Very Bad Deaths

A 2006 novel by Spider Robinson. Russell Walker is a political columnist for a Canadian newspaper. He is inadvertently dragged into the hunt for a serial killer when an old friend who happens to be a telepath shows up at his door one night.

Tropes used in Very Bad Deaths include:

• Author On Board: The narrative occasionally lapses into lectures on why marijuana is great and conservatives are evil. Fortunately it's not too distracting for the most part.
• Battle in the Center of the Mind: How Zandor finally kills Alan. Despite only involving one telepath, it was a real battle, as Alan's vile thoughts are so evil as to be weaponized. Zandor considered this a last resort, because he had sworn he would never do so . . . again.
  • "I made his selves disbelieve in himself."
• Blessed with Suck: See A Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Read below.
• Cold-Blooded Torture: Alan's repertoire includes drugs to enhance pain, drugs to prevent his victims from passing out, a perfect painkiller that lets him break every bone in someone's body then allows them to contemplate the excruciating pain they're about to experience.
• Complete Monster: Alan, the killer they're hunting, is a wealthy hyper-sadist. At one point he boasted that his record is keeping someone dying horribly for 22 days. He makes Hannibal Lecter look like a friendly old grandfather.
• A Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Read: Zander, the telepath, finds close proximity to almost anyone distinctly uncomfortable. When he finally comes in close contact with Alan, this becomes a distinct disadvantage. Merely being close to a mind that viciously demented is torture for him.
• Most Writers Are Writers: Russell, the main character, is a political columnist for a Canadian newspaper.
• Mutant Draft Board: Apart from his difficulty dealing with the mental noise most people generate, Zander is also in hiding to avoid being drafted by any number of intelligence agencies.
• Police Are Useless: When Russell gets a police officer to listen to him, she can only help him as a civilian because the police can't legally act on any of the (scant) information he has on Alan.