Blake Franklin P I - The Making of a Texas Private Investigator

The character development in this book was pretty good. The action scenes were okay. But this did not read like crime fiction. There was way too much focus on the MC's personal issues. When I read a detective book, I'm just not that concerned about the Detective's relationship with his father. There was so much development that it was more like reading a biography than a fiction book. And the MC lacked the grit I look for in a PI. He actually came across as kind of whiney. Overall, this author shows some signs of talent, but I didn't like this book enough to continue reading the series.

.The author, Ryan Hale, and I have a lot in common. I’m also retired and only started writing recently. Ryan’s writing is quite good, and the last thing I would want to do is discourage him in any way. I followed the same path and started by writing a novel. However, it wasn’t successful, so started reading books and watching videos that teach how to write. I learned that stories have structure, character arcs, plots, inner conflicts, inciting incidents, and much more. They are about conflict. The protagonist should have a specific goal and a fatal flaw that prevents him from achieving his goal. I would encourage Ryan to keep writing but take time to read books and watch videos on writing at the same time. If he does, in time, he will get there.