One for the Money question

Smart authors end the series on a high note. One of my favourites, the Georgina Kincaid series , ended after six books. It's such an amazing series and when it ended it left you wanting more. I think it's better to feel that way instead of being pissed off, and wanting to throw the book out the window. From all the series I've read, the Plum series should have ended 10 books ago.

While I agree that the love triangle has grown old and every new book is a rehash of the previous books, there is no real incentive for the author to change the formula. Each new book make the best sellers list and requires minimal effort on her part.

I gave up on this series long ago. The characters never evolved. Not only were the characters static but it was the same jokes (exploding car, grandma & the funerals, etc.). I know Evanovich is making money by cranking out these books but I would be embarrassed to keep putting my name on those novels.

I have thought that as well with the Plum books. Either Stephanie needs to progress and make progress in her life (maybe a more committed relationship or a bump in her career) or the series must end. At this point, it is just more of the same antics and love triangle.

I was finished with them by #16. The last two seemed to lack the humor and excitement that I enjoyed in the others.

I respect Rowling for ending Harry Potter with Deathly Hallows. I mean, imagine the pressure from the publisher and fans for just one more book but she had completed her story arc.
I agree totally on Stephanie Plum. I loved the first books in the series. My love became liking and that faded to real annoyance by #18 where everything was a repeat. She needs to have Stephanie either get married to Joe Morelli or drop both men and her job where she is lovably and predictably inept. She ought to leave town, have the closing scene in #20 be her waving goodbye to her parents and grandma. The end.

I quit this series back around book 10. They were fun and different, but then they just became more of the same. I wish she had of ended them ages ago and moved on - she's got a boat load of talent and I hope she can rescript herself.

Some characters can continue for long stretches, but that doesn't mean the quality stays up. I quit buying the Grafton alphabet novels in the middle because they became a little trite - quit buying, but didn't stop reading. I simply made them a library only book. When they picked back up in quality, later in the series, I went back to buying them.

Hi all,
I'm pretty new to the mystery novel world. I first read the Archie Mc Nally series, then the Stone Barrington books, then Myron Bolitar.
I loved them all. Can you recommend some other series that have great characters, good plots, a sense of humor? Thank you so much!!

I have read all of the Plum series except for #20.. the last few I read it was too predictable, not as funny and I found that I was just reading it to get to the end :( it needs to end.

The last one seemed to be moving in the right direction. It's just brain candy anyway...

As soon as they start putting them out in hardcover, I lose interest.

Yep I am on book 8 and realised as I finished it that I was bored - shame

When the author starts writing. . "formula". . it is time to find a new series. I stopped buying James Patterson and Stuart Woods for that reason. In Woods' case he began to write a book. . divide into halves and sell each as a complete novel . ending one story and beginning a new one in one volume to keep selling the next book. In Patterson's case he has diluted himself with so many "co-authors" that the stories became drivel.

It has happened in many genres. . Anne Rice, Stephen King both started cranking out "formula" after their intitial successes. BUT after personal crisis both found their way back to their core again.

If after finishing the final chapter, I close the cover feeling at a loss to why I wasted the time and the money reading the volume. . then I don't buy any more of that author. There are so many books touted as "if you like Evanovich or (supply the author's name)then you should try this author". You can go up on Amazon etc. and read excerpts and find someone you like equally or better than whomever you have burnt out on.

Nancy Bush wrote 3 volumes of the Jane Kelly series(Candy Apple Red, Electric Blue and Ultra Violet)promising a 4th tenatively called Pink Cadillac. The novels are funny and very much like the early Plum novels. But Bush began writing suspense with her sister Lisa Jackson and has never returned to the Kelly series. So three was enough for Nancy Bush and Twenty -plus is not enough for Evanovich who also pens other books. Only you can decide when enough is enough for you pesonally.

These books should have a limit. They are just as bad as some of these movies that keep popping up every other year. JASON TAKES MANHATTAN/JASON TAKES ON DETROIT/JASON AND FREDDY MEET AT CENTRAL PARK...And lets not forget theBRUCE WILLIS MOVIE...DIE HARD....DIE HARD DIE HARD 2/DIE HARD WITH A VENGENCE/ DIE HARD TAKES ON NEW YORK...It just gets a bit to much..I stopped reading Stephanie on the 5th series, it started to get boring,,,I haven't even started on the Lisa Lutz books,So yes there is a BORING POINT...

I agree about Sookie. I am tired of her. But Stephanie? I love it when a new book comes out and laugh all the way through. I mean, Rex Stout wrote like forty Nero Wolfe stories and they are pretty good all the way to the end. Sue Grafton is still going strong after 20+ books. If they still want to write them, and we want to read them, what's the problem? Remember Conan Doyle trying to kill off Sherlock Holmes?

Stephanie Plum books are comfort food. Before you even look at the title, you know exactly what is going to happen. Just like meat loaf and macaroni and cheese,the taste is always the same and you can revel in it. I can't wait for #21!

Truly I'm embarrassed to say I've read the first sixteen because after book six it was downhill all the way. True of most series. I was hoping Evanovich would recapture the magic I guess. Didn't happen. Stephanie is apparently living in ground hog day where she never gets better at her job. Never gets a better apartment. Never picks a winner in the romance dept. And whose idea of a good time is taking her grandmother to funerals. Give yourself a break Stephanie--take a day trip into NYC and see a play. And would somebody put Grandma Mazur in a nursing home. The woman is a menace and driving her daughter to drink.

This discussion is interesting and I appreciate everyone's critiques. I am an author myself and have one published book which I am putting into a series. However, rather than continue with the main character from the first book, I am continuing with another member of the family. Good input from everyone and these criticisms will be kept in mind for me.

I stopped reading after 16. Same old, same old.

I gave up on Janet Evanovich long ago. Not only are the characters stale but her writing, apparently, is a family business. Think of this series as General Motors, manufacturing a less than mediocre product able to sell based on past reputation. Time to retool. I think the author stumbled onto this character and ran the life out of it.

I agree with knowing when to end a series. You want to do that, before your readers end it for you by not reading your books anymore.
I stopped reading Stephanie Plum on number twelve. The Ranger-Morelli thing was driving me crazy.
I was done with Sookie Stackhouse at Dead In The Family.
Agatha Raisin - over it at #10 - Fairies of Fryham.

Still enjoying Sue Grafton's Kinsey Millhone series, and there will be an end to that!

I'm an author - Murder Blog Mysteries - and am working on the second book in the series- the first is Dead Girls Don't Blog (sorry - had to throw in a plug ;-), and do not intend to go past ten books. I love my characters and their lives, but there are so many other stories to write and so little time...

It absolutely depends on the author. I agree about the Plum and Sookie Stackhouse series. On the other hand, there are 47 Nero Wolfe books, 21 Travis McGee books and I'm-not-sure how many Chee-Leaphorn books and they're all different and fresh. I find myself revisiting Roderick Alleyn, Cadfael, Wimsey, Holmes etc etc from time to time as well.

Life's too short for bad/stale series!

I know what to expect when I pick up a Stephanie Plum novel. Evanovich is writing other things as well. I think the hard thing to grasp with the Plum series is that while she has written over several years, the story has taken place over a 2-5 year period...

I find them to be a comfortable escape.

I keep the Stephanie Plum books around for mindless entertainment --- something I can pick up and enjoy for an afternoon when I don't want to have to think about anything to philosophical or deep or puzzling. Still, unless she finally makes a major move in the series (e.g., Stephanie finally picks either Morelli or Ranger once and for all, and marries him; or Stephanie kicks them both to the curb and marries some other random guy like Randy Briggs; or one of the characters dies or is paralyzed), they're going to read like the same thing over and over again.

It happens too often with too many series. Someone earlier in the discussion mentioned the Lilian Jackson Braun books ("The Cat Who ...") and to be honest, I was finished with that series shortly after the protagonist moved to the Upper Peninsula. I stopped reading the Diane Mott Davidson books for the same reason. I can only suspend reality to a certain extent; it just didn't make sense any more to have a new killer, a new criminal around every corner in such a small-town setting.

I think Stephanie Plum just needs ending now. I loved the first 10 and still enjoyed the next 4 but then it really started going stale. She needs to pick a man or neither man and move on with her life as it has gone stale. The plots feel recycled from other books and it is now unbelievable that two really hot men would hang around on the string waiting for her to make up her mind! I quite liked the last book, was an improvement on the last couple but my expectation was low so that is probably why I was less disappointed than I have been previously.

It is a real shame as the series was so good and loved the characters but they just have not moved on and developed enough over time.

I have started reading 21 and still enjoy the books. Of course I wish Stephanie would make a choice between Morelli and Ranger but that is all part of the series. I always get a laugh out of the characters and truly hope the series continues.

Interesting. I read several of the comments and quickly scanned the rest. What I find interesting, and a lesson as a writer, is that when people talk about a stale series, the cause is primarily one of two reasons. One is that the stories become to much repeat of a formula. The same type of conflicts and the same hooks repeated within different plots. That one gets to be a drag for me, too. But, I think of Dick Francis, who, in the best of his books, has something of a formula--an everyman with fundamental integrity, a severe ass-whuppin', often some slightly kinky or non-traditional sexual interest, and a delicious comeuppance for the bad guy. But, except those where there were author personal issues affecting the quality of the over-all story or writing, I enjoy each and every Francis novel. I think what he did to make that possible was not have a series character for most of the books. I got to meet somebody new every time and it actually became interesting to see how the standard plot devises would be applied. Yes, except for Sid Halley and Kit Fielding. And, with those two, he lengthened the character's story, but didn't drag it out book after book. It was an original story arc that started and ended.
The second reason I observe for staleness is the most interesting. It is because we know the characters too well. The things that originally endeared them to us start to irritate us. Much like I irritate my wife. Looks to me like in those cases, character quirks over-ride what should be most enjoyable about a book, the plot and theme, and character development. In the Nero Wolfe books, Archie has a long-running romance with Lily Rowan, but unlike Stephanie Plum and her menage a trois, it doesn't take up much space in the experience. Looks to me like in those series, the author's conundrum is they feel the need to rely on the things that made their character popular at the risk of boring us. Perhaps there is a limiting fear in the author of not trusting their ability to exceed the boundaries of what brought home the bacon. It would be interesting to me if Evanovich killed off Morelli or Ranger, but I bet the overall reaction of her readers would set off seismic devices world-wide, kind of like when they wanted to kill Superman.
Well, I've written a bunch and not sure I have a conclusion. I think the death knell of a series for me is when the author cannot break either mold, familiar characters with familiar quirks, with few, if any, new quirks ever introduced, who often find themselves in dad-gum near identical situations, and stories in which the conflicts and themes explored repeat book after book.
Thanks for this, I am writing the second of my series character and it has helped articulate some of the things I'm try to be careful about.

Two more series authors I want to add:
John Sandford's Lucas Davenport Prey series and Stephen White's Alan Gregory series, both at least twenty books.
Stephen White experimented with many different writing styles in his series and there was definite progress (if you can call it that) in the development of his characters. I didn't always like what he did with the writing styles, sometimes I loved it and it took guts to tamper with what was well received. My only complaint with him is that he killed off/ruined too many of the main characters in Alan Gregory's life.
Jonathan Kellerman's Alex Delaware is well into the twenties as well, but Kellerman didn't take near as many chances as White and Dr. D has gotten fairly stale, although I love Milo as much as I despise Robin.
I think Evanovich did some brilliant writing in the first half of the series and it is disappointing to see that she isn't using her creativity in this series any more. I do continue to read but sometimes it is painful.

I stopped at 15, come on marry Ranger and have an affair with Morelli or vice versa, but move on! Join the FBI or NSA something please! I must admit however the funniest gambit was at the Los Angeles Times Book Festival when on a panel with T. Jefferson Parker and Robert Crais the always intrepid Evanovich pulled out a six inch dildo (that's 6" girth) as it was about a foot and a half long and began to shake it at the audience for emphasis as she spoke. Crais couldn't stop laughing and Parker was simply incredulous. Ah, the memories. Just what Stephanie would do, right? Hmm, maybe I'll pick up Sixteen sometime soon.

I find this thread to be interesting! I just picked up this series, I have only just finished 3 and this thought is in my mind for a lot of series. I found that the Sue Grafton novels never got stale for me. I loved each case that Kinsey took on and when I closed a book, I was interested to see what Grafton and Kinsey had next for me.

So far in these series, my interest is still peaked but I have thought that there is not much to these characters and how long can the Morelli dance go on. It's strange to think she has sold all of these books with the same plot line running through them. I think it is a love for the story and the character. Because she keeps finding ways for Stephanie to screw up the case and keeps finding ways for Morelli and Ranger to save her butt, that people find them interesting.

I will continue reading the series for now, but I am interested to see how I will feel about them now. I have a very high tolerance for these cheap, easy to read cozy mysteries so I wonder if that will have an effect? I love a great thought provoking novel as well, but seem to find myself reverting back to those hard worn paperbacks.

It's been some time since anyone's posted in this discussion but here goes. It depends on the author, whether they get tired or not. Lucas Davenport of the Prey Series by John Sandford is the main character of 25 books so far. He remains fresh to me and each book leaves me wanting more. To be sure Davenport has undergone many changes and the supporting characters come and go. Then you have the late Lillian Jackson Braun who gave us 29 The Cat Who books and 3 collections of short stories. To be sure there were a couple of those that were weak but overall reading each book was like coming home. Light and fluff but there is a place for light fluff.

Edit: Lawrence Block! How could I forget him? The 3 series that I have really enjoyed were the Tanner series, the Keller (Hit Man) series and Bernie Rhodenbarr. I wanted more Tanner and Keller both but maybe Block knows when he needs to move on.

I gave her up after the 4th. That heroinne never learns nuttin`. What a waste of a detective education. She deserved to get offed after the 2nd.

I've read them all. Number eight was my favorite. She's a couple of books too late to wrap up the series. I usually would spend an entire reading these, this time it took over a week.

I haven't read them in awhile. I am to busy trying to keep up with having the books. I am a serial collector of series, and wont read them until I have them all in a row. But with me having the first 17, I think I have plenty of books to read before I need to get another in the series. lol.

But yes, I would LOVE for Stephanie to put up with one of them or bounce. And after all this time, she should be a lot better with her bails.

If the author is talented and creative, a character can go on for eternity, as far as I am concerned.

Sherlock Holmes graced four novels and fifty-six short stories and is still beloved today.

Agatha Christie wrote 12 novels with Miss Marple as the detective and numerous short stories; Hercule Poirot is in 33 novels and 50 short stories.

Harry Potter was mentioned: 7 books, 8 movies, and still alive and well in London somewhere. (:

Stephanie Plum, specifically, was fun and refreshing for about the first 8 novels. After that, I was tired of her blowing up cars, getting surprised in the shower by Ranger, and stringing Morelli along. The only high point for me, after that, was watching Grandma troll the funeral parlor and Lula's obsession with big guns and fried chicken. Time to go, though.

Sookie Stackhouse-I love this series, but it's dragging also. A brilliant wrap up book for this one would be a satisfying end to the series.

I disagree - I think it depends on the author and character - I still find the Stephanie Plum books enjoyable especially due to their humor and descriptiveness - I think the problem people have is they have a preconceived idea of how they want to see a series go and if it doesn't they get mad - if you don't like it don't read it - simple really. There are many series that go on beyond this - Sue Grafton's Kinsey Milhone for instance. To each his own. I for one still enjoy the humor of these books.

I think writing should be thought of like a job. If you could still make money from a series and can still come up with new situations to put them in then I say go for it. Lets get real here, it isn't Shakespeare, we aren't aspiring to high art. We just want a fun pulpy novel to pass some time with, and she delivers just that. It is also fun to continue with the same characters.

I still look forward to Stephanie Plum and her adventures. Finding new ways to blow up her vehicles (or others)has got to be a challenge. But things between Morelli and Ranger need to heat up. I feel this series overall can still go in many ways.

For many of the books listed, the character becomes stale and the plot drags after 3 or 4 books. You still want to know what becomes of the character, but I find that the writing lacks punch. A detective novel series can take you much further, but only if you are introducing fresh material. Fantasy often can go for much longer partly because there is usually a long timeline in a far off world.

What I LIKE about many of these series, including the Stephanie Plum ones, is that you can pick up the series with any book and you get enough back story to enjoy the story without too much mystery.

Fascinating conversation. I teach an online class on writing series and part of the class is deciding how many books it will take to tell your story. There is one vampire series I started and didn't finish because it became stupid. So I do believe you have to know when you story is over and then get out. I haven't read any of the Sookie Stackhouse books, so I guess I'll go find out about those now.

Lisa Wells

I've read them all and I listen to them as audiobooks. How you ask could I keep reading/listening to the same story over and over? Well I use them as a break from the other books I read and as entertainment while riding my exercise bike. I don't have to think about or concentrate on the story to keep up. If I get interrupted I can put the book down and come back to it days or sometime even weeks later and I don't have to go back and re-read to pick up on the story line. I find them funny (laugh out loud funny). I like the characters. They are all quirky in some way. If you are looking for deep, meaningful character development then these novels are not for you. If you want light, fun, humorous then pick up any one of them.

I like Janet Evanovich as an author. I enjoy her books that are not part of a series.I can not read books that are in a series for any author. Stephanie Meyer excluded. By the third book I am already tired of the characters and the story lines.

I think Janet has been "phoning it in" for that last 4-5 books. I didn't even bother with the last one.

I really never tired of the Amelia Peabody series by Elizabeth Peters. I still found them funny and interesting till the end (19 total in the series). But she had a very definite plan to end the series with the discovery of King Tut.

I gave up on Sookie Stackhouse around book #9. I can't say exactly why but it felt like enough to me.

Another series I read years ago was Amanda Pepper by Gillian Roberts. The first 8 or 9 were good but I really didn't enjoy the last few nearly as much. She wrote 14 total according to Goodreads.

Looking back over my top favorite recent mysteries, most authors ended their series after about 5 or 6 books. This has left me still wanting more.

This is an interesting discussion for me. I started reading the Stephanie Plum mysteries specifically to see how Evanovich has pulled off such a long series. I'm an author and I've been having some ideas for story lines I've never seen before for a humorous murder mystery series.

On one hand, a series can give an author a more long-term reliable income. On the other, I don't ever want to be in a position of phoning it in and disappointing readers. I've been asking myself what a reasonable limit to the series would be--6, 9, 10? There would be a romance element and I really want to do that justice and give readers a satisfying conclusion. Janet Evanovich is so talented and has a great sense of humor, but I've been disappointed so far--I'm on Book 7--that I haven't gotten any satisfaction from the relationship between Stephanie and Morelli, or even Stephanie and Ranger.

At on point, I thought maybe she'd pull a "Bridget Jones's Diary" scenario and gradually show us the true Ranger, and that she and Morelli were a dead end, and Ranger was actually the better man.

Either relationship would work for me if it's done well and she definitely has the talent to do it well. But I'm getting frustrated, so I'm thinking maybe for this type of series, I'd limit it to 9 or 10 books with a romance resolved, unless I'm still feeling some serious inspiration.

I appreciate learning from everyone's comments.

In my opinion; in the case of Stephanie Plum the books after #17 were just repeats of the same ol same ol...not as many original "laugh out loud" moments after #17. I agree that "series" books have a certain staleness after a certain point, but at what point do you end it (on a happy note, thank you) and move on? That depends on the author and the material, I think.

In the case of Lillian Jackson Braun and "The Cat Who..." series...she should have ended them at book #18...everything after that was stale. And she passed away before she could truly "end" the series, so the characters are just left hanging...I heard that a ghost writer was supposed to continue with posthumous material, but so far I find that nothing else has been publish that "ends" or "finalizes" The Cat Who...it is sad in the case when the fans do not get "closure". I would love to know that Quill and Penny finally tied the knot "or not" and of course have a happy ending for the sleuth Siamese duo, KoKo and YumYum. :)

George R.R. Martin is actually working on material for his Game of Thrones series for future books just in case he passes away "before" the series is finished. Now that is thinking about the fans!!! Kudos to Mr. Martin, although I do wish him many, many more years on this earth. :)

Anyway, Stephanie Plum has had other adventures and spin-offs into other "in-between" books with Stephanie as well as other (non-Plum) characters, but I do think that in this case, a good thing has gone on too long. Miss Evanovich can't possibly be hurting for money so you can ascertain that she obviously enjoys writing and she has certainly proven to be a clever writer and story-teller; so why doesn't she move on from Stephanie Plum?

All of that mumbo to say this...yes, Plum needs to move on down the road with or without Manelli or Ranger or whoever Stephanie ends up with, and Miss Evanovich needs to get on with something different, pretty Please and thank you! This Evanovich Fan believes it is time. ;)

I still enjoy Stephanie and Sookie, because they are both great, fun, intrepid, relatable women and I love their crazy lives and hot boyfriends, but the books are not all good. Some are weak, but I still like them more than a lot of books I read. I also love Clare and Arly in Joan Hess' Maggody and Clare Malloy series, but Stephanie and Sookie have a more contemporary feel.
If they are written I will read them.
Sookie's last book is due soon, I will miss her.

i only read the first book one for the money. I agree that an author should be wise enough to stop writing a series. ohterwise it can get stale grasping at straws trying to come up with new plots. that is even true for tv series shows. I have seen some that "quit when they are still on top" { Mary tyler moore show for example} and other that limp out and the viewers are wondering "are you still here?"

Pat wrote: "I have read all the Stephanie Plum books and all the Sookie Stackhouse books, and I have to tell you all, I don't know how much more the authors can do with these characters.
Is anyone else wonderi..."

I will continue to read this series until there are no more books. By far my favorite series to date. I love Stephanie Plums character and the two men she is tempted by. The story lines are simply hilarious.