Is it wrong to be too gruesome...

[Tisiphone]

During the very first scene? I'm working on my mystery about a serial killer who leaves tarot cards in certain positions at the bodies of those he/she has slaughtered. Is there a line not to cross?

I don't want the reader to get too disgusted that they don't want to finish my book.

 

[The Question]

Also, make sure that the gore serves the purpose of driving the story in more ways than just shocking the reader. Use it to shock the character who discovers it in order to create either a crucial strength or a crucial weakness in that character which is vital to the story, and you've got a winner.

 

[BlazerBoy]

On Television and most murder mystery thrillers, the crimes, gruesome or not usually do start off the novel. Jus tmake sure you hook your readers with the actually "mystery" part pretty soon after that exposition.

 

[Donovan]

The thing you want to remember is that "gruesome" is entirely different for a novel than it is for movies or visual media. In images, a single gruesome shot or still can shock the viewer and hook them into the horror. Let's say, the pool scene where Drew Barrymore bites it or any opening from CSI.

However, in books, gruesome comes from leading the reader down a certain path then blindsiding them with a horrifically described, lengthy and prolonged death scene. For example, in the Stand where heroic characters are abruptly killed mid-novel and others take over. Gruesome means an entirely different method in books, where you can't control either the reading speed or the comprehension levels of the reader. It' s gotta work for the quick reader as well as the not-so quick...