I was just re-reading all of your comments about an author killing off the main sleuth because she/he thought the sleuth is boring. (My last entry.) It looks like the definite consensus is “No! Don’t do it!” Most of us seem to feel the same way about taking our sleuths away: One of the things we enjoy about our Cozy Mystery series are the characters and their development. Killing the sleuth would be a development we would rather avoid, at least until the author is pulling the plug on the series.
I totally agree with the sentiment that it would be almost disrespectful to the fans who actually like the series. What a way to repay them >>> bring on a sleuth who makes it more enjoyable to the author? What about the fans who bought your books? Perhaps the sleuth has gotten stale for the author, but as long as there continue to be fans who are buying the books, apparently the sleuth isn’t boring to everyone – the fans.
Who would have thought that Sherlock Holmes would rise from the dead? As for Poirot, I knew that Christie got tired of him, but she continued because of her (or should I say “his”?) fans. ‘Cause, let’s face it, when we like a mystery series, we’re not only fans of the author, but also of the sleuth.
I’m sure we all enjoy it when an author actually writes the last mystery in a series, and wraps it all up, so why not go that course? I get quite annoyed when I have stayed with a series through several books and then find out the publisher no longer wants to let the author continue with the series. I would always appreciate it if the publisher would let the author write one more mystery – just to wrap things up.
So, here’s a helpful suggestion to authors with this predicament. Retire your sleuth gracefully, before your fans think your sleuth is just as boring as you think he/she is!
marion says
Amen,what you said!
Susan Sundwall says
I agree. A graceful retirement allows the reader to think there might be somewhere in the world to find that favorite character besides the foot of the gravestone.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
There we go, Susan, giving all of these authors great ideas… if only they would take them!
linda c says
Danna, I also hate it when an author kills our main sleuth or main character of any book off. Example of this is when in last Elm Creek book by Jennifer Chiaverini, she “killed off” Sylvia. Yes, she did age this last book to be set sometime in latter years from the second to last book. But I had come to love Sylvia so much that I just did not want to think of her dying. Isn’t that what most writers want, for the readers to like the characters they have created so they are able to sell more books that relate to that series??
Instead of having the main characters killed off or just dying how about the author just ending the last book in such a way that just in case he/she would sometime in the future want to return to these characters, no miraculous rising from the dead would have to take place!!
As I said before, I hated when the Soaps would kill off a favorite character, whether that be a good guy or a bad guy. Then sometime down the road that character would have some kind of rebirth. This is just too unreal. I have had some very close relatives die and believe me, the dead don’t come back to life.
Most of my favorite writers are my favorites because of their writing skills.I think of these people as being artists, not just someone who writes a book. When I see these writers have a new book out I want to read these books because of their previous writing skills.
I am confident enough in these writers to know that if and when they would want to resurect these characters they certainly have the writing ability to do that.
I am now not able to actually “buy” books. But I do support the library sales that help the libraries to purchase new books. I do vote for library levies for that same reason. I pay taxes because of the levies that were passed. I donate my already read books to libraries so they can resell these in order to buy more books. So, although I can’t outright buy many books, I do contribute in order for writers to be able to sell their books.
Don’t kill a main character off.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Linda C, it’s great that you donate your books to your library system.
linda c says
Danna I get so much entertainment and enjoyment out of going to the area libraries, donating already read books is the least I can do.
Nan says
Nothing ruins a series or a tv show quicker than killing off a beloved character. I’m still unhappy about Mr. Nigel-Murray on Bones, and Denny on Grey’s. :<)
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Nan, I guess I can understand that sometimes the networks simply have to drop an actor due to them wanting to leave the show, or contract disputes. But, it killing off a beloved character does change the entire dynamic show, whether the producers want it or not.
Deb says
Oh, poor Mr. Nigel-Murray. I miss both him and Zack!
Anyway. I hate to see a sleuth killed off. Not only does a graceful retirement allow us to take a little pleasure out of the end of a series, but it leaves the door open for a return, either by the author a la Doyle, or by someone who continues the series after the bored author has died.
If the author wants a new sleuth, then they should go to the trouble of creating a new milieu for that sleuth, and make it entirely a new series, for us to enjoy or not.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Well said, Deb!
Susie says
I don’t know if this came up already, but there’s also the quality of “jumping the shark” that I think writers should try to avoid (sometimes they do this when they run out of ideas or they are trying to retain/regain readers). At the writers’ convention I was at a few weeks ago, the audience was asked at one point if they minded if every single member of a detective/sleuth’s family got injured/hospitalized/killed/kidnapped. There seemed to be a consensus among the 100 or so people in attendance that they did not appreciate when this kind of personal drama happened in every book of the same series. It’s okay to suspend disbelief on occasion, but that can get old! (so definitely time to retire the detective, I think. If only to save his or her relatives from impending disaster! 🙂 )
Donna says
Susie, It’s interesting that so many writers agree with the readers but then do these things in their books anyway. Wonder what drives it? Is it an insistent publisher, the author’s boredom with the character, an attempt to increase sales by the use of shock value? The machinery behind the publishing industry fascinates me. It’s so much more than just a writer with an idea for a good story. (Oh, if only it were that simple!)
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Susie, I would last only two books in that series, and then that would be enough to drop even one of my favorite authors. I am not a very forgiving mystery reader. There are just too many authors out there from which to pick.
Maria (BearMountainBooks) says
Keep in mind that authors are not always allowed to go write another series. I know several authors who have been told by their publishers that that publishers will ONLY buy the current series. It leaves us authors in a bit of a bind. We need to make money, but may want to branch out. Yet the publisher feels there is enough money left in a series that they want the author completely focused on that series.
These days with electronic publishing many authors are able to branch out and take those other series they have written and publish them, but it’s a recent development. In the past the publishers often told authors where to concentrate. The same goes for a “final” book. I know several authors who have written one or even two books expecting the publisher to print them–only to find they had been dropped. Sometimes those books you want actually exist, but the publishers determined there was not enough money to go forward.
And in fairness sometimes it is us authors. Sometimes we go down a path that we love…only to find out our audience wasn’t expecting the new angle!
I think with the new publishing opportunities we’ll get to see more series ‘finish’ and new series from authors. If those series make enough money, a traditional publisher is likely to pick those books up and market them as well.
Susie says
Donna–I agree with Maria’s assessment. More writers will get to finish unfinished series, so that’s exciting. But its true–I’ve also heard of traditionally published writers being dropped by their agent, editor or their publisher (or all three!) when they change directions or want to start a new series. This is getting shaken up though! Hopefully in the long run, readers will be the winners!
Donna says
I recently read something about Edie Clair’s books and was surprised to find that her Leigh Koslow books are now self-published because the publisher dropped that series! Doesn’t appear to have hurt her books at all and the fans are very happy.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Donna, that would explain why all of Edie Claire‘s books are available in the Kindle format, for such great prices.
BB says
I.J. Parker was in the same boat. After her previous publisher dropped her, she repeatedly tried to find another to no avail. Finally, she decided to self-publish eBooks and apparently is doing fine. I’ve seen a number of comments from readers dismayed that publishers wouldn’t take her Akitada series because the quality is so good and Ms. Parker clearly researches her subject well. At least author and fans are happy now while the publishers are missing out.
linda c says
BB, Just maybe sometime in the near future some of those writers that no longer seem to be able to find a publisher will be able to self publish this way. Maybe if this were to happen quite a bit some CEOs of some publishing companies will start to wonder why their agencies aren’t getting this work anymore. Just maybe these CEOs will take a look at their representatives a lot closer. Maybe we readers will have some hope of seeing some of our favorites once again.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
BB, I am so glad these authors are going the Kindle and Nook route.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Maria, every once in a while I look up an author who I really, really enjoyed reading to see if she has published a Kindle mystery. I remember writing her years ago and asking when her latest in the series was due to come out. She told me her publisher had dropped her. To date, she hasn’t put out a fifth book, but I keep hoping…
Maria (BearMountainBooks) says
I have written two or three authors who were dropped and encouraged them to self-publish the next tome! Some are willing (it is a lot of work) and some are not. Some are afraid and some simply don’t have the time or resources to research cover art, private editors and formatting experts.
Like you, I keep hoping–and encouraging!
Marianne says
You got me thinking about all those characters I would really miss – Kinsey Milhone in particular. I worry about what will happen with Sue Grafton gets to “Z”!
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Marianne, A-1 – although I think that’s already taken.
BB says
Maybe she could start with numbers; although, they’d have to be completely different than Janet Evanovich’s!
linda c says
I think James Patterson’s Woman’s Murder Club series has a numerical number for that series too. Just hope Sue Grafton has something in mind for after “Z.”
Regina V says
Danna, reading the blog while waiting for Sandy to arrive. WE may lose power for a while so I am enjoying all the comments because I may not be on line for a time. My husband is in Turkey on a tour, so I am holding down the homefront. It is just my luck to have a hurricane.
BB says
If you’re hunkered down good, maybe a nice time to catch up on cozies during daylight?
Regina, hope you and all the other readers in the path of the storm stay safe.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Oh my goodness, Regina! I am sorry to hear that you are in the area that might lose power. Of course, right now it looks like that area is huge out there on the East coast. I hope you are able to miss the outages.
linda c says
Be safe Regina. my daughter lives in Hampton, Virginia. I have cousins in Burlington, NJ. Hope they are all okay too.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Regina, you all out there on the east coast have been in my thoughts. I hope you are all well…
Margaret says
I have not run across this in any of the books or series I am currently enjoying. I will say, within the series I am currently enjoying, I would be upset if one of the main or important characters (that I like) would be removed from the story. I have not become too attached to all the main or important characters in all of the series I read; but in the ones that I love I don’t think I would continue.
I understand writers getting bored with a series or character and wanting a change. I would hope if they needed a change they would make sure it worked with the series and not be insulting to the reader.
I have run across characters being “killed off” but many cases they were side characters I didn’t care for. It was a surprise in a few cases but not unforeseen and not unwelcome. So, I wonder if the character was destined from the get go to meet their demise.
I agree with you Danna, I like closure and hope if a series was to end they would give it a proper “finale.” Authors and Publishers need to remember the readers when they put books out. Even tho the bottom line is dollars, the readers are the ones providing the dollars.
There is nothing worse then a series getting canceled and leaving you hanging.
Regina V says
We survived the storm without losing power. Thank God. As we live inland in CT, we did not suffer the damaging ocean flooding. The winds were high, but our old trees stood tall. My daughter who lives near me did not have school yesterday so she has watched out for me. I am watching the sunrise over our hill and praying for all those who are in need. Strangely enough I did not read a cozy because I was reading a book about the divorce of Henry VIII. I always try to finish a book before I will let myself read another.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Regina, I am so glad to see that you weren’t affected by this this awful Sandy! It is so difficult to see all of the people who have been so tragically hit by this terrible storm. My thoughts are with ALL.