I set a lot of store by the characters in the books I read and that’s why I like reading series of books about characters I’ve grown to like. However, I do read a lot of stand-alone stories as well, usually written by my favourite authors, but also on the back of a recommendation. Sometimes these recommendations work, sometimes they don’t. When I’m reading something that features one of my favourite characters, I don’t usually worry too much about the story as what the various characters are getting up to and what is happening in their lives is more than enough for me. Of course, that doesn’t mean the plot is irrelevant and, in addition, it is usually compelling enough and with enough twists and turns to keep me focused. However, where it’s a new book in a series that I like, I have known it’s due for publication and I’m waiting for it because it is in the series, it’s written by an author I like, it and features the characters I enjoy rather than because I think it will be a good story. In the same vein, I will almost certainly enjoy it because of the characters, be it Spenser, Dismas Hardy, Amos Decker, Lucas Davenport, or whoever, rather than because it was a great plot or even if it wasn’t particularly compelling.
So, that makes me wonder a bit about a stand-alone novel and I don’t think the same applies. Even if one of my favourite authors has written a stand-alone book, if the story doesn’t enthuse me, I can be disappointed. That tells me, that at least where I am concerned, if it’s a stand-alone, regardless of the author, the story has to be pretty good in itself. It may be that someone I like and whose books I enjoy will have an advantage and a number of authors who write about characters regularly help a bit by throwing in references to characters we might be familiar with but I still think the plot has to be good.
I have a couple of examples. I have already written about James Paterson and said how I am a fan of his Alex Cross and Lindsay Boxer books but, in both cases, I wasn’t sold on them at the first read although I persisted and I now read them religiously as the new editions come out. As it happens, though, the very best James Paterson book I have read was ‘Beach Road’. A complete one-off and no characters I had ever come across before. Not surprisingly, the characters were at the very basis of the plot (spoiler alert!) but the plot itself was, in my opinion, a work of genius. There was a brilliant twist which I have to admit that I never saw coming for a minute! Of course, once I had seen it, it was obvious and I wondered how I had missed it – perhaps you wouldn’t have – but that is what is so clever about it, isn’t it.
The other example is a John Lescroart book which I read recently called ‘Fatal’. I have had it on my Kindle for some time and I think the reason I hadn’t read it was because it didn’t feature Dismas Hardy (who is a close competitor with Steve Cavanagh’s Eddie Flynn for being my favourite lawyer of all time) or his PI, Wyatt Hunt. In both these cases, I know them well so the story doesn’t matter quite as much. Anyway, I finally decided to read it and, apart from a fairly oblique reference to a medical examiner who had appeared in a number of previous books, all the characters were new to me. I started reading and it was okay but I wasn’t too keen on the early story-line and I wasn’t convinced it was a detective novel. However, I persisted (as I almost always do as I think you really should finish a book you’ve started) and gradually the plot developed, a murder was committed, a detective appeared who had already been there, but in a different guise, and we ended up with a pretty good whodunnit which was quite a satisfying read as I would always expect from John Lescroart. Maybe not quite as good as they are when Dismas Hardy is in them but certainly worth a recommendation!
So, apropos of nothing much, perhaps, but maybe worth thinking about and I would certainly be interested in your reflections on whether the plot matters more when the book is a one-off. You might also want to let me know if you agree with me that it doesn’t matter quite as much when the book is part of a series with characters you are familiar with and like. Alternatively, of course, you may not care either way – tell me that as well!