Captured, Escape, Repeat

 

The final book of the Sleuth Sisters series didn't start out to be final, though I was aware that I was tiring of the adventures of Barb, Faye, and Retta. The appeal of a series is that readers eagerly await the next book, and I still have bookstore owners tell me that readers ask when there will be another one. The downside for a writer is that series have the tendency to become formulaic. Everyone knows the characters. We know the basic setting. All that's required is to invent a murder and solve it in the next installment. That can come to a point where it's no longer fun, and that's where I was. 

What clinched the end of the series for me was that one of my sisters died. It seems wrong now to write happy tales of the sisters sniping at each other. I chose to move on, though I did finish this one, #7.

I moved the setting to Green Bay, Wisconsin, which was fun. I let Retta's undisciplined dog Styx be part of the rescue. And I tied up the loose ends as best I could. I believe all of the minor characters who added pathos and/or humor are accounted for and doing well. The pets are cared for. The sisters recognize each other's strengths and have learned to use them. Overall, I'm pleased with the series, and so are my readers. It is and always has been my best-selling work.

Captured, Escape, Repeat takes Retta and her partner to Wisconsin, where they stop on their way to Chicago. When he disappears, Barb and Faye come to help Retta find him, but of course things don't go smoothly for quite some time. This book is available here for $2.99.