I hold in high esteem authors that create a series around their protagonists. Their characters can and should grow over time, but their essence should remain the same. I have several such authors that I follow, and so far I continue to enjoy their work, with the sad exception of the last two books that I read from a specific author that shall remain nameless.
All of a sudden the protagonist is accused of murder, arrested and placed in a holding cell. This is a small town, so we see not only their lawyer but family and friends traipsing through the holding cell. (It's a small town - our protagonist is the only person in said cell all weekend.) Then the family member making bail for them doesn't know how to make the bail, so a close friend steps in. This does not present the character of the family member as they have been presented so far in the series.
In the second book (from the same series) another family member is accused of murder. This is totally out of character for this individual. To make matters worse, the victim is being presented as this horrible person, while so far in the series they have been presented as a womanizer, and a bit ignorant, but not as the devil incarnate.
Throughout both books, the protagonist has a running conversation in her mind with herself and the devil on their other shoulder. Which, while out of character, might not be so bad if the author had not made the questionable decision to place these thoughts in italics.
Too many changes that make absolutely no sense. As a writer, if you cannot think of a way to keep your series going, then end it and start another one. Do not play your readers for fools!
(c) October 2021 Bonnie Cehovet
Reproduction prohibited without written permission from the author.
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