Authors You Used to Love, But No Longer Read

[sugarbaker design]

On 12/12/2021 at 12:08 AM, Crs97 said:

I tried an Elizabeth George novel.  They write the Thomas Linley mysteries.  My problem is that the one I started with featured Simon and Deborah St. James, and I found their complicated marriage fascinating.  Simon quickly became my favorite character, and I assumed he was the leading man.  Then I read two more that focused on Thomas, and I realized the book I liked so much was a one-off.  I gave up on the series.

Simon was relegated to supporting status after that.  I agree Simon and Deborah were far more interesting than Lynley.  I always wondered if EG started off with Simon as the lead, and then maybe the publisher asked her to focus on Lynley.

On 12/12/2021 at 1:45 AM, GaT said:

I gave up further on down the line, something happens that pissed me off, & then she wrote a book about what happened that was just so awful (let's just say she is not good with accents) that I ended up rage reading it

I know exactly the plot points you're talking about.  It was hard to continue after that.  That book about what had happened was so bad.  But EG produces a novel every couple of years or so, I do continue to read her even though it's not nearly as good as her earlier books.  The last good one she wrote was In The Presence of the Enemy, it featured an intriguing puzzle, the characters were original, and Barbara Havers was heavily featured.

[BlackberryJam]

52 minutes ago, Jordan Baker said:

I've gone back several pages, and I haven't seen anyone mention Tana French.

I loved her Dublin Murder Squad series, particularly Faithful Place. I liked The Witch Elm, which was something of a departure from the Dublin Murder Squad novels. I recommended her books all the time.

But then she came out with The Searcher. I thought I would love this book because it's set in the west of Ireland. Something about it really bothered me, and I've never been sure what it is. It's grim, but so are some of her other novels. Perhaps it's that she introduced an ex-pat from the US. I didn't think the character rang true, and I found the book to be unsatisfying.

The recent mention of Louise Penny reminded me that I really enjoyed her first few books. Then came Bury Your Dead. The book was well-written, but it really got to me, so much so that I didn't want to read any of her other books. I felt Gamache's despair too deeply, I think.  Perhaps I'll try again.

I think it was in the Currently Reading thread where I mentioned that I am in no way a fan of Tana French and I read like four of them. I enjoyed The Likeness.

I do enjoy Louise Penny but she gets caught up in the corruption in the Sûreté, which is very hard to take, so I can understand why you'd back away.

I'm a big fan of mystery series, cozy and less than cozy, but not the torturous variety. However, authors get lazy, or caught up in a particular character, or they kill character development to continue the series. Sometimes I think amateur detective novels should stop at 5. After 5, it just gets implausible. Well, it's always implausible, but it gets ridiculous. So I'm always cycling in and out of those, but I'll pick up the later series because they are comfortable. 

 

 

[Birnam Wood]

On 3/30/2021 at 2:35 PM, sugarbaker design said:

This, and a connection to Ruth Zardo would be wonderful.

I'd like a spin-off series featuring the adventures of Ruth's foul-mouthed duck.

[Birnam Wood]

Does anyone read Camilla Läckberg? I devoured all of her books featuring Patrik Hedström and Erica Falck as the main characters -- even if I did start to wonder why there were so many murders in their tiny town. But then she produced The Golden Cage, which was... not good.

[Anela]

Dean Koontz.  

[supposebly]

John Irving, Anne Rice.

[SusanM]

I wouldn't say I loved her but I enjoyed reading a lot of Debbie Macomber's books (not the earlier Harlequin stuff)  but her Blossom Street and Cedar Cove series as well as her Christmas themed books were go to for me when I wanted something undemanding.  Anyway got her latest for Christmas this year and finally got around to reading it.  Let's just say if this is an example of her work going forward I won't be wasting my time.  It's called Dear Santa and honestly it read like she was auditioning her book for a Hallmark movie.  If she missed a trope I'd be surprised.  Magic Santa, Christmas cookies, skating, girl coming back to her small town from the big city.  She should be better than that.  Guess not.

Edited January 18, 2022 by SusannahM

[sugarbaker design]

15 hours ago, SusannahM said:

If she missed a trope I'd be surprised.  Magic Santa, Christmas cookies, skating, girl coming back to her small town from the big city.

Don't forget the old flame who still lives in the hometown.  If this was a cozy mystery, he'd be the local cop.

[SusanM]

1 hour ago, sugarbaker design said:

Don't forget the old flame who still lives in the hometown.  If this was a cozy mystery, he'd be the local cop.

You're right.  Also the sassy best friend who is black.  

The other thing about this one that bothered me was the way she tried a little too hard to make her characters 'hip and today'.  The hero has a man bun?  Really?  There were a few other things that didn't ring true.  Debbie, Debbie, Debbie I don't know how to break it to you but you aren't writing for 20 somethings.  Most of your readers are going to think "man bun? are you freaking kidding me".

Edited January 19, 2022 by SusannahM

[andromeda331]

On 1/18/2022 at 3:38 PM, SusannahM said:

I wouldn't say I loved her but I enjoyed reading a lot of Debbie Macomber's books (not the earlier Harlequin stuff)  but her Blossom Street and Cedar Cove series as well as her Christmas themed books were go to for me when I wanted something undemanding.  Anyway got her latest for Christmas this year and finally got around to reading it.  Let's just say if this is an example of her work going forward I won't be wasting my time.  It's called Dear Santa and honestly it read like she was auditioning her book for a Hallmark movie.  If she missed a trope I'd be surprised.  Magic Santa, Christmas cookies, skating, girl coming back to her small town from the big city.  She should be better than that.  Guess not.

It's funny. Her Blossom Street and Cedar Cove series were what got me into her books and were the same ones that made no longer read her stuff. Debbie Macomber has a weird habit of suddenly having characters do 180 that make no sense. Two of her characters from the Cedar Cove series Charlotte and Maryellen being disappointed in their husbands because they won't forgive family members for horrible things their family members did. But it was fun for awhile.

[Spartan Girl]

I used to love Jennifer Brown’s YA books that tackled such serious subjects like school shootings (Hate List), abuse, (Bitter End), and revenge sexting (Thousand Words). However, upon rereading some of them, I really hate how the narrative tried to excuse the actions of shitty male characters like Valerie’s jerkass dad in Hate List, or Kaleb in Thousand Words—that last one really infuriated me because we’re somehow supposed to feel that he doesn’t deserve to be labeled a sex offender spreading naked photos of his ex to everyone because he wouldn’t have had them if she never sent them in the first place. Like that is supposed to absolve him of his free will and intent to humiliate her.

So yeah. Brown is an excellent writer, but that narrative doesn’t sit right with me.

Edited April 14, 2022 by Spartan Girl

[Wiendish Fitch]

Beauty by Robin McKinley is still one of my all-time favorite books, and Deerskin is also excellent (though depressing AF), but, I gotta say, I came to realize what a slog it was to get through a lot of McKinley's other books. 

I'm sorry, but you need a damn machete to cut through all the ponderous descriptions of every. Little. Thing. I find myself thinking, "Okay, Robin, we get it, the forest is pretty, our heroine is 'not like other girls', can we move this along, please?!?!?!?" Spindle's End felt like a chore to read.

I also stopped reading the Stephanie Plum series eons ago. Janet Evanovich's predictable plots and characters (and her cringe-y racial stereotypes) turned me off after a while.

 

[Spartan Girl]

8 hours ago, Wiendish Fitch said:

Beauty by Robin McKinley is still one of my all-time favorite books, and Deerskin is also excellent (though depressing AF), but, I gotta say, I came to realize what a slog it was to get through a lot of McKinley's other books. 

I'm sorry, but you need a damn machete to cut through all the ponderous descriptions of every. Little. Thing. I find myself thinking, "Okay, Robin, we get it, the forest is pretty, our heroine is 'not like other girls', can we move this along, please?!?!?!?" Spindle's End felt like a chore to read.

Yikes, I’m gonna have to agree. While I liked the concept of Spindle’s End it took SUCH a long time to get to the good stuff. She easily could have cut most of the stuff in the beginning. Not every character needs a detailed backstory that takes several pages long!

[Ohiopirate02]

11 hours ago, Wiendish Fitch said:

I also stopped reading the Stephanie Plum series eons ago. Janet Evanovich's predictable plots and characters (and her cringe-y racial stereotypes) turned me off after a while.

I read the first 15 or 16 of those books, and was really taken out when Janet decided to incorporate 21st century technology into her stories but the characters did not age.  Nor, had they grown.  

[Wiendish Fitch]

16 minutes ago, Ohiopirate02 said:

I read the first 15 or 16 of those books, and was really taken out when Janet decided to incorporate 21st century technology into her stories but the characters did not age.  Nor, had they grown.  

Here's the thing: I like character arcs. I can live with characters not aging (hey, it worked for The Baby-Sitters Club), but when they start out as incompetent dumbasses torn between two indistinguishable love interests and are still incompetent dumbasses torn between two indistinguishable love interests nearly 3 decades on?? 

Sorry, nope. That's boring and irritating to me. Plus, forgive me for beating a dead horse, but I like finality; hell, I want finality. I don't want stories to go on indefinitely, because at a certain point the author is just spinning their wheels.

Say what you want about The BSC, at least the characters learned lessons, changed (if only a teeny bit), fell in and out of relationships, got makeovers, lost loved ones, and some even moved away for good!

Sheesh, a kids' series that ended over two decades ago could serve as a much-needed model for most adult novels!!

Edited April 14, 2022 by Wiendish Fitch

[andromeda331]

On 4/14/2022 at 7:46 AM, Wiendish Fitch said:

Here's the thing: I like character arcs. I can live with characters not aging (hey, it worked for The Baby-Sitters Club), but when they start out as incompetent dumbasses torn between two indistinguishable love interests and are still incompetent dumbasses torn between two indistinguishable love interests nearly 3 decades on?? 

Sorry, nope. That's boring and irritating to me. Plus, forgive me for beating a dead horse, but I like finality; hell, I want finality. I don't want stories to go on indefinitely, because at a certain point the author is just spinning their wheels.

Say what you want about The BSC, at least the characters learned lessons, changed (if only a teeny bit), fell in and out of relationships, got makeovers, lost loved ones, and some even moved away for good!

Sheesh, a kids' series that ended over two decades ago could serve as a much-needed model for most adult novels!!

That's my pet peeve when it comes to book and TV series. Characters that don't evolve from the beginning of the series. I like seeing them evolve or learn lessons. Anyone who goes through anything comes out of it changed. The BSC was really good at that. You had Stacey in the beginning of the series afraid to tell her friends she had diabetes because her friends in NY treated her like crap when she got sick. When she did, she was surprised to find out they didn't care. Mary Anne and Richard probably grew the most out of the series. Mary Anne learned to stand up for herself is one of my favorite arcs. She didn't stop being a shy, introvert like so many arcs are for the shy characters. Mary Anne is still herself but learned to ask for change that she wants and stand up for herself and others. Richard grew a lot. Looking back as an adult as dumb as his rules were I can understand why he was so overprotective of Mary Anne. She was the only family he had left and his wife died when she was a baby. One thing I liked in the new TV series was they show that Richard and his wife decorating their baby's room. It makes sense he didn't want the room to change since his wife had decorated it. But he does learn to let Mary Anne make decisions for herself, he does loosen up and in doing so he falls in love. 

[GHScorpiosRule]

I love historical romances. I just do.

But one author I stopped reading is Sabrina Jeffries. I have most of her stuff. Why did I stop? Well, it was like, maybe three or four years ago? A new series, I think. And it was the use of phrases and sentences that were so anachronistic, it took me out of the stories. They were so 20th century phrases and dialogue, for stories that were set in the 18th century.

So I'm happy to just re-read her vintage and classic stories, thankyouverramooch.

At least Anne Stuart never disappoints and doesn't strip her heroes of their badassery or sonofabitchness after they've gotten their own happily ever afters in books that are part of a series.

[laughs]

I read of a lot of VS Naipaul in college, but it has been years since I read any of his books. Not because he's no more and his output is finite (as is anyone's); I read and re-read his works in college. Even now I take great pleasure in re-reading fiction/literature. But somehow I haven't revisited Naipaul. 

[Ailianna]

On 4/13/2022 at 9:42 PM, Wiendish Fitch said:

Beauty by Robin McKinley is still one of my all-time favorite books, and Deerskin is also excellent (though depressing AF), but, I gotta say, I came to realize what a slog it was to get through a lot of McKinley's other books. 

I'm sorry, but you need a damn machete to cut through all the ponderous descriptions of every. Little. Thing. I find myself thinking, "Okay, Robin, we get it, the forest is pretty, our heroine is 'not like other girls', can we move this along, please?!?!?!?" Spindle's End felt like a chore to read.

It may be a matter of that ONE book though, which isn't my favorite either. Sunshine is very different from her other books, and the Damar books are her early and more action filled books. She has Pegasus and a series about dragons too. Her short stories are good too. Beauty and Deerskin are ones I repeatedly go back to, but she has a number of books that are not fairy tale retellings that are quite good.

[OtterMommy]

Adding one to the list here: Fiona Davis.  It's not that there has been a slip in her quality--it's that she has become so forumulaic.  All of her books center on an iconic New York City building and have a dual timeline from a woman in the 19th or early 20th century and a woman from the mid-20th century or present.   I actually think she could continue in her framework and still do some creative things, but she doesn't.  Her books have become too cookie-cutter for me.

[Spartan Girl]

I used to love Jennifer Brown. But rereading her books as an adult has made me aware that she writes the most toxic male characters imaginable, yet still makes excuses for their egregious behavior. Valeries’s dad in Hate List is an asshole, but even though he never apologizes to Valerie for the shitty way he treated her, it ends with Valerie still hoping they’ll make up someday when anyone with eyes can see she’s better off without him. We’re supposed to root for Alex and Zack to hook up in Bitter End even though Zack displays a lot of Nice Guy tendencies. Jersey’s stepdad in Torn Away dumps her after her mom and sister are killed in a tornado, and doesn’t even have the decency to let her attend the funerals, but that’s somehow understandable because he’s so traumatized and broken by the deaths.

And then there’s Thousand Words, and this was a doozy. Kaleb sends out naked pictures of his ex-girlfriend Ashleigh after their very nasty breakup, and yet somehow we’re supposed to feel sorry for the harsh consequences he has to face; because he’s 18, he might have to register as a sex offender. Never mind the humiliation and slut-shaming Ashleigh goes through, she only got off with community service***! And he and countless others are quick to jump on the excuse that he wouldn’t have had the picture if she never sent it to him back when they were still together.

JESUS. I get that Jennifer Brown was trying to show that humans are flawed and nobody is perfect, but COME ON. So yeah, she’s a good writer but I’m not really a fan anymore.

***That was sarcasm, in case it wasn’t clear.

Edited December 15, 2022 by Spartan Girl

[annzeepark914]

Anne George was an excellent writer and her mystery series, featuring a retired English teacher, was so much fun to read (but not hokey). My other favorite mystery series author was Patricia Houck Sprinkle whose sleuth was the widow of a magistrate (who was shot to death & she found the killer, then began solving more mysteries in her town). 

[Kemper]

I just discovered this thread! I have always loved the Preston Childs books; started reading them when “The Relic” came out as a movie. Pendergast was the perfect protagonist and Lt. D’Agosta  (or “my dear Vincent” per Pendergast) the smart NYC detective. But the years have passed; and to their credit, the authors have appropriately aged Pendergast and have given him the usual hurdles involved with the process. Sadly, there is just something vital missing from the current books that I can’t put my finger on. Everything seems kind of morose. Maybe it is me who has aged! I no longer “can’t wait” to read them.

[oliviabenson]

James Patterson

Nicholas Sparks

Janet Evanovich 

[annzeepark914]

I may have already posted this but Leslie Meier is the author of too many Lucy Stone mysteries. She's an excellent writer so why can't she create a new amateur sleuth? I read & loved many of these books. Lucy's kids were growing, her friends' lives were changing, but she remained at the town newspaper and solved crimes. After a while, I wondered why the police didn't hire her (like so many police departments where amateur sleuths keep solving crimes right under their noses!)