Emancipation - Pen Pals and Serial Killers - Story One

Jo Michaels

Book Cover

GENRE

SUSPENSE THRILLER

    Core Theme

    REVENGE, FAMILY, LOVE, MURDER

    TIME PERIOD

    2000s

    COMPARABLE TITLES

    THE HOUSE ON THE LEFT, I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE, KILL BILL

    CHARACTER LIST

    - JESSICA PHANG: 24. EXACTING, METICULOUS, CALCULATING, SKILLFUL.
    - TOBIAS BUTLER: 30. MURDERER. SADISTIC, MANIPULATIVE, VERY DISTURBED, UNAPOLOGETIC.
    - HENRY ROWDEN, AKA BEAST: 45. BLUNT, CLUMSY, MASCULINE.

    Logline

    Emancipation is the story of a serial killer on death row, for a murder he's guilty of, and get his hands around the neck of the beautiful attorney who's trying to set him free.

    Target Audiences

    Age: 18-34

    Target Gender: Female leaning

    Setting

    Tennessee

    Based on a True Story

    No

    Publishing Details

    Status: Yes: self-published

    Year Published: 2016

    Starting Description

    Tobias is on death row for a quadruple homicide he was found guilty of committing. He gets a letter from a lovely young lawyer named Jess claiming she can have him freed. A game of cat and mouse ensues, in which Tobias thinks he has the upper hand, and the newlyweds file an appeal.

    Ending Description

    Jess turns on Tobias when he's found innocent, because it was her family he murdered, and she gets her revenge after ten years of plotting.

    Group Specific

    Information not completed

    Hard Copy Available

    No

    ISBN

    Information not completed

    Mature Audience Themes

    Extreme Violence, Language/Profanity

    Plot - Other Elements

    Twist

    Plot - Premise

    Overcoming Monster/Villain

    Main Character Details

    Name: Tobias Butler

    Age: 30

    Gender: Male

    Role: Antagonist

    Key Traits: Manipulative, Narcissistic, Unapologetic, Charming, Complex, Criminal, Sexy, Villainous, Confident, Heartthrob, Masculine

    Additional Character Details

    Name: Jessica Phang (Blackwood)

    Age: 24

    Gender: Female

    Role: Protagonist

    Key Traits: Complex, Decisive, Perseverance, Sexy, Sophisticated, Badass, Beautiful, Charming, Educated, Manipulative, Unapologetic

    Additional Character Details

    Name: Henry (The Beast) Rowden

    Age: 45

    Gender: Male

    Role: Antagonist

    Key Traits: Blunt, Clumsy, Criminal, Masculine, Villainous, Aggressive

    Additional Character Details

    Name: Hector (The Rooster)

    Age: 35

    Gender: Male

    Role: Sidekick

    Key Traits: Empathetic, Funny, Naive, Obedient, Underdog, Desperate

    Brief

    A guilty serial killer on death row can't wait to get his hands around the neck of the beautiful attorney who's trying to set him free. However, as one might think, there’s more to the story than meets the eye.

    What We Liked

    This is a strong revenge thriller with a touch of horror, thanks to the constant tension and contained
    setting of the prison. Viewers would be hooked by the story from the start: why would a beautiful
    attorney want to help a guilty and clearly deranged man get out of prison? The pace moves quickly
    thanks to Jessica’s surprising and snappy plan, which the viewer only finds out about towards the last
    half of the story. The small cast also helps the viewers keep up with the quick pace.
    Film: The contained setting of the story and continual momentum gives potential for a solid film. The
    thrilling revenge aspects would draw a wide demographic of (adult) audiences. The central pair and
    their bonding over dangerous circumstances would also attract top casting.
    TV: The story would be suited for a TV series since the central relationship between Tobias and
    Jessica could be developed over multiple episodes. The prolonged format allows for viewers to take
    a deeper dive into the events in the show. The viewer could develop more attachment to the story,
    finding out how Tobias became the way he is and why Jessica is so intent on helping him.

    Synopsis

    Tobias Butler spends his time in prison for torturing and killing a family of four - a crime he very much
    enjoyed committing. Waiting for his time to arrive, Tobias has made many enemies - his cellmate,
    Rooster - an innocent man stuck in prison, who seems to have a big heart, and is reluctantly part of a
    gang of Latinos - believes he can trust Tobias with his secrets, but Tobias truly doesn’t care about
    anybody else except himself. He is a menacing loner who bids his time in prison reading letters from
    people who either want to save his soul or condemn him. He is intrigued when he receives a letter and
    photo from a young, beautiful lawyer named Jessica Phang. She wants to get him a re-trial and free
    him from prison, but that’s not all — she has feelings for him that she wants to pursue by meeting in
    person.
    Over a series of letters and visits, Tobias plays along with Jessica and tells her the things he thinks
    she wants to hear. Tobias fantasizes about how he will kill her — just as he killed various other
    women in his life — and what he will do with the money he’ll take from her in order to begin a new life.
    By sharing stories of his childhood with a single drug-addicted mother who let people perform horrific
    acts on Tobias as a little boy, he reels Jessica in. She prepares information to show that he’s
    innocent, gets him a new court date, and sends him money to make his life easier in prison. Their
    letters become more personal and full of love. He asks her for favors, such as having his cellmate
    removed; that removal ultimately leads to Rooster being killed by a rival gang member.
    Tobias proposes to Jessica, and she accepts. They get married as his court date for a retrial arrives.
    Jessica represents Tobias with conclusive evidence, pointing out how the only witness in the case
    was an alcoholic. Convinced, the jury acquits him on all the counts he’s facing. To celebrate his
    freedom, Jessica arranges a dinner at the finest steakhouse around.
    The real motive behind Jessica’s actions becomes known: with her two best pharmacist friends Terri
    and Tina, she drugs Tobias and imprisons him in her basement. It turns out Rooster hasn’t been killed
    — he’s in on Jessica’s plan, feeding her constant information. As Jessica proceeds to use each of the
    ways Tobias tortured his victims as ways to torture him for weeks, she reveals that she is the
    daughter of a woman he killed. She has been planning this revenge since she was 12 years old — half
    of her live has been focused on torturing Tobias again. Once she’s committed horrific acts upon him,
    she leaves him to die in her basement.

    About The Author

    Jo Michaels is a writer, mother and editor-in-chief at Indie Books Gone Wild. She graduated with a degree in graphic design.