France Posted October 20, 2022 Share Posted October 20, 2022 (edited) I'm thinking about those books which you are racing through and get to the end, then think immediately, or maybe a little later, 'that wouldn't have happened' or 'Why did he/she do that?' OK I know that most fiction does not accurately reflect real life and that there really are individuals who are probably too stupid to live but reading about supposedly intelligent individuals (usually women) who ignore all the pointers screaming 'Danger!', walk into a darkened room where a maniac is hiding and then are surprised to find themselves trussed up and the next in line for a chopper drives me wild. Especially when they then overcome the maniac with the aid of a hairpin. And lets not go into some psychological thrillers where the plot revolves around people simply not noticing something vital and glaringly obvious such as there's a big family party and no-one realises that the daughter isn't there, in fact they all presume she is because they see someone with similar hair milling around who is in fact her best friend. I did not make up that little gem, it comes from a bestseller. What's got me going is finishing Blue Monday by Nicci French which I was thoroughly enjoying until I got to the end, closed it and immediately thought, 'EH? Why?' As in why was one of the crimes committed? I can accept (most of the time) obscure reasons like a phobia caused by Auntie sneezing all over the criminal which was triggered again by... but not the 'it kicked off the story and I haven't worked out why he did it so live with not knowing' type of plotting. I don't mind loose ends, I like a bit of uncertainty, but to me this smacks of laziness and I've gone from wanting to search out the rest of the series to thinking I really can't be bothered. Edited October 20, 2022 by France Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madeleine Posted October 20, 2022 Share Posted October 20, 2022 I found the same with Nicci French - the police were always useless, the heroine would do something stupid, as you say, like go alone into a darkened house etc so I stopped reading them after a while, although they are by no means the only culprits in this sort of thing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KEV67 Posted December 17, 2022 Share Posted December 17, 2022 Must be the sort of books you read. I do not remember reading a book in which a young heroine enters a dark house inhabited by an axe murderer. Mind, that does remind me of that film Under the Skin with Scarlett Johansson. She drives around Glasgow, picking up men for sex. She takes them back to her house. Alright, so far, so dodgy. When she takes them into her house, all the walls are dripping wet, and the house is bare. Even if I were a bolder man than I am, I would have baled out that point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hayley Posted December 17, 2022 Share Posted December 17, 2022 Which do you think is worse though - when the let-down is right at the end (after you were really looking forward to a good ending), or when it happens early on and for the rest of the book you keep thinking ‘but none of this would have happened if it wasn’t for that really stupid plot point’!? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kudz Posted December 18, 2022 Share Posted December 18, 2022 I’m currently working my way through the Dr Ruth Galloway series by Elly Griffith and the main character is always putting not only herself, but her daughter, in dangerous situations and it drives me completely mad. It is so frustrating. I think the only reason I’m continuing with the series is because they are quick and easy reads. Plus, I do have to admit to being a little intrigued to know what happens with some of the characters plot points but overall, I have found the series very underwhelming, particularly when I have heard such good things about them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
France Posted December 18, 2022 Author Share Posted December 18, 2022 22 hours ago, KEV67 said: Must be the sort of books you read. I do not remember reading a book in which a young heroine enters a dark house inhabited by an axe murderer. Can I suggest then then that maybe your reading isn't that wide!!!😀 Unfortunately there are far too many so called thrillers with that sort of lazy plotting, spies who pick up a dark enticing woman and don't notice she has a Russian accent, people who just "find" someone who can provide a fake passport, looking identical to another person (not just similar), looking identical and they also have the same taste in suitcases so you pick up the wrong one, being in a train accident and declared dead when you walked away unrecognisable and then become your own children's nanny (East Lynne)... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
France Posted December 18, 2022 Author Share Posted December 18, 2022 5 hours ago, Kudz said: I’m currently working my way through the Dr Ruth Galloway series by Elly Griffith and the main character is always putting not only herself, but her daughter, in dangerous situations and it drives me completely mad. It is so frustrating. I think the only reason I’m continuing with the series is because they are quick and easy reads. Plus, I do have to admit to being a little intrigued to know what happens with some of the characters plot points but overall, I have found the series very underwhelming, particularly when I have heard such good things about them. I suspect that's why I gave up on her. There are authors like Sharon Bolton who have plot lines which are completely unbelievable when you think about them later but she's so good at keeping the pace going that you don't really mind. For me Elly Griffiths isn't one of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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