I'm in the very early stages of writing a contemporary inspired by Peter Sutcliffe, the notorious Yorkshire Ripper who killed prostitutes and students in the 1970s - specifically, how he was caught.
It was totally by accident - some policemen found him parked in his car with a known prostitute, and his plates were taped on with black tape (what an idiot) so they ran them through the system and found they were false. Meanwhile, Sutcliffe was trying to dump evidence before they took him to the station. His car was full of evidence too, and he admitted to the murders soon after.
What kickstarted my new YA WIP was the fact that he was caught with a woman who, almost certainly, was destined to be his next victim. She wasn't even suspicious of him - it could be said that she only survived by chance.
So my idea is about a girl who gets into a car with a stranger, and isn't suspicious, doesn't try to escape or anything, until the police stop them for dodgy plates and the man runs. She finds out he's a convicted murderer and she 'should have died' - as everyone tells her.
She was not harmed at all, but her world and her state of mind unravels as she realises that despite her straight-A grades, she wasn't 'clever enough' to work out the man was dodgy and not get in his car. It doesn't help that everyone is telling her she 'should have died', she's 'so lucky', etc.
She's already into horoscopes and fate and stuff, but gets even more into it, and when another girl dies swimming in the ocean in a freak riptide, the MC is positive it's all about balance - this girl shouldn't have died, she was a strong swimmer, it was a calm day - but she should've. She took the girl's place. She becomes obsessed with this girl she has never even spoken to.
The girl's brother is broken with guilt that he didn't save his sister, because he couldn't swim, and when the MC turns up to his sister's funeral saying she's a friend of his sister, he believes her and they become each other's anchor, both effed-up and guilty and trying to reason with death. the MC teaches him to swim, too, her way of trying to make up for his sister's death.
Basically it's a contemp YA about survivor's guilt and premature death and forgiving yourself
