Lillian Jackson Braun wrote 29 mystery novels before she died. Basic trope: journalist James MacIntosh Qwilleran always seems to find himself involved with a murder. The perfect trope for a murder mystery series. I do see a problem, though.
Every single place the guy lives, always seems to be destroyed by fire. In a series that spanned less than a decade, I believe he had at least 5 homes go up in smoke. Most fires were never "solved" so I think him or one of his cats was doing it. It didn't matter if it was an apartment he rented, an apartment that he owned, or an old apple barn he had converted into a home. By the time the apple barn home caught fire, I was ready to give up on the series. Too many fires. It was becoming a trope.
Have you found any other authors that fell into a trope cycle?
by Swiggy1957
2 Comments
Dean Koontz and dogs, specifically golden retrievers. I love the Cat Who.. books. I’ve read every one of them.
Gosh what a blast from the past. I have the entire “Cat Who” series that I picked up at used book stores in the 90’s. I haven’t read through in more than a decade, but maybe I’ll restart for the fun campiness!
I think any series with that many mysteries will inevitably fall into a trope, similar to formulaic tv dramas. It’s easy to just do what works when you do it often enough.
I do think Koko is suspicious though. I don’t believe Qwilleran had any house fires before he adopted that cat……