How does a writer decide how dark to go with an antagonist? Some novels, like "The Collector," have us wallowing in sadistic, disturbed prose for page after page. Some say we are forced to become way too intimate with the sickness that runs through Clegg's, the protagonist, mind.
Contrast that story with the category of novels called "Cozy Mysteries". They may not go far enough to create a true sense of suspense and mystery. There is always a murder and a body, but usually not much description of its condition, and the crime itself is usually solved via nice, civilized conversations. They're cozy. Read them in a dark room, and you'll be just fine.
James Ellroy, on the other hand, spooks us to the core in his "My Dark Places." Just how far does a reader want to descend into the pool of evil?
As for me...not so far that I might lose my way back.
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