McVitie, he said, "Well he was off his head, Mark. You'd have killed him."
My hero, Dan, is forced to do bad things. But only to protect his loved ones. He's not a bad person. He would never say what Frank said.
And that's the difference.
But if you'd like to decide for yourself read the book.
For more information about this crime thriller, including video trailers and extracts, go to Run-Novel.com.
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About Run, Run, Run:
When Dan Thompson gives evidence in the murder trial of an influential gangster he and his wife find themselves hunted by both sides of the law — the gangster’s brother, and a corrupt Witness Protection Unit. To survive they must learn to live like criminals — to lie, steal, shoot and keep running. What will it take to return to a normal life?
Crime novels by Martin Limón reviewed by 
