Reviving Your Favorite Series?

I've been pondering this ever since I read and reviewed David Lagercrantz's continuation of Stieg Larsson's Millennium series, and I finally decided the only way I'd get a good answer is to ask all of you.

How do you feel about mystery series being continued by other writers once the series creator has died?

My curiosity doesn't just stem from my reading of Lagercrantz's The Girl in the Spider's Web.  I have also attended events at The Poisoned Pen in which featured authors have talked about continuing a series and how the process of writing something like that differs from writing one of their own books.

It seems to be happening more and more. The list of series continuations grows. Robert B. Parker. Dick Francis. Stieg Larsson. Agatha Christie. Tony Hillerman. Dorothy L. Sayers.  I know I'm missing several, but these are the authors' names that came flying out when I opened my mental barn doors.

I can understand how many readers would be bereft if the author of their favorite series died. I felt that way when I learned of the death of Leighton Gage, a very talented man who taught me so much about Brazil in his Chief Inspector Mario Silva mysteries. I still miss him... but I don't want someone else taking over the characters he created. The new person's vision would not be the same, nor would his writing style. Even if reams of the most detailed notes were left behind.

Perhaps my opinion is unduly harsh due to the whole Harper Lee/Go Set a Watchman fiasco. To me it was crystal clear that Go Set a Watchman was a rough first draft of To Kill a Mockingbird and was never meant to be published. It's only after Harper Lee's sister-- and fierce guardian of Harper's legacy-- died that unscrupulous people in control of the author's affairs decided to make as much money as they could at the expense of an elderly woman in poor health. They cared nothing about legacies even if Harper Lee's was one of the most fabled in all of American literature. All they could see was dollar signs. I think it's this more than anything else that makes me see all these series continuations with a very jaundiced eye. 

So... for my part, when an author dies, I think that should be the end of the series. It doesn't matter if they had five or six manuscripts in various stages of completion; that should be The End. Yes, I'll miss the characters. Yes, I'll miss the way that particular author wrote. But at the end of the day, I have thousands of other books available for me to read, and among those thousands, I know I will find new authors and new stories to fall in love with.



But what do you think? I've only read one example of a series now being written by someone else. Have you read any? What did you think-- close enough to the original for you to enjoy?  Or do you have reservations about doing it, too? I've said it before, and I'll say it again (because it's TRUE)-- Inquiring minds would love to know! Please don't keep me in suspense!


 

Dinner Is Served!

Oh oh. I've remembered another one of those questions that randomly flit through my mind like drunken butterflies, and I'm hoping you'll help me with the seating chart. Seating chart? Oh yeah. Definitely need one of those for this question!

You're having a dinner party for some of your favorite fictional characters. Whom are you inviting?


The dinner is being catered, so don't sweat the idea that you're doing all the cooking. You do have one ground rule though: The total number of people who can be seated at the table comfortably is ten, and since you'll be one of the people at the table, you can't invite more than nine people.

That's the only rule for you. I did, however, place more restrictions upon myself. I decided that I would have a dinner for my favorite fictional policewomen, and that limited the time period. Let's face it, there weren't a whole lot of female police officers back in the Good Old Days!

Believe it or not, after I'd written down my list, I had to pare it down. Lacey Flint of S.J. Bolton's series set in London was younger than almost all the rest, and since she tends to be a bit secretive, I didn't want her to sit at table and be forced to converse. The same goes for Harry Bingham's brilliant but decidedly strange Fiona Griffiths in his series set in Wales. Fee told me in no uncertain terms that she wanted no part of dinner, so off the list she went! I'd also included an FBI agent and National Park Service law enforcement ranger, but decided to have my guests all be on the police force.

I can feel it from here. You're wanting to know who's sitting at my dinner table waiting to eat, drink, and chatter, aren't you?  Well, here's my seating chart. I'll also list them and-- as I did with Lacey and Fee-- give you links to the authors who created the characters and to a list of the books in order of publication.

1. Detective Chief Superintendent Fran Harman from Judith Cutler's series set in Kent, England. Fran keeps thinking of retiring but hasn't gotten around to it yet. She took care of her aging and ailing parents for many years and came to love late in life. She's smart, she's funny, she's not above taking a risk now and then, and she's the best character I know of when it comes to dealing with her superiors and with the people on her team. She's mentored many a raw recruit to promotion after promotion. Now... if she could only be as successful with her new husband's grownup children!
2. Helene Tursten's series features Detective Inspector Irene Huss, and she is the only person at table whose first language is not English. She's a member of the Violent Crimes Unit in Goteborg, Sweden. She's got a black belt in the martial arts, a husband who's a chef, and twin daughters who seem to live for drama. I don't think she'd mind coming to Arizona for dinner during a long Swedish winter, do you?
3. In Elizabeth Gunn's series set in Tucson, Arizona, Detective Sarah Burke is newly divorced and is trying her best to raise her niece, since Sarah's sister is a drug addict who can't-- or won't-- stay clean. Like everyone else on this list, she's tough, she's smart, and I think the rest of the women would love to get to know a woman police officer who lives and works in the "Wild West." (And if they don't, I do!)
4. I hope Duncan doesn't mind that he's not invited to this dinner, but I simply couldn't leave Detective Inspector Gemma James off my list. Deborah Crombie's marvelous series set in London is filled with fascinating crime and family dynamics, and I definitely want to know how Gemma gets it all done.
5. Seated immediately to my right is Sheriff's Deputy Victoria Moretti, fresh from Craig Johnson's Walt Longmire series set in Wyoming. Quite frankly, the woman makes me laugh, and if we both get going, I have a feeling that everyone else at the table will be joining in-- whether or not they know what we're laughing about. Another tough, smart woman, Vic is a natural for this dinner party, and I think the women from across the pond will get over the occasional language shock and love her.
6. Immediately to my left is Detective Inspector Vera Stanhope, a woman as cranky and as interested in fashion as I. In Ann Cleeves' series set in East Yorkshire, England, here's how Vera is first described: "She was a large woman-- big bones amply covered, a bulbous nose, man-sized feet. Her legs were bare and she wore leather sandals. Her square toes were covered in mud. Her face was blotched and pitted so Rachael thought she must suffer from some skin complaint or allergy. Over her clothes she wore a transparent mac and she stood there, the rain dripping from it onto the floor, grey hair sleeked dark to her forehead, like a middle-aged tripper caught in a sudden storm on Blackpool prom." I know this woman has stories to tell, but if she turns out to be a bit quiet, she and I can always chat about birds.... Somehow I don't think she's going to be quiet. She's amongst peers.
7. I couldn't have a dinner party and not have someone with a Scottish accent sitting at my table. In Denise Mina's series, Detective Sergeant Alex Morrow works the mean streets of Glasgow, Scotland. I don't think she'll be bothered a bit that she's younger than many of us. It has to be quite a boost to the spirit to be sitting amongst so many peers.
8. Rounding out my group of Wild West Americans is Cochise County Sheriff Joanna Brady, who's the star of J.A. Jance's long-running series set in Arizona. She'll be the highest ranking police officer at the table, and I know she has a lot in common with the others-- especially Gemma-- since Joanna has to combine a high stress job with a husband and children. And those other women would just love to meet a real life sheriff, wouldn't they?
9. Last but not least is misfit Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers from Elizabeth George's series set in England. I have her seated between two women who are used to getting along with difficult people, and Barbara can certainly be stroppy at times! But she fits right in with this group, and she can tell us what it's like to work with an Earl.

Well, that's my dinner party. What do you think? Do you think it will be a roaring success with story swapping and laughter making the time pass much too quickly, or do you think I have a disaster in the making? Would you like me to get a bigger table so you can be invited, too?

What I'd really love to know is whom you're inviting to your own dinner party. I put restrictions upon myself, but you don't have to. Mix the sexes. Mix the time periods. Mix the genres. What would your seating chart look like????

Inquiring minds want to know! (You didn't think I'd end this post without saying that, did you?)

Inquiring Minds and All That

I have a really bad habit of random questions floating into my mind like butterflies and-- instead of doing anything with them-- I just let them float on out. I'm trying to turn over a new leaf; therefore, I will occasionally post one that I've actually managed to capture on a Post-It note. 

At first I thought about doing this on my blog's Facebook page, but I had another think about it and decided to broaden the scope. You see, I'm really interested in your answers, so whether it's easier for you to respond here or on Facebook, I hope you'll share your opinions. Here goes!


Which mystery series that are no longer being written do you miss the most?


I know that I've become attached to a mystery series or two over the years, and when this question came to mind and I first began making my list and checking it twice, the first place I went to was my "Favorite Mystery Series" page here on my blog. My first go-through left me with about 12-15 names-- way too many for this post.

So I went through that first list a second time and narrowed it down to eight. Then a third time to five. The fourth time was the charm: I successfully forced my list down to two names-- the two authors whose series I miss the most. What may or may not be surprising is how different the authors and their books are.

There are many reasons for an author to stop writing a series-- losing interest, losing a publisher, or family obligations could be a few; but the saddest reason of all is the author's death. 

Leighton Gage, who lived in Brazil , wrote a contemporary police procedural series set in Brazil whose main character is Chief Inspector Mario Silva. The first book, Blood of the Wicked, was amazing, but each successive book was even better than the one before it. When someone likes to read mysteries set all over the world and asks me for a recommendation, Leighton Gage's books always jump to mind first. He immerses you in the country, its customs, and its politics in a way that is poetic and profound, and his cast of characters is superb-- a mix of intelligence, humor, cunning, and persistence. 

A Leighton Gage novel has always given me the best in entertainment and enlightenment. Pancreatic cancer stole a gifted writer from us much too soon, and no matter how many books I have stacked to the ceiling, I will always regret that a new Leighton Gage mystery is not among them.

Fidelis Morgan is probably a force of nature. Born in a gypsy caravan, she's an actress, a playwright, she's written non-fiction and-- my absolute favorite-- a series of historical mysteries featuring the Countess Ashby de la Zouche (former mistress of Charles II) and her faithful maid, the busty Alpiew. The Countess is an older woman now. She's lost her looks, she has no money, her house is falling to bits, and she's taken to writing gossip for a London scandal sheet to keep body and soul together. It's amazing how much trouble one can get into looking for gossip.... 

The four books in the series are gems of setting, character, mystery and (often) laugh-out-loud humor. I've seldom read books by any other author that have so completely immersed me in a time and place. Unnatural Fire, The Rival Queens, The Ambitious Stepmother, and Fortune's Slave are near and dear to my heart, and-- personally-- I think her publisher should be tarred, feathered, and ridden out of town on a rail for dropping her. (That bit of exaggeration should tell you how much I love this series!)



Well, those are my two choices. It's your turn. What mystery series do you miss the most? I may have missed some jewels, so... Inquiring minds want to know!