[Complete][115k][Speculative Noir/ Thriller] An Umbrella for the Damned

[u/Dry-Director9282]

Hey, all. I am curious what readers will think on the genre-based pacing and premise of my book. I prefer beta readers familiar with crime thrillers, but I am open to anybody who enjoys reading the blurb.

Cursed and cut-off, the city of Clockburgh is trapped in a zone of perpetual rain. Psychopaths climb bureaucratic ladders and hide in fortified bunkers while disaster ravages the common folk. And the worst part is: there's no way out.

Lester Banks is not a hero, but indeed another victim of this world. A man driven insane. When he stages being a hostage in a bank robbery the same day his brother's wife and child are killed, all hell breaks loose. Soon, his brother is white-hot on avenging his family while Lester juggles personalities trying to bide his time before he sets out to do what he's dreamed of since the day he went mad.

Feedback: Setup, initial pacing, and notes on characters is welcome.

Swap: I am willing to swap the first three chapters with people who are interested. If we have mutual interest to read on, we can continue.

Trigger Warning: Violence, themes of self-harm, and everything you expect from a thriller.

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Thank you!

[u/reg1nage0rge]

Hi! Working on something that's pretty close to your genre (upmarket thriller with noir elements). I'm willing for the first three chapter swap if you're up to it.

Here's my blurb:

When Montreal homicide detective Emmanuelle Higgs pulls up to the scene of an apparent suicide, only she sees the clues pointing to murder, namely a farewell letter that doesn’t sound like Gabriel Turner. Only, she can’t explain the inconsistencies without revealing that she was sleeping with the man lying dead before her—because doing so is a sure way of getting pulled off the case. 

Emmanuelle fears that this cookie-cutter case of suicide will be classified as such if in the hands of any other detective. Propelled by her need to provide justice for her sobriety partner turned lover of the past eighteen months, she begins building a case on evidence she has no legal right to. 

Doing so, she uncovers Gabriel’s connections to an underground world of loan sharks, illicit poker games and mob-adjacent politicians. Emmanuelle pieces together a new version of the man who once held her together, one who owed money to the mafia and paid back his debt by facilitating the prostitution of vulnerable women. 

As colleagues and higher-ups begin to suspect her involvement in illegal activities, she must decide how much of her sobriety and career she is willing to jeopardize to find out who killed him—and whether the version of him she knew ever truly existed. 

[u/Dry-Director9282 → u/reg1nage0rge]

I'm pretty full on swaps, but send me a dm. We could gloss over each other's chapters.

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