Building a franchise!

So, book 4 is finally ready to go and whilst I never really consider the Palmer and Evans series to have any set length (it's really only dictated by how many of my trips I can be inspired enough by to create a mystery there), I have now moved from a trilogy to a series and I suppose, a franchise. There was never any intended idea for how each novel would move the characters on, with my first instinct being "What a fantastic place for a thriller!" followed by "Which sorts of characters would be lurking here?". Palmer was born fully-formed as a self-proclaimed sociopath, lacking in any sort of human warmth or understanding of others, but clearly that wasn't how he was viewed by everyone and the way in which his character has opened up to others (and himself) has perhaps been one of the arcs for his character, along with his friendship with Stuart.

I envisaged book 1 as being a Patricia Highsmith/Alfred Hitchcock style yarn, people full of guilt and secrets second-guessing themselves in a beautiful European city, whereas book 2 was driven a little more by my interest in warped memories, something Chuck Palahniuk and Bret Easton Ellis deal with in their psychological works and David Cronenberg brings to his cinematic works. Moving into book 3, I allowed something more of a romp or a quest into the story, although it may take a while to become that and whilst I jokingly always call it my Indiana Jones or National Treasure (and let's be fair, I'm never too far from acknowledging Dan Brown in any of these stories), it's still the closest thing to a proper adventure so far.

When deciding on book 4's theme (I already knew the setting would be my summer cruise around the Baltic Sea), it simply had to be a murder mystery, channelling Agatha Christie. I then swiftly realised that like Palmer, I have my own rule about guns, police and hospitals and that a full-on murder spree on a week-long, five-destination cruise simply isn't the most realistic story for a 21st century story (the holiday would pretty much end after the first murder I reckon!) so I went back to the idea of the first book: what even IS the mystery to begin with?

Building a franchise (sounds pretentious now) based on morally dubious, flawed characters might be more fun, but it isn't easy. My characters don't seek out truth and justice or get called upon to solve mysteries (although stay tuned for my next project with the 24 Hour Detective Agency who might just do that!) and finding them drawn into new adventures might become a little less realistic each time it happens, so maybe there IS a limit to the series after all.

Highsmith got five novels out of her anti-hero Tom Ripley, though they span decades both in real-time and his life and he is almost unrecognisable in the last few, whereas I feel more stories with my characters will either have to soften their edges or avoid too much character development. They're not easy to handle sometimes! Palmer and Stuart might be Hitchock's classic 'chump on the run' types in some adventures, but at other times, they lack the bravado of the Hannays and Roger Thornills of the world as they stumble through their stories and at times, their worst enemies are themselves as they fail to let each other in on events or secrets they've harboured.

Speaking of harbours, there's a boat waiting for them in Germany, departing next week for an adventure on the sea like no other they've faced yet. It's a bona fide holiday this time and there's a whole dinner party worth of new characters for them to meet...and dislike...and suspect (well, for Palmer anyway). So please join them in "In the Shallows of the Sea" - book 4 in the Palmer and Evans series. Out to preorder on kindle and to purchase in paperback soon.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08F32MW6V