Authors You Used to Love, But No Longer Read

[bubbls]

 

The last book I read of King's was "The Tommyknockers." I don't know if it was before or after his accident. While I liked the book (although I believe reviews were unkind), it was his constant forays into unrelated story lines that made me decide not read another book of his.

 

 

The last one I attempted was "Dreamcatcher" and I couldn't finish. I did read later it was his first book written while he was recovering so maybe he wasn't able to give it his full attention. It might explain why he seemed angry. I dunno. I don't even remember what I didn't like aside from it boring me.

 

I do have the Kennedy time travel one on my Kindle only because I got it cheap, but I read some negative reviews that it's too much romance and not enough storyline so I've yet to attempt it.

[EllieH]

 

Talking about the perverted minds of serial killers, way, way back I used to like Mary Higgins-Clark, but I feel that everyting she's produced in the past 20 years has been utter crap. Like she has no more inspiration but is just riding on her reputation/name.

 

That was exactly who came to mind the minute I saw the title of this thread, and I see I am not alone.  Although I did listen to two of her more recent books not that long ago, one was pretty solid and the other had some pretty serious plot problems.

[bubbls]

I have very low expectations for Mary Higgins-Clark. That's why I enjoy them. Pure brain candy in my favorite genre.

[topanga]

Has anyone read the new Judy Blume book? I'm almost afraid to--she was my absolute favorite author during childhood and young adulthood. I stopped reading her only because she stopped writing books.

[Mystery]

It's funny that people have mentioned a few of the writers I've stopped reading, and it's all because of repetition--though it's mostly words, not plots or anything, for me. I do think that editors might just be too hands-off with authors who become successful. With Anne Perry it's the word "profound," she used to use it constantly (though it seems like she might be using it less--I've complained enough about it, maybe someone's listening!) With Nora Roberts it's "pretty." The last book of hers that I read, she used it on every page for five pages in a row. And the final one for me is Catherine Coulter, who has gotten so lazy that I believe she has a team of writers doing her books and she just throws in her trademark phrases, like having a character feel something "down to his toes." She'll even have MULTIPLE characters feel that way in the same book. 

 

One I haven't seen mentioned is Janet Evanovich. She's a really nice person (I've met her at several Bouchercons) but she has the same elements in every book. It used to be a surprise when someone pulled out a gun and shot someone else, but it happens too often for me, now. 

[NewDigs]

I used to love the National Parks series by Nevada Barr (Track of the Cat was the first) until her books started getting darker and more graphic.  I didn't start her books to read about the perverted minds of serial killers.  She used to have such picturesque descriptions of our natural wonders (she was really a park ranger at one time).  Anyway, it's really a loss to me that her books are no longer enjoyable.

I think she finally lost me with last year's title, Destroyer Angel, otherwise known as Anna Pigeon and her Seal Team 4. She had been drifting away for a few books but this one was too far out there for me.

And, as you mentioned, the National Parks used to be the series' main character! And I loved that. I think that Destroyer Angel's main character was the wheelchair and its various components. Barr must have loved MacGyver.

[Goldmoon]

Glad someone mentioned Janet Evanovich.  I thought there was a noticeable decline in book ten, and there are about twenty-three out now.  I stopped checking them out from the library after eighteen or so.  Even though the plots were repetitive, the characters were charming and the interactions were complex.  There are rumors that her daughter, Alex, is now writing them and that is why the books don't have any layering any longer.  Buy the first nine though.  They are hilarious.

 

I loved Laurell K. Hamilton for the first six Anita Blake books, but they went downhill, and FAST.  In book eight she started glorifying torture, especially sexual torture.  She just writes porn and Mary Sue stuff and in an obnoxiously "so there!" voice too.  I stopped reading after the eleventh or twelfth book.  There are more than twenty out there now.

[backformore]

 

V.C. Andrews.  I was obsessed with VCA and her books as a teen.  They were amazingly gothic and cheesy and awesome until the ghostwriter took over and they just aren't the same.  I'll still reread the VCA originals though from time to time.

Exactly like me. In college, I took a literature class where you study one author and find themes that run through their writings, and relate it to a personal struggle of the author. Each semester was a new author, when I took it it was D H Lawrence. One of the best classes I ever took.

Anyway, I recall thinking about VC Andrews, and how she was obsessed with the themes of evil mothers, girls searching for their real fathers, and, of course, incest. For some reason I was fascinated with her books, every damn series. Even the ones she "authored" after death. I always wondered why her imagination went in the directions it did. Good stories, but twisted, and not very well-written. Every diet needs some candy, I guess.

Similarly, I read every word Steven King wrote, until I stopped. I think it was tommyknockers, which I thought was the same book as It. And also talisman. Anyway it was before his accident, but I remember reading an interview with him that included something about going through depression and alcohol abuse at that time. I had liked the creepy supernatural aspect of his books, but suddenly, his books left me feeling sad and pessimistic. Instead of being an escape, they pulled me down. I s topped reading his horror stuff, it just wasn't good for me. And at least three books seemed too similar . I could have the titles wrong, but the theme of a group of kids trying to fight a monster who kept coming back , I just found exhausting.

I did enjoy discovering the Bachman stories he wrote, and the one about JFK.

[BookWoman56]

Thanks for this, I looked up her [Mary Higgins Clark] too after reading your post and she did have an intersting life, 

 

How is it that often writers who had rich lives create character much too one-note? And writers who lived pretty secluded life sometimes were able to imagine much more complex characters?

I remember really liking Where Are the Children, and then years later, I was responsible for booking authors for speaking engagements for a major book fair. Part of the job was communicating with the authors prior to the event, meeting the authors when they arrived in town, and in general getting them oriented to the event. She was one of the authors I brought in, and she was very nice in person. She did explain that she started writing seriously after her husband's death because there was essentially no money and writing was what she knew how to do.

One of the things she mentioned that I found both fascinating and chilling was that when doing prep work for her books, she would sometimes go sit in on murder trials. She described listening to a man testify whose wife was forcibly taken from their home and then killed. Understand this was back in the 60s or very early 70s, so attitudes were different on some subjects. The husband testified that he came home to an empty house and he immediately knew something terrible had happened because his wife's feminine hygiene products were in plain view in their bedroom. He said in all the years they had been married, she had always kept those items hidden from view even from him. So, seeing a box of sanitary napkins was enough for him to realize something seriously bad had happened.

 

I haven't read anything of hers in several years. I don't intensely dislike her later works, but they began to seem a little repetitive and not compelling.

[Hanahope]

I still read many of the authors that are mentioned here, even though they have become quite repetitive, as mentioned, such as LK Hamilton, Janet Evanovich, Anne Perry,   It reminds me of the character in Martha Grime's books, the female romance novelist author (whose name I can't recall atm), who puts herself on auto-pilot to write most of her books.

 

This why I don't buy these authors' books much anymore, or at least new at full price.  I'll put them on my amazon wish list and sometimes a relative will buy for me.  Otherwise, I either rent from the library, I buy them used from amazon or ebay for a dollar or two, or wait until they are part of a kindle $1.99 sale. 

[proserpina65]

It reminds me of the character in Martha Grime's books, the female romance novelist author (whose name I can't recall atm), who puts herself on auto-pilot to write most of her books.

 

It was Joanna something or other.

[Hanahope]

Oh yeah, adding Melanie Rawn.  I loved her Dragon Prince and Star Scroll series and eagerly read through the first two books in her Exiles trilogy only to have her drop that trilogy, never write the third book and start a bunch of other series.  I absolutely hate that I'll never have an ending to that story, which I really liked.  I refuse to read any other series/book she writes.

[jewel21]

I used to read Jonathan Kellerman, Faye Kellerman, Stephen White and Kathy Reichs but gave up on all of them. I think I just read too many at once and got sick of the genre. Plus, after awhile, they all became too repetitive.

[AnnaMayWong]

Gat, get out o my head regarding Anne Perry! I was really enjoying both of her series. But after I read what she & her friend did, I stopped reading her books. What an absolute vile person she is! She has no moral compass.

Whaat!

[proserpina65]

Whaat!

From Wikipedia (although I've read the basics in other sources as well):

 

In June 1954, at the age of 15, Hulme and her best friend Pauline Parker murdered Parker's mother, Honorah Rieper.[3] Hulme's parents were in the process of separating and she was supposed to go to South Africa to stay with a relative. The two teenage friends, who had created a rich fantasy life together populated with famous actors such as James Mason and Orson Welles, did not want to be separated.

On 22 June 1954, the girls and Honora Rieper went for a walk in Victoria Park in their hometown of Christchurch. On an isolated path Hulme dropped an ornamental stone so that Rieper would lean over to retrieve it. Parker had planned to hit her mother with half a brick wrapped in a stocking. The girls presumed that one blow would kill her but it took more than 20.[4]

Parker and Hulme stood trial in Christchurch in 1954 and were found guilty on 29 August that year. As they were too young to be considered for the death penalty under New Zealand law at the time, they were convicted and sentenced to be "detained at Her Majesty's pleasure". In practice they were detained at the discretion of the Minister of Justice. They were released separately five years later.

 

Juliet Hulme is author Anne Perry's real name.  Perry is a pen name.  Very few people outside of her family and friends knew about the murder conviction until after the movie Heavenly Creatures, based on this case, came out.  A journalist followed up on both defendants and discovered that Juliet Hulme had become best-selling mystery writer Anne Perry and made that information public.

Edited December 22, 2015 by proserpina65

[AnnaMayWong]

Sh_t!

I have read QUITE a few of her novels before tiring of them. I am more than a bit taken aback. I realize some feel that she has paid her due...B U T for me...MURDER(!!) And, a vicious blitz attack at that!

Yeah, I am relieved that I earlier tired of her writings because, now, learning of this...

[cherrypj]

Nearly had a heart attack before realizing "Anne Perry" was not Anne Tyler. 

 

Day-umn. What a world.

[alias1]

Sh_t!

I have read QUITE a few of her novels before tiring of them. I am more than a bit taken aback. I realize some feel that she has paid her due...B U T for me...MURDER(!!) And, a vicious blitz attack at that!

Yeah, I am relieved that I earlier tired of her writings because, now, learning of this...

I am one of those people who think she did do the time.  How long do people have to pay for their crimes?  This is why we have judges and a jury.  I'm glad she was able to make something of herself. I really enjoy her mysteries, which have a lot to do with social injustice.  I think she's a very talented writer and I'm glad she has shared this gift with the world (or at least with me).

[AnnaMayWong]

And, it IS a good thing when varying opinions are both accepted and appreciated. :-)

[alias1]

And, it IS a good thing when varying opinions are both accepted and appreciated. :-)

I agree with you on that.  And I know that a lot of people won't read her for the reasons you mentioned.  I meant no disrespect to you.  I'm glad you didn't take it that way!

[GaT]

The reason I stopped reading Anne Perry is because I got tired of every book having an abused woman plot. I always wondered why she kept coming back to that.

[wallflower75]

Ever get burned out of an entire genre?  That's what happened to me about four or five years ago.  I was an avid historical romance reader--especially those taking place in Regency England.  Got hoydenish spinsters, rakish dukes, dastardly relatives--bring it on!  But then I got tired of what felt like the same plot over and over again, so I walked away.  I've dipped a tentative toe back into the waters by reading only books by those I considered my favorite authors, but the new stuff just seems like retreads of what I'd loved long ago.

 

As for individual authors I used to love but not so much, non-historical romance division, include me in the bunch who tired of Janet Evanovich.  As funny as I found the early books, I got tired from the lack of progression in the storyline.  I'll bet Stephanie still has bad luck with cars and can't decide between the two guys in her life.  Susan Elizabeth Phillips is another one--the last book I truly enjoyed by her was Natural Born Charmer.  I have an on again-off again relationship with Jodi Picoult.  I haven't cared for three of her last four books, and some of her early work leaves me cold--but the stuff in the middle was pretty darned good.  And finally, John Grisham.  The last book I read of his was The Street Lawyer, and I barely managed to finish it.

 

Do we have a thread anywhere for authors we wish would get off the internet and write?  Because that's where I'd put Jennifer Crusie.  I love her stuff--when she gets around to writing something other than blog posts!!

[Kalliste]

I never could get into John Grisham novels. I had watched a few of the movie adaptations, A Time to Kill being my favourite and, being that books are usually better than movies I decided to give his books a try. I couldn't even believe the movies were based on his books! I found the books so boring.

 

The author that I gave up on is Sarah Dessen. She is a bit out of place in the list of authors here as I don't dislike a series she has written (but then all of her books are set in the same world) and she writes YA. As many have mentioned before they mostly gave up on authors for being repetitive but I know that Dessen is repetitive.. all of her books are very formulaic but I was ok with that, I didn't mind the formula until I read The Moon and More and it was such a let down. I was pretty keen to read the book and what a disappointment.. and that was the end of the Dessen love for me. I will always enjoy Dreamland but mostly because it doesn't fit her usual formula, maybe one day she'll write more books like that but, unfortunately, I probably won't read them :P

[BookWoman56]

I still read Anne Perry, although not as frequently as I used to, because her writing intrigues me. As for having an abused woman in many of the books, given the setting of the books, that's hardly surprising. At that time, married women had essentially no rights and their husbands could engage in abuse of them without much fear of reprisal; as for women with no social position or women who were prostitutes, there was even less chance of justice. So I'm not taken aback that a few fictional characters turn out to be asshats who abused women. One thing I think Perry does quite well is convey the damage that is done in a family or group of friends when there has been a murder and the individuals suspect each other; even if it turns out the murderer is not a family member or friend, it's hard to go back from the realization that you could in fact imagine your spouse, sibling, BFF or someone you know committing a murder. At the risk of a very unpopular opinion, it doesn't bother me at all that she participated in a murder when she was a young teen. She did her time, and at least she's writing about something she knows about.

 

I used to read Faye Kellerman, but quit cold turkey because of something in one of her series. A male detective has his love interest in a car with him and sees someone suspicious (IIRC, a murder suspect or something of that nature). The situation has the potential for danger and he hops out of the car to go catch the suspect. But before doing so, he handcuffs his love interest to the steering wheel of his car, so she won't get any ideas about leaving the car and helping him, thereby putting herself in danger. That was the point at which I said to myself, Are you fucking kidding me? For starters, he has no right to restrain her and the idea that she's not supposed to think for herself does not sit well for me in any circumstances. But secondly, if the confrontation with the suspect had gone down differently and the suspect killed or injured the detective, the love interest now has no way to escape the situation because, you know, handcuffed to the steering wheel. I read far enough after that to see that the love interest does not throttle him when he gets back, and instead continues the relationship with him, before throwing the book away.

[AuntiePam]

Ever get burned out of an entire genre? 

 

 

Yes -- horror.  I always enjoyed reading scary stories and watching scary movies, so when the horror craze took off in the 70's, I was in Pig Heaven and my stay lasted for about 20 years.  Stephen King, Peter Straub, Dan Simmons, Ramsey Campbell, Joe Lansdale, Ray Bradbury, William Peter Blatty, Frank deFelitta, Ira Levin, Anne Rice, Shirley Jackson, Richard Matheson, John Campbell, John Faris, Whitley Streiber -- horror sections in bookstores -- witches, ghosts, vampires, werewolves -- absolutely lovely.

 

And then it all turned to crap -- torture porn, the bloodier the better -- I haven't read or watched horror in years. I really miss a good scary story. 

[Blergh]

John Grisham- I mean, how many times can he do the 'young idealistic lawyer finds corruption and must try to overcome it' plot?  About as one-trick pony as 'Scooby Doo' cartoons.  

[SmithW6079]

John Grisham- I mean, how many times can he do the 'young idealistic lawyer finds corruption and must try to overcome it' plot? About as one-trick pony as 'Scooby Doo' cartoons.

And if it weren't for those meddling kids!

Ever get burned out of an entire genre?

Yes, several. Horror is one, because I kept scaring myself to anxiety. True crime.

For other genres, I go through phases. I'll read a number of books in a genre --sci fi, biographies, a particular period in history -- then get satiated and need to move on to something else.

[Readalot]

Jodi Picoult. I used to look forward to every March because there would always be a new Picoult book. After Leaving Time, I'm out.

The "huge," "shocking" plot twist at the end is straight out of The Sixth Sense.

And I can only be hit over the head with language so many times before I get a concussion.

yup. My birthday is in March and her new hardcover was a gift I gave myself each year. I th k I've skipped the last three years.

And Stephen King and John Grisham for reasons already mentioned

[Readalot]

Nearly had a heart attack before realizing "Anne Perry" was not Anne Tyler.

Day-umn. What a world.

whew, right?!

[JaneDigby]

Martha Grimes - for reasons mentioned by previous posters.

 

Elizabeth George - the fascination with child abuse, Havers becoming too slovenly and eccentric to be believable, Lynley embracing his latent stupidity and Deborah's endless "I can't have a baby, boohoo."

 

Robert Goddard - where once we have finely crafted plots and unexpected twists we have  ... neither.

[Athena]

Cassandra Clare - I read Clare when she was still a Harry Potter fanfic author and then followed her to the City of Bones series and even started the Clockwork Angel series. After a time, all her characters all seemed to become the same. It was getting needlessly angsty for me. She writes some decent supporting characters, but I was done with the angsty teen romances.

[SmithW6079]

I used to read James Patterson, but the one-page chapters started to annoy me too much. Plus, he doesn't really write his own books anymore.

[henrysmom]

 

Ever get burned out of an entire genre?

 

Yes, mystery.  For years that was pretty much all I read.  Then the books just got to be so repetitive and dull.  I liked what are called "cozies", which are pretty much blood free/no descriptions of violence mysteries, usually with amateur detectives as the lead character.  But then it seemed like the publishers went to a "write about your hobby" sort of thing and there were books on mysteries set in the world of crafts, cooking, etc.  And if somebody was really popular, like Diane Mott Davidson with her catering/cooking books, there were tons and tons of imitators, few of whom were any good.

 

Then it seemed as if the publishers went a step further and started having people write books about topics they knew nothing about, if they sensed a possible audience for a book.  So not only did you have shoehorned in explanations of somebody's hobby, written by somebody who had probably learned a few facts on Google, you had amateur detectives running into murders in used book stores and at craft shows and all sorts of unlikely places, with the police just usually letting this amateur detective bluster her (it was almost always a her) way into the investigation and save the day.  I'll take implausible, but when it got to the level of unbelievable I cut the cord and now just read general fiction.

[alias1]

I kind of agree about the cozies.  I don't read very many of them anymore.  And I really don't like the amateur sleuth with a hobby genre.  But I still love mysteries (especially British mysteries like Inspector Wexford).  And I've recently discovered the Elvis Cole mysteries by Robert Crais.  The books I've really given up on are the general fiction type books.  Most of them seem like beach reads to me (dysfunctional families, spanning generations, etc.).  For example Beatriz Williams.  Her books are so highly praised and I find them so ordinary.  It's rare to find a good writer among general fiction.  I would consider Kate Atkinson in this category.  But then, she also wrote the Jackson Brodie mysteries, which I really liked.  It's hard to generalize about an entire genre.  I loved the two books I read by David Mitchell (Slade House and The Bone Clocks) but I don't know what genre they are.  They're not exactly general fiction, are they?

[Crs97]

The first Elizabeth George novel I read featured Simon and Deborah heavily. I loved Simon and wanted more. I kept trying her books, but was stunned to find Thomas kept being the focus and I wasn't interested in him. Then I got one that featured Barbara!?!? I want Simon. I finally gave up.

[AuntiePam]

 I loved the two books I read by David Mitchell (Slade House and The Bone Clocks) but I don't know what genre they are.  They're not exactly general fiction, are they?

 

I haven't read those two, but I really liked two others by Mitchell -- Black Swan Green (a coming-of-age novel) and Cloud Atlas, a blend of SF, fantasy, history, which sent me to Wiki when I was finished.  What the heck was he doing?   

 

I was disappointed with The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet (historical fiction) and once an author disappoints me, I don't read them any more.  After the first two, I expected something more than a run-of-the-mill historical/romance.

 

With general fiction, I just find authors I like and look for their new (or old) stuff.  A lot of novels written in the 40's and 50's are still very satisfying to me, possibly because there's not so much explicit sex and violence. 

 

Another way I've found good books is from watching old movies on TCM.  Many of them are based on novels.  Bingo -- new/old authors. 

[JaneDigby]

I didn't love Anne Rice but I enjoyed a few of her early vampire books (I was in high school and college. It happens.) Now I wouldn't touch one of her books with the proverbial 10 foot pole. Her Author Behaving Badly Antics are too much for me to overlook. Authors who freak out over negative reader reviews go on the never-ever-list for me.

[MsJamieDornan]

 

Patricia Cornwell

Loved the Kay Scarpetta series, but it seemed like she was unnecessarily torturing her characters. Not a happy place to be anymore. I haven't read at least the last three books.

 

I was a die hard fan of her books. I couldn't get enough in the early years. I would run to the bookstore when another in the Scarpetta series was released. Then, around book 9 in the series things started to go downhill and went quickly. Over the years I have tried to like them and I cant, they are crap. Absolute rubbish. I miss the early years.

[ShellSeeker]

John Grisham

Years ago, I read a lot of his books until I read a couple where you didn't know who you were supposed to root for and no matter what the endin, it wasn't going to be satisfying. So I just stopped reading. His earlier stuff was great (the pelican brief, the firm, the client, etc). Maybe I hit a bad patch and should see if his later stuff got better.

Patricia Cornwell

Loved the Kay Scarpetta series, but it seemed like she was unnecessarily torturing her characters. Not a happy place to be anymore. I haven't read at least the last three books.

 

I quit reading John Grisham for awhile, because it did seem pretty recycled. And I thought The Pelican Brief was one of the stupidest books I've ever read. 

Beautiful young law student, who just happens to be sleeping with the sexiest and most charismatic professor at her law school, somehow manages, all on her own, without any help, to uncover what was behind the murder of 2 Supreme Court justices, when no one else had any idea.

Blech. It doesn't help that Julia Roberts, who I can't stand, played the main character in the movie. I did read his most recent book, Gray Mountain, which I did enjoy because there was a little bit of a different twist on how the protagonist winds up getting involved with the legal issues in the story.

 

I also gave up on Kay Scarpetta, for the same reason. I think the last book I read in that series was when 

Scarpetta's husband was murdered (I think...it's been awhile).

 

 

Has anyone here read The Casual Vacancy or her crime novels?

 

I really liked The Casual Vacancy, but I can see that seems to be an unpopular opinion. I've read all 3 of the books in the crime series she writes under the name Robert Galbraith, with private detective Cormoran Strike. Love love love them all. 

 

I used to read James Patterson, but the one-page chapters started to annoy me too much. 

 

Yes, yes, a thousand times yes! It used to bug the crap out of me. I felt like I was paying more for the paper than the words that were printed on it. Plus, I finally decided that Alex Cross is really kind of an idiot. He's supposed to be this brilliant FBI profiler, but how many times has he been fooled by this or that sociopath?

[blackwing]

I gave up on Steve Berry.  His books usually involve some deep dark secret or treasure of history, that are somehow tied to some extreme modern day plot to take over the world.  His characters are thin and underdeveloped, his writing is repetitive, and just boring.  I have no idea how he has become so popular.

 

Another favourite author of mine was Clive Cussler.  I am still reading his books, but it's really obvious that he no longer writes them.  He's about 85 years old and every book of his now has a co-author.  I wouldn't be surprised if the co-author writes the entire book and he just allows them to use his name as co-author.  His co-author on his iconic series, the Dirk Pitt novels, is his son.  I believe his son was a lawyer turned author, and the son is just a very untalented and bad writer.  But even after Cussler dies, I have no doubt they will still continue to sell books under his name, like they do for Tom Clancy, Vince Flynn, Dick Francis, and others.

 

I never could get into John Grisham novels. I had watched a few of the movie adaptations, A Time to Kill being my favourite and, being that books are usually better than movies I decided to give his books a try. I couldn't even believe the movies were based on his books! I found the books so boring.

 

I gave up on Grisham years ago.  The plot was always some thinly veiled attempt to advance Grisham's fairly liberal views.  He was never the best writer.  The books always started out very exciting but then it was like he ran out of gas and ideas and just found a way to quickly wrap things up and end the book.  I gave up after the one that involved the cigarette company and the young lawyer;s crusade.  So sick of them.

 

 

Yes, mystery.  For years that was pretty much all I read.  Then the books just got to be so repetitive and dull.  I liked what are called "cozies", which are pretty much blood free/no descriptions of violence mysteries, usually with amateur detectives as the lead character.  But then it seemed like the publishers went to a "write about your hobby" sort of thing and there were books on mysteries set in the world of crafts, cooking, etc.  And if somebody was really popular, like Diane Mott Davidson with her catering/cooking books, there were tons and tons of imitators, few of whom were any good.

 

Then it seemed as if the publishers went a step further and started having people write books about topics they knew nothing about, if they sensed a possible audience for a book.  So not only did you have shoehorned in explanations of somebody's hobby, written by somebody who had probably learned a few facts on Google, you had amateur detectives running into murders in used book stores and at craft shows and all sorts of unlikely places, with the police just usually letting this amateur detective bluster her (it was almost always a her) way into the investigation and save the day.  I'll take implausible, but when it got to the level of unbelievable I cut the cord and now just read general fiction.

 

I am what is probably considered a rare breed - a male reader of cozies.  I read them because they are quick and light and I like seeing if I can determine who the killer is as early as possible.  I wish there were more cozies written by men featuring male main characters.  These are few and far between.  The one I really liked was the Stay at Home Dad mysteries, but the author wrote three of them and then seems to have quit them.

 

I do agree that all of the cozies seem to follow the same formula.  Especially if it is a new series.  They are fairly interchangeable.  Here is my take on a typical cozy:

 

"Claire Weston (Amanda Harrington, Chelsea Landers, or any other "All American Girl" sounding name) had it all.  At 29 (30, 28, whatever age denotes beyond the barhopping age but not toooo old that she's a spinster) she had a successful budding career as a journalist (lawyer, advertising executive, or any other "office" type white collar job) in Chicago (New York, San Francisco, "big city").  Only one thing was missing.  Her mom constantly pressed her about when she was going to get married to her long-time boyfriend Buddy (Mac, Jake, "manly" name), who worked as a bartender (waiter, shoe salesman, "obviously less successful than her" job).  They had been sweethearts since freshman year of high school (kindergarten, 8th grade, "long time").  But then one day Claire received the shock of her life when she found Buddy in bed with the floozy next door (got a phone call that Buddy died, saw on the news that Buddy was arrested for drug dealing, learned he was actually a woman, "terribly shocking news").

 

Disheartened and dejected, Claire fled home to her hometown of Sandy Shores, Wisconsin (Tamarack New York, Davenbridge Virginia, "quaint small town "), on the shores of Lake Michigan (Lake Ontario, banks of the Shenandoah, some place next to water), population 2000 (200, 50, "very quaint").  She loved Sandy Shores and all the memories and people she knows.  Her parents are divorced (naturally) but still friends.  Her mother (grandmother, grandfather, father, "immediate family member") is the mayor of Sandy Shores, whom everyone knows and loves.  Her younger brother is a very handsome man who has dated every single girl in town, if you want to call it dating.  He is otherwise a loser as he is unemployed.  (Alternatively, replace brother with best friend who is beautiful and thin and works in her shop or owns the shop next door.)  Once home, Claire buys the old used book store (donut shop, high end children's clothing boutique, "small store that she can do what she really loves") and it is an instant success.  The whole village stops by on a daily basis. One day, a handsome stranger walks into her store.  Scott Montgomery (Ethan Jones, Aidan Summers, "rugged" name) is the new doctor (winemaker, coffee shop owner, "intriguing occupation").  Life is good for Claire.  She quickly readjusts to her old small village life.  Everyone loves her.  Everyone that is, except for the old widow Mrs. Tolliver (high school rival Kelsey Saunders, creepy Mr. Barnes, "mean person") who for some reason constantly harrasses her.  One cold night, Mrs. Tolliver is discovered dead in the alley behind Claire's shop.  Things become worse when her mother (grandmother, friend, someone close to her) is accused of the murder.  As if that wasn't enough to handle, things get even more complicated when Buddy returns home, begging forgiveness and wanting to resume his life with her.  It's up to Claire, with the occasional help from her brother (best friend, "sidekick") to prove her mother's innocence, while trying to develop her romance with Scott and avoid Buddy!

[Archery]

I . . . am kind of in love with you now, blackwing.

[GaT]

Tell me a bedtime story blackwing, please?

[blackwing]

LOL, thanks both of you!

[cherrypj]

Outstanding, blackwing!

[OakGoblinFly]

Kevin Hearne, who writes The Iron Druid Chronicles is someone that I no longer enjoy reading.  The first five/six books of this series were wonderful, then books seven and eight happened and I find that I had to force myself to finish the books.  The issue, for me, is the Hearne moved away from what made those first books so enjoyable; they were silly (but in a good way) and focused on a single character (Atticus O’Sullivan), his wolfhound, and the people he met .  Sadly the last two books are taken over by two exteremely annoying characters and Atticus is pushed to barely a third of the story - that doesn't even take into consideration that I feel the writing style has gotten weaker and that the stories have gotten worse.

[NutMeg]

Stuart Woods. My memory may be faulty, but I'm pretty sure his first books were fun reads. Now? I picked up a recent one, thinking it would be fun, but couldn't stop snarking on all the text filler (things like he picked up the phone and dialed xxx's number, said hello xxx, it's been a while - the last time xx and xxx had talked was..., he put the phone down, he drove to the other side of town and soon reached xxx, he blinked at the price, "that's very high", he said, etc. etc.). It felt like I was reading a bad script.

 

I get it, these authors may not care any more, or they are paid by word count and just give the publisherany tired words to meet the word count, but how can any editor let such rubbish go out?   

 

(Same goes for Mary Higgins Clarkj, by the way)

[Pepper Mostly]

Pat Conroy. The Lords of Discipline is one of my faves, and The Great Santini is a masterpiece, but rest of his stuff is dreck. Overblown, purple prose, I AM SO SENSITIVE, the south is a deeply special place that no one can really understand, the big theatrical reveal at the end. Bah. He sucks. His stuff is compulsively readable but I hate myself for reading it. Like eating junk food.

 

Connie Willis. I love Doomsday Book and To Say Nothing of the Dog. I lurve her short stories. Lincoln's Dreams? Awesome. The Titanic one started to lose me, and I hurled the World War II book across the room and said goodbye forever. She does this thing, I think its supposed to be funny, about how her main character is trying to get somewhere, and there are all kinds of complications and problems ("she started for the elevator, but it was closed for maintenance. So she had to go to the annex next door, up a flight of stairs, which brought her to the fifth floor, even though she'd been on the third floor in the Walker Building. When she got off the elevator there was a code in progress so she had to go around and through the laundry.....") it goes on and on, half the book is the poor protagonist trying to get from point a to point b. That's not a plot.

 

Angela Thirkell. I love her gentle little comedies of life among the English gentry. Again, some of my all time faves among them. (Pomfret Towers and Before Lunch have moments that actually make me tear up). Toward the end of her career her snobbery becomes more apparent and that makes her later books far less enjoyable. Not to mention that after 20 or 30 books, there are so many characters you can hardly keep track! The plots are paper thin, pretty much, which is fine, I want to curl up with the folks in Barsetshire and know that despite all the merry hi jinks, all will be well in the end.

 

Tom Robbins. I think Tom must be a writer for the young. Another Roadside Attraction, Even Cowgirls Get the Blues, Still Life with Woodpecker are part of my life. To be fair to Tom, it may be that I would still like his books, but I stopped seeking them out once I was out of my 20's. Shrug.

[henrysmom]

First, I have to add my congratulations to Blackwing.  You nailed the summary of the typical cozy!  Brilliant.

 

And second:

 

Angela Thirkell. I love her gentle little comedies of life among the English gentry. Again, some of my all time faves among them. (Pomfret Towers and Before Lunch have moments that actually make me tear up). Toward the end of her career her snobbery becomes more apparent and that makes her later books far less enjoyable. Not to mention that after 20 or 30 books, there are so many characters you can hardly keep track! The plots are paper thin, pretty much, which is fine, I want to curl up with the folks in Barsetshire and know that despite all the merry hi jinks, all will be well in the end.

I too love Angela Thirkell.  Somebody asked me once what her books were about and I was kind of stymied, then said hesitatingly "they have tea a lot."  

But it is more the way they have tea that makes them fun.

 

[Advance35]

Suzanne Brockman.   I thought this woman was awesome when she began.   She gave me wonderful characters like Wildcard Karmody, Savannah Von Hopf, Mike Muldoon, Joan DoCosta, Jules, Max Bhagat, Alyssa Locke, Sam Starrett, Mark Jenkins, Lindsey Fontaine, Tracy Shapiro and Decker.   Each compelling and intriguing, all with flaws and virtues.    I thought she was going to be one of those authors I always read but then, I don't know what happened.  Her writing began to center on her political views, most of which I actually agree with but it just seemed to drive the stories much more then it should.  The last book I enjoyed was "Hot Pursuit" which introduced a character I was very intrigued by but Brockmann likely won't  ever follow up with, Maria Bonavita.   Sigh.

 

Also Amanda Quick seems to have lost the magic for me.  I LOVED with all my heart the Lavinia and Tobias mysteries.  That trilogy was some of my favorite period writing ever and I liked a few of her other works, The Wicked Widow, Mischief, The Paid Companion.   But everything feels so by the numbers from her now.

Edited March 15, 2016 by Advance35

[jewel21]

Jonathan Kellerman, Faye Kellerman, Stephen White, and Kathy Reichs. After reading so many of each, they just got too repetitive and I lost interest. I started reading more fluffy teen fiction instead. I guess as I got older, and life got harder, I just wanted to read something less dark, heh.