Reading a book...

[conuly]

Me, about 1/10 of the way through: Ah, got it. The shocking twist is going to be that This Character is actually That Historical Figure.

Author: Shhh! The characters aren't going to figure it out until the last page!

Me: Okay, but...

Author: Here's another little hint! Tee hee, are you clever enough to figure it out?

Me: Yup, I got it!

Author: And another hint!

Me: Um....

Author: And another!

Sigh. I get that the viewpoint characters had absolutely no reason to suddenly jump to the rather bonkers conclusion that their mildly-impoverished friend is secretly the famous and extremely wealthy man who went missing before any of their grandparents were born. I get it. But if it's that obvious to me from the start, either clue them in faster or make your hints a little less obvious. (They didn't have to be that obvious. Telling me that another character we never meet thought this guy might be connected to the mystery in some mysterious way nobody else understands, and then suggesting that this dude uses ever-so-slightly old fashioned language was well more than enough. But no, those clues just kept coming...!)

Comments

[sovay]

their mildly-impoverished friend is secretly the famous and extremely wealthy man who went missing before any of their grandparents were born.

Okay, it doesn't sound like it's done well, but I'm now curious.

[conuly]

I actually enjoyed the book quite a bit. It helps that the mystery is not even remotely the point of the story at all, though it sure does drive the plot.

This is Stars Uncharted by S. K. Dunstall.

[grav_ity]

That is SUCH a hard line to walk. I guarantee you there are reviewers out there who are all "This came out of nowhere!" This is why I don't write twists. vbg

[moon_custafer]

It depends so much on whether the readers are the ones the author pictured in their head, I guess. Like reading certain works where the intended audience was, say, the courtiers of a particular Chinese dynasty, and it’s all “he was a rabbit, she was the moon; can I make it any more obvious?” Which in itself is a joke dependent upon audience familiarity with early-21st century North-American music.
That said I once tried to read an urban fantasy called Dead Harvest or something: it begins with the protagonist, an employee of Hell assigned to take the soul of a girl who ostensibly murdered her family, sensing her innocence but also finding no signs of demonic possession. A few pages later some angels beat him up and tell him to do his job and top poking his nose where it doesn’t belong.
Me: “OK, so I’m already guessing some corrupt Heavenly agents are secretly behind this.”
Protagonist: “Hot damn, this is really baffling. Who could be responsible?”
Me, frantically reading ahead: “Please tell me he figures it out by at least mid-book?”
Author: “Nope, it’s the big twist in the penultimate chapter!”

[conuly]

Who knew the agents of Hell were so naive?

[moon_custafer]

He was human in the 1930s! He’s basically written as a world-weary private eye! Don’t tell me he never read any stories in Black Mask involving corruption in high places!

[conuly]

Oh, dear.

[conuly]

Those reviewers must be new to reading.

[conuly]

And I didn't see any negative reviews of that sort of Amazon, though there was one that was like those much-mocked recipe reviews: "I wrote this book, but I substituted this for that, and these characters for those characters, and instead of baking at 350 I fried it...."

[silveradept]

Ah, yes. There's always a temptation for an author to show their cleverness and keep the characters unaware for longer than they might have been.

That said, I'm pretty good at not noticing what is in front of me, so it's not like I have a high moral position to look down on it with.

[conuly]

In this particular case I don't blame the characters for not catching on faster. I do, however, blame the author for continuing to drop hints long after they were unnecessary.

[silveradept]

Makes sense. After a little while, the reader presumably knows, even if the characters don't for whatever plot reason is needed.

[thewayne]

Dave and I watched Knives Out last week, and there was one clue dropped as to who the killer was before the reveal at the end, so there was pretty much zero chance of figuring it out. I found that annoying. But I did enjoy the movie, made me wish I'd seen it in the theater.

[conuly]

Maybe there were more clues and you just missed them?

[thewayne]

Possible.