Okay, so I've done a lot of reading around this forum on what mainstream is, and I'm still not sure I "get it", or maybe I'm just thinking too hard about what category to put my book in. I originally had it in "Horror & Thriller", but that forum seems to be full of vampire/zombie/etc stories that just don't fit with mine (I was really only putting it there for the "thriller" aspect, not the horror). Now I'm wondering if maybe I should move it here.
Here's a quick run-down of my plot...
Dalton Jacobs is a professional killer (ala "Gross Pointe Blank") who is working in England on a job. He has been hired to kill the President of a computer company and has taken a job in the company to get more information and an easier way in.
Reinhard Stahl, the son of the President, has just moved to England from his native Germany after his grandfather (and caretaker)'s death. His father gets him a low-level job in the company.
Reinhard and Dalton meet, and Reinhard becomes dangerously obsessed with Dalton. Reinhard discovers the secret of Dalton's work and, in attempt to earn Dalton's trust and respect, kills the target of the job (his father) before Dalton can.
The two are arrested, and, instead of being incarcerated, are chosen to take part in an experimental behavior study in which a team of scientists have developed an injection that will cause the criminal to develop a sort of Dissociative Fugue state -- losing all memory of the crime and desire to commit crimes. The criminals can then be given "Behavioral Reconditioning" and molded back into perfect citizens.
After two years, Dalton and Reinhard are deemed to be "successes" and sent to live overseas (far from each other and the place the crime was committed, in hopes of stopping a relapse). Dalton is sent to his home city of Winnipeg, Canada, where he opens up a bar, and Reinhard is sent to live in America.
Katelynn Angus, a researcher in charge of the "Fugue" project, goes to Canada pretending to be Dalton's girlfriend to keep an eye on his progress, as he is deemed most likely to relapse.
However, Reinhard is sent to Canada with co-workers on a business trip, and runs into Dalton in the man's bar. The two seem to realize something strange about the other, and slowly begin to relapse together. Katelynn notices what's happening and tries to separate the two, which ends in her death by Reinhard's hands. Reinhard goes crazy and begins a killing spree, and Dalton, pressured by Reinhard into burying Katelynn's body and keeping her death a secret, slowly grows to hate Reinhard.
The two are once again caught by authorities, only this time without the other knowing -- and the police promise both the opportunity to go free if they can stop the other.
Sorry for the length... I tried to consolidate, but I didn't want to leave too much out in case it might change a genre assignment. I really think "Thriller" is a good place, but "Horror & Thriller" just isn't...
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Where are All the Good Men Dead? In the heart or in the head?
2,345 / 50,000
Nov 1, 2007 - 03 31
Definitely Thriller, although I guess it depends on how its handled. If you let the plot take control, I figure it's a Suspense/Thriller, but if its all about the characters who just happen to be ex-cons, then I would say its mainstream.
3,117 / 50,000
Nov 3, 2007 - 02 42
What about mine? Gah I'm hoping this isnt cliche. I cant stay away from the vampires.
Anyhow to get to the question of where mine would go.
The main character is.. you guessed it none other than a vampire. Matthew "Matt" Van Sant reflects upon the turning of his late girlfriend Taryn and his life before her turning and how they met and all, how fate brought them together. that kind of thing. Theres more but thats the twist.
50,561 / 50,000
Nov 5, 2007 - 16 38
This sounds just like my type of book! The books "similar" to yours are usually in a category called something like "Suspense/Thriller," "Espionage/Thriller," or "Intrigue/Thriller." I don't read thriller-as-in-monster/scary books, so I'm always a bit wary of that part of the category title, but the ones I gave above are where I usually find books that have a similar feel to the one you're writing.