His Willing Marionettes — Jane Bean

Harry Flashman, Tom Ripley and Bryce Walker meet in a fictional backwater town in the Wye Valley and morph into a teenager called Darren.His Willing Marionettes, written for the 16+YA/crossover market, has a Nature or Nurture theme and an antihero you’ll love to hate.When Leroy mysteriously drowns in the river, the lives of three of his classmates – Darren, Joel and Grace – become inextricably linked. Leroy was Joel’s only friend. He was also Grace’s twin brother. Bound together by their common grief, they become inseparable.But Leroy was also Darren’s friend. He’s jealous of Grace and Joel’s relationship and plans to split them up. Darren’s dad, Ronnie, now a successful businessman, escaped his abusive and domineering father by leaving home at sixteen. He was forced to get by on his wits, and the mantra he has instilled into Darren is to look after Number One: to be ruthless in order to succeed, even at the expense of others. But Darren has inherited not only his grandfather’s good looks but his psychopathic narcissism. He has no empathy or feelings of guilt – seeking out the company of weaker, vulnerable characters to mould to his will.Classmates Joel and Grace make for easy prey. Joel is neglected by his single mother, and Grace’s parents, grieving over her brother Leroy’s death, have lost their ability to communicate as a family. And both Joel and Grace have a crush on Darren. He easily tempts them into secret relationships with him – Grace as his girlfriend (involving underage sex) and Joel as his partner-in-crime.But their triangle of friendship is doomed to fracture under the mounting weight of jealousy, lies and deceit. Revenge inevitably follows, and as Darren’s hedonism spirals out of control, the safety, happiness and goals of all three of them are under threat.But one of them has the luck of the Devil.And only one of them can emerge unscathed.