by Helen Price

I love an antagonist.

I mean, who doesn’t love a baddie?

But I like their hearts grey, not black. I want them conflicted, not cackling in the shadows, twirling their moustaches or plotting world domination just because they can. I’m far more drawn to antagonists who genuinely believe they’re doing the right thing, rather than those who hurt people simply because they enjoy it. Why? Because they’re more interesting. They’re layered. And most importantly, they feel real.

I like their hearts grey, not black.

YA readers are brilliant at spotting flat, two-dimensional villains. They’re far more perceptive, morally aware and emotionally intelligent than we give them credit for. If someone is evil purely for the sake of it, it feels false. Teen readers are complicated human beings. They’re living through, or more accurately surviving, their formative years. They’re already living in the grey. They’re questioning rules, challenging authority, working out who and what to believe in. So when a story presents a villain in black and white, it simply doesn’t ring true.

We live in uncertain times and in an uncertain world unwavering conviction can feel especially powerful but also dangerous. Storytelling needs to reflect that. Teens today are constantly exposed to loud and absolute opinions, voices that leave little room for doubt and rarely acknowledge the nuances of their lived experiences. It’s no surprise, then, that they’re drawn to antagonists with motivations they can relate to. Anti-heroes who act out of love, fear, loyalty, or even faith. They might not agree with them, but they do at least understand them. And that relatability makes for more powerful and engaging storytelling.

In KILL ME NOW, my antagonist believes modern teenagers have drifted off course. They see moral decline everywhere and believe souls are at stake. From their perspective, they aren’t destroying lives. They’re saving them. And for a long time, I confidently labelled them as morally grey. They have moments when they doubt themselves. Moments when they wrestle with whether they’re right and what they’re doing is moral. But ultimately, they believe the end justifies the means. And they keep on killing.

At some point, all antagonists believe they’re justified in their actions. History is full of people who’ve convinced themselves that harm and destruction are necessary to achieve their aim. So, why should fiction be any different? But just believing they’re right doesn’t make them grey.

When my antagonist says these words, it’s not madness talking. It’s complete and utter conviction.

Morally grey antagonists work particularly well in YA because teen readers are sensitive to authority figures who claim to know what’s best for them. They recognise control when they see it. So when my antagonist insists they’re enforcing morality to ‘save’ their generation, I hope it strikes a chord with teen readers and even hits a nerve.

When we describe something as grey, we usually mean it’s unclear and that the lines around it are blurred. But in fiction, that greyness can feel strangely solid. Readers may not agree with the antagonist, and they certainly don’t have to side with them, but they can understand the reasoning behind their actions. They can see how someone might have ended up there and what drove them to commit such heinous acts. And if readers do that, then the greyness has worked. The author has created an antagonist with layers, depth, and complexity.

If you’re interested in writing a morally grey antagonist, first ask yourself: Do they ever question themself? Do they show any form of humanity or remorse to the people they hurt? Could a reader argue that they might indeed have a point? If the answer is yes, then it’s most likely that you’ve already crafted a morally-grey one. If the answer is no, but your antagonist’s logic is still structured and convincing, you may have written something slightly different: something more akin to an ideologically driven antagonist. And that isn’t a failing. In fact, in a thriller, it can be equally powerful and even more terrifying.

I went into KILL ME NOW thinking I had written a morally grey villain. What I realised instead was that I had created someone far more unsettling…

I went into KILL ME NOW thinking I had written a morally grey villain. What I realised instead was that I had created someone far more unsettling: someone grey in moments, but absolutely certain at their core. Certain they were right. Certain the future of humanity was at risk. Certain the actions they were taking, and the sacrifices they were making, were wholly justified. So, how do we tell the difference? Well, a morally grey antagonist questions their own morality. An ideologically driven one doesn’t.

In KILL ME NOW, I didn’t want readers to be shocked by the murders alone. I wanted them unsettled by the reasoning behind them. Sometimes the most frightening antagonists aren’t those who enjoy harming others, but those who believe it’s purely necessary. They’re not psychopaths, sociopaths, or narcissists, at least not in the conventional or clinical sense of the terms. Instead, they’re individuals so ideologically certain in an otherwise morally ambiguous world that it’s their conviction, not their cruelty, which makes them so frightening.

Our young adults today are already navigating a complicated and messy landscape. Creating characters who reflect that, who carry their own deep-rooted and complex sense of morality, can therefore spark discussions that resonate far beyond the final page.

So yes, as a thriller writer, I like morally grey characters.

Because while grey is the darkest shade of all, it’s also the truest.

Kill Me Now

It’s murder in the sixth form…

School golden boy Riley North is found dead. The funeral director’s son, Guy ‘Reaper’ Mortimer is accused. Determined to clear his name, Reaper teams up with spiky new girl, Samira; Riley’s loyal teammate, Bunsen; hot-headed Snake; and the ever-innocent Betty. They unravel the twisted layers of school, where secrets hide and deception is rife. But someone knows the truth and is determined to expose it – one deadly sin at a time.

Riverdale meets One of Us is Lying, KILL ME NOW is perfect for fans hunting for their next A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder obsession.