Brief

A young woman goes to the police for help with a stalker. Soon, the case becomes more complicated, as the woman's past is revealed and a series of odd murders gets linked to the stalker. The detectives soon begin to wonder if paranormal activity and demonic possession are at play.

What We Liked

- This is a very unique story that subverts expectations by showing women as vengeful and powerful in exacting punishment on their victims.
- As a film, this would be a fun slasher thriller with mystery and supernatural activity.
- As a tv show this would be a fun murder mystery that fans would tune into each week to learn more about the magic in the world and watch the detectives race to figure it out before more victims are killed.
- Key points: Ensemble of lead characters; Mystery; Complex villains; Plot twists; Unique premise

Synopsis

Carol is a young woman with a tragic past--her mother was abusive until she died, and then she was left in the care of her father who sexually assaulted her until she finally was placed in foster care. She had a good relationship with her foster parents, the Hamiltons, and remained close with them, even as she left home to pursue a career in education. She moves into a small apartment and soon gets a roommate--a young woman named Samantha. Samantha and Carol immediately bond over a similar past: Samantha's family died in a fire when she was younger, and Samantha bounced around from foster home to foster home. Samantha also was raped and abused as a child. Samantha is a few years older than Carol and works as a nurse. Carol is surprised at Samantha's eagerness to move in, but the two soon become close friends. They both soon bond over the fact that they have both been extremely unlucky in love. One night, while drunk, Carol and Samantha share a kiss, but Carol pushes her away and declares that they both must meet men soon.

Carol has been getting creepy calls and messages from a stalker, many with the song ""Carol"" and the message that they are meant to be and will soon be together forever. She reports these to the police, and they begin an investigation, assigning Tom Stone to lead the case. Tom is unhappy that he's been assigned a stalking case when there have been some recent murders lately, but he dedicates himself to finding whoever has been stalking Carol. Carol meets a young teacher at her school named Grant, and they soon begin a relationship. Samantha is jealous of all the time the two have spent together, but soon begins a relationship of her own with Tom, the detective assigned to the case. Samantha reveals at a dinner with Carol and Grant that Grant is gay, which Grant admits to Carol sheepishly. Grant says that he did have a boyfriend but that he's trying to go straight and wants to be with Carol. Carol loves him, so she agrees that when he gets back from his trip to Canada they can start anew. However, Grant never returns, and is instead found murdered in a gruesome way. Tom and his old mentor, Frank, both deduce that the murderer is the same one who has committed a similar string of murders involving grotesque mutilations of the body and religious symbolism. Carol is distraught at Grant's murder and plans to move back to her foster home, upsetting Samantha. Soon, her foster parents are found dead in what appears to be an accident, but upon closer look is actually a murder.

Samantha gets into a massive fight with Tom and starts getting more and more forgetful, so Carol introduces her to her therapist, Dr. Cole. Samantha reluctantly begins hypnotherapy sessions with Dr. Cole. Soon, Dr. Cole is found murdered. Tom goes to investigate his murder and soon goes missing. Carol goes missing too. Frank tracks them down and finds that Samantha has dissociative identity disorder and believes that she is a witch named Eleanor. Samantha has been secretly obsessed with Carol since her school days, and has been the one stalking her. Eleanor kidnaps Tom and Carol, drugging them both. Eleanor plans to sacrifice Carol to a demon but Tom and Frank manage to foil the plan with the help of Samantha's twin brother, who did not die in the childhood fire like they all had thought and instead murdered her three rapists; a revenge on behalf of his unknowing sister, whom he loved deeply. The twin burns the house with Eleanor inside, and Tom and Frank and Carol all manage to escape.

Tom and Carol start dating and Frank has fully committed to retirement, when similar murders start popping up, all with religious and wiccan imagery involved. They research the wiccan symbols found at the sites of the murders and begin to realize that Eleanor was a part of a coven of witches. Soon, they learn that Eleanor never died in the house fire and instead escaped and has been continuing to wreak havoc. They capture her and she falls into a coma, upon which she is confined to a mental hospital, never to do harm again.

About The Author

Anthony Kee was born in Lancashire England, where he still lives and works. A happy family man, he loves to read and write, and published his first book 'The Chronicles of Teng' in 2014.