From the Back of the Book:

Working Title:

Dark Relations (Book One of The Klaite Moran Chronicles)

Story Synopsis:

Klaite Moran has always been willing to push ethical boundaries in pursuit of a scoop, but her latest assignment will test her like never before. As an ambitious young reporter climbing the ranks in the cutthroat world of investigative journalism, Klaite lands the opportunity of a lifetime—exclusive access to notorious serial killer Reynel Joris in the final months before his execution.

Reynel was once a rising political star, seemingly destined for the presidency, before his horrific crimes came to light. Over the course of several decades, he secretly kidnapped and murdered fifty children while maintaining a wholesome, religious family man persona in the public eye. By the time he was caught, the depravity of his crimes shocked the entire nation. Ever since being convicted and sentenced to death, Reynel has refused all media contact and maintained a stony silence—until now.

Intrigued by Klaite’s grit and persistence in pursuing his story over the years, Reynel grants her repeated interviews in prison under two conditions: no one else can know, and she must report his words verbatim, no matter how disturbing, with the stipulation that she can only publish after his execution.

As their sessions progress, Klaite is disturbed to recognize shades of her own ambition and ruthlessness in Reynel. Even more alarming, she begins to empathize with him, against her better judgment. Meanwhile, Klaite’s escalating problems with a dangerous stalker are met with apathy by the police. Increasingly concerned for her safety, she makes the fateful decision to ask Reynel for advice on how to handle the situation. To her shock, he calmly suggests that she take matters into her own hands and kill her stalker if the police won’t act.

Klaite instantly recoils at the thought of taking another human’s life, even in self-defense. However, as her desperation grows, Reynel’s proposition starts to seem more reasonable. Wrestling with the moral dilemma, Klaite must decide how far she is willing to go in pursuit of survival and whether she is capable of living with the consequences of her actions.

As she unravels the messy ethical questions surrounding violence, justice, ambition, and morality raised by Reynel, Klaite realizes she still has much to learn about her own inner darkness. As Klaite’s interviews with Reynel intensify, so too does the harassment from her stalker, who begins leaving threatening messages and macabre gifts at her home. Reynel continues calmly advising Klaite to take deadly action, rationalizing that the police’s inaction leaves her no choice for her own protection.

While Klaite remains hesitant to physically harm her stalker, she starts to secretly implement some of Reynel’s psychological manipulation techniques to try to disorient and scare off her harasser. At the same time, she grapples with the ethical dilemmas of using such morally questionable tactics.

Meanwhile, Reynel opens up more about his own crimes and psychology during their sessions, though he shows no remorse. He claims he initially killed to satisfy his intellectual curiosity about life and death and that only over time did it become an obsession. The more insight Klaite gets into his twisted mindset, the more she recognizes the same qualities in herself that drive her ruthless ambition.

As Reynel’s execution date nears and their friendship deepens, Klaite considers whether she should try to leverage their relationship and exclusive access to get his sentence appealed or commuted. While it would be the story of a lifetime, she hesitates to help a remorseless killer.

In their final interview, Reynel declares he is ready to die and has made peace with Klaite being the one to share his life story with the world. Their last visit is emotional, as they reflect on their conflicted feelings about their unlikely connection and his impending death. Reynel arranges for his last meal to be shared with Klaite, and she holds his hand as the prison priest gives him his last rites. After saying their goodbyes, Klaite leaves, unable to witness the execution itself—a line she won’t cross even for the story.

Back at the newspaper, word of Reynel’s passing hits Klaite with unexpected grief. She reflects on how he awakened her awareness of her inner darkness and profoundly shaped her life’s course.

In the weeks after his execution, Klaite must confront her stalker before he turns violent. Ultimately, she makes the excruciating choice to take Reynel’s original advice. Killing her stalker in self-defense leaves deep mental and emotional scars but finally removes the threat.

In the aftermath, Klaite questions whether justice was truly served through Reynel’s execution or if she has simply become morally corrupted. Months later, as her article’s deadline looms, she retreats to a cabin to immerse herself in writing his definitive biography. Pouring all her complex feelings into the exposé proves cathartic. She grapples with questions of morality versus ambition, vengeance versus forgiveness.

After this period of mourning and introspection, handing in the finished profile feels bittersweet. Klaite hopes sharing Reynel’s story while upholding her ethical principles will do justice to his profound but complicated role in her life. In the end, she realizes that because of Reynel, she is now more conscious of ethical lines as she moves forward in her career, forever changed by their disturbing connection.

Questions:

  1. Would you purchase and read this novel if you saw it in a bookstore?
  2. Would you read this novel if it were given to you as a gift?
  3. How do you feel after having read the synopsis?
  4. What is your overall opinion of the genre?
  5. Have you ever read a crime thriller before?
  6. Do you enjoy reading series?

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