I'm an aspiring writer who has been writing stories since Kindergarten (None released). Obviously I have a lot of experience, but I'm still unsure with extremely important things. As all of my Novels have never been released and all my short stories have either been scrapped or again, not released. I feel I'm finally ready to release my first Novel, which I have been working on for 3 months or so.
I've been planning ahead for awhile or so, but I'm pondering whether at the end of the story I should kill my main character. FYI: I don't plan on creating a series. In my experience most novels' sequels are never as good as the original, and I don't want to be known as the guy who ruined a good book by making it a series.
For a rundown of my character, hes a 34 year old man who grew up under abusive parents. He was moved to a foster home when he was six, and this plus the parents inflicted some serious mental issues. When he was 15 he ran from the foster home and started a petty crime business, stealing from houses and pick pocketing.
When he was 19 he committed his first murder, and loved it so much he became a vicious serial killer.
When he's finally arrested he becomes the subject of a work in progress government project: They take evil criminals, plant a special data chip inside their brain, and then send them into the world making them think they're someone else.
After a few years of thinking he's a different person, he gets into an accident which damages the data chip in his head. Over the next week the chip keeps shutting down slowly, until it's on the brink of a complete shut down.
The main character suddenly has a urge to kill again, though he still thinks he's someone else. He gives into the urge and becomes a serial killer once again Throughout the last bits of the story the reader notices his mental decline into complete insanity. In the last chapter, when the police are closing in on his position, his chip completely shuts down. All of the memories come flooding to him, and just as he remembers who he is.........
ANNDDD that's where I'm stuck. I want to kill him off, thought I don't know if I should. My goal is to make the reader hate him, even though he's the main character. I've researched several things and read a lot of books to try and find a solution, but I can't decide if killing him would be a good idea. I'm afraid if I kill him the reader will feel the story was a waist of time, but I also think if I killed this vicious killer the reader will get what they may want: the character's death.
Any help?
(NOTE: I know there is already an answer, but that's for good main characters. This is for bad.)