Christopher L. Reilly’s debut thriller follows a surgeon turned vigilante in Houston

Christopher L. Reilly has completed El Chancho, a crime thriller set in Houston about a trauma surgeon who hunts predators after dark while carrying scars from war and family loss. The novel blends medicine, violence and moral conflict as Reilly looks for publication, serialization and adaptation interest. Why it matters: - El Chancho centers on trauma, vigilante justice, and the long tail of violence, giving the novel broad appeal for readers drawn to morally complex crime fiction. - The book ties a Houston medical setting to themes of addiction, trafficking, post-traumatic stress, and family fracture. - Reilly is positioning the manuscript for publication, serialization, and adaptation, which expands its potential reach beyond the page. What happened: - Christopher L. Reilly completed El Chancho, a debut crime thriller set in Houston. - The story follows Max Donovan, a trauma surgeon and former combat medic who treats patients by day and targets predators by night. - Max wears a rubber pig mask and becomes known on the street as El Chancho. - Reilly said he wanted to write about how trauma follows people home and how choices made under pressure echo for decades. The details: - The novel moves across two timelines. - One timeline follows Max in the present as he investigates a suspicious pain clinic and the kidnapping of a teenage girl named Rosa. - The second timeline returns to Max’s youth in Katy, Texas, where a football star, his twin brother with cerebral palsy, and the girl they both loved set up the tragedy that shapes the story. - The two timelines converge on a buried act Max believes can never be forgiven. - Reilly says his medical background informs the operating room and trauma bay scenes. - The book includes descriptions of antiseptic corridors and a trauma bay at three in the morning. - The supporting cast includes a manipulative psychiatrist with a hidden agenda, a former recruiter who becomes an honest voice, and a young captive whose courage drives the present-day plot. - The closing image leaves Max in a restored 1967 Chevy Nova as he chooses his road. Between the lines: - El Chancho appears to use the vigilante plot as a frame for a deeper story about guilt, brotherhood, and whether justice can erase personal damage. - The emphasis on hospital realism suggests Reilly is trying to ground heightened crime-fiction elements in lived-in detail. - The mix of war, medicine, and family trauma gives the novel a more intimate emotional center than a standard serial-killer or revenge thriller. What’s next: - El Chancho is currently available or under review consideration. - Reilly is open to publication, serialization, and adaptation discussions. - He is seeking inquiries from agents, editors, and producers interested in the property. The bottom line: - Reilly is pitching El Chancho as a dark, emotionally driven thriller built around a surgeon who cannot separate healing from revenge.