The Perfect Murder by Brenda Novak was slightly less than perfect. Overall, the characters felt a little flat. My main issue was the main character, Jane. Somehow in the moment we met her, my mental picture was off. Novak presented Jane to us in a moment when Jane was pondering her faults. Those faults made up my first impression of her. And then I couldn't shake it.
I was stuck with Jane's negative self-image as my mental picture of her. It was very hard for me to acknowledge the changes she made, the person she had become.
This is definitely something I will be aware of as I create characters. Yes, deeply written characters are full of weaknesses and contradictions. However, they should not be the first things presented to the readers. You need to give your readers a chance to fall in love with all the good stuff first.
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