When I am asked to describe Detective Inspector Tom Thorne, I have often said that the reader knows every bit as much about him as I do. And I stand by that. When I created him for the first book – Sleepyhead – I was determined that he should be a character who would never be set in stone, but rather one who would develop, book on book, who would change and grow as we all do, and who, crucially, would be unpredictable. Many authors who write series have created thick dossiers on their protagonists; complex biographies containing everything from family history to inside leg measurement. This may make life easier for the writer in some ways, but to me it seems limiting. As I write each new Thorne novel, I am determined that whatever is happening plot-wise, a new layer of the onion will be peeled away and reveal something about Tom Thorne that is surprising. To me as much as anyone else. This may not always be something that the more conservative reader likes too much, but that can’t be helped. Simply put, if I can remain interested in the character, then hopefully, the reader will stay interested too. The day a character becomes predictable is the day a writer should think about moving on, because the reader certainly will.
