Hello everyone,
Sometimes in books we come across characters who are impossible not to hate. They are only fictional, yet somehow they still make our blood boil.
There is a difference between hateable and annoying. Characters who are annoying just get on our nerves, but when you find a character you hate – and that is a strong word – they are irredeemably awful and represent the worst kind of humanity.
So here are my top 10 hateable characters, and if I can help it, this is the only airtime that I will ever give them…
Max Hastings – A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder by Holly Jackson
Initially one of the suspects in Pippa’s investigation into the death of Andie Bell, the poisonous Max Hastings becomes her most enduring enemy over the course of the trilogy. He starts as someone who you do not like, and when we find out more about him the worse it gets.
Jake Riordan – One Of Us Is Back by Karen M. McManus
Another antagonist in a popular young adult mystery, Jake Riordan is initially the boyfriend of one of the main characters, Addy Prentiss. But as we discover, he is very controlling and it is in the final book of the trilogy where he is the main villain, pretending to be a changed person when he is still the same bad person he was before.
Rafe – The Book Of You by Claire Kendal
Rafe is a man who aggressively and persistently stalks the main character Clarissa throughout this story. He is unbearable even in the beginning, and his behaviour slowly escalates.
John Langton – The Confessions Of Frannie Langton by Sara Collins
A slave plantation owner who rules Frannie’s life at the start of the book. No need to elaborate any further here.
Adam – The Bad Mother by Amanda Brooke
This book is about gaslighting and throughout this book, Adam makes his wife Lucy question her sanity.
Jarl Brum – King Of Scars by Leigh Bardugo
Not everyone hates the Darkling despite him being pure evil, but I am pretty sure that all of us are united about Jarl Brum. He is a military commander on Fjerda whose mission is to wipe out all Grisha, and he goes about this work in the coldest possible way while also overseeing the oppression of women.
Lenn – The Last Thing To Burn by Will Dean
One of the most unsettling characters I have read as well as hateable, Lenn is a human trafficker who keeps the main character Thanh captive at his rural farm. Reading the story from Thanh’s unique perspective made it all the more impactful.
James Forrester – The Maiden by Kate Foster
A fairly recent read, The Maiden tells of how Christian Nimmo stands accused of killing her lover James Forrester. She is no saint, but James is pathological in the extreme – violent, exploitative, and calculating. He certainly gave Christian and others many motives to kill him.
Absalom Cornet – The Mercies by Kiran Millward Hargrave
In the Norwegian settlement of Vardo, newly installed authority figure makes it his mission to remove all hint of so-called witchcraft. Those he suspects of being witches are dealt with in the most brutal ways.
Felix – The Wolf Den by Elodie Harper
The owner of the brothel where Amara and her friends work. He is a dictatorial and bad-tempered man who keeps the women in poor conditions and commits multiple sins.
(Dis)Honourable Mentions
Virgil Doyle – Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Virgil became more twisted as this book got nearer to the end.
Wugang – Heart Of The Sun Warrior
More of a fantasy villain and so not as awful as most on this list, but he still wants to overthrow the Celestial Emperor, kill Xingyin, and rule the Immortal Realm.
Oliver – Five Survive by Holly Jackson
He really, truly made my blood boil! Possibly the most hot-headed character I have ever come across, and his behaviour becomes more and more alarming during this story.
Charles Crofts – The Smallest Man by Frances Quinn
Just an all-round nasty bully who torments Nat throughout the first half of this story.
David Thomson – The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell
A cult leader who pitches up at a family’s house in London and takes over the household with his despotic rules and abusive nature.
Let’s Chat
Have you read any of these books? Who are the most hateable characters you have read? Let me know in the comments!
Stephen Reads Books 