I just finished reading LA Dead by Stewart Woods, and I enjoyed it. I’m about to start McNally’s Dare by Victor Sardo …and expect to enjoy that, also. One of the things I will enjoy is that, once again, I get to read about a character that continues from book to book. This means that there will be 2 story lines. The first, of course will be the mystery, but the 2nd will be the development of the main characters, their lives and interactions and such. I like this combination. If one keeps up with books about these characters, they take on depth and texture (if the author knows his/her stuff), and getting to know them is as much fun is watching them solve the mystery and deal with the villains (or have them dealt with, usually by law enforcement).

It seems that these continuing characters are a feature of “genre” fiction (I hate that term, but that’s a rant for another day). Sometimes it doesn’t work, because sloppy authors don’t keep track of what happens to the character, or when it happens, or because the author doesn’t balance plot development in the main story with character development. But when it works (and mostly, I’ve found that it does), it’s one of the joys of good “escape” fiction. I think all fiction is escape fiction, if it’s good enough, because it picks you up out of your day, good or bad, and drops you down in another place, time, and set of problems.

And …Eleanora’s proverb for the day …

She, who wears new, cheap shoes to work and has to stand up and walk a lot, will suffer for hours after she gets home!

Now...to find some pretties to give visual interest to this little endeavor!