I'll Bet Jack Reacher Doesn't Have To Put Up With This Nonsense

April 4, 2018

I wrote to an author whose series I read, and I asked if a) Somebody else could try solving the crime for a change and b) the heroine could rescue somebody else instead of being rescued for a change.

That got me thinking: In how many series where women solve the mysteries are they being perpetually rescued? I don’t keep track, but I think the answer is, “A pretty fair number.”

Then I started wondering, “How many times do Jack Reacher, J.P. Beaumont, Elvis Cole, Joe Pike and Sean Dillon have to get rescued?” I think the answer to that one is, “Rarely, if ever.” (I know that Elvis Cole got kidnapped once, and Joe Pike and Jon Stone tried to find him; but I can’t remember if they saved him or he saved himself.)

So I think that authors who write about women protagonists need to step up their game a little.

August 20, 2018

Oops! I forgot to mention that Sheriff Dan Rhodes has sometimes been pulled out of a sticky situation by his deputy Ruth Grady. Way to go, Bill Crider!