Expectations

I've about 85% through the most recent book I'm reading. If I remember correctly, I chose it off of an "editor's picks" list. It's a procedural murder mystery, and though it's listed as the author's debut*, there are another five in the series already. I took that to mean that there would be continuity in the main characters, which is what I was looking for -- continuity, good relationships, and character growth throughout the series are my ultimate goal.

(*Debut can mean different things -- a friend of mine who has self-pubbed multiple novels just sold a trilogy to a major publishing house for gobs of money and this is being listed as her "debut". Anyhow, she totally deserves it and I can't wait for it to come out.)

So now I'm almost finished with this mystery, and we're getting into "if only I'd known then what I know now" territory on the part of the narrator and I'm pretty sure one of the main characters is going to die. (Also, I figured out what was going on about halfway through the book, because the psychological stuff was a little heavy-handed.) I'm debating whether I want to finish the book now. I'll probably end up skimming it just to make sure I'm not assuming the wrong things, but it's a bit disappointing.

There's not anything wrong with this book, but my expectations were not in line with the reality, which makes the ultimate experience a disappointment. Did I miss something in the blurb? Was there a marketing failure? The business of publishing is all about getting the right books in front of the right audience. This time it failed.

I know the books I'm looking for are out there. I just have to find them!

The little dog has no expectations and is thus not disappointed. Much.