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This book is very character driven, in my opinion. The reader gets to know the main character, Slacker, well - his backstory, his personality, and his lifestyle. On the other hand, Jerry Porter is an enigma. He comes to town and quickly becomes well-liked by all. Within a short period of time, Slacker considers Jerry his best friend and they hang out together all the time. Still, Slacker knows nothing about Jerry's history, where his money came from, etc.

Do readers prefer to know a lot about a character so they can understand his/her actions or do they like a lot left to the imagination?

bookowlie wrote:This book is very character driven, in my opinion. The reader gets to know the main character, Slacker, well - his backstory, his personality, and his lifestyle. On the other hand, Jerry Porter is an enigma. He comes to town and quickly becomes well-liked by all. Within a short period of time, Slacker considers Jerry his best friend and they hang out together all the time. Still, Slacker knows nothing about Jerry's history, where his money came from, etc.

Do readers prefer to know a lot about a character so they can understand his/her actions or do they like a lot left to the imagination?

I agree. Later on the author reveals more details about Jerry and his past. We discover his past together with Slacker and I liked it. I liked both characters and felt like I knew them.

bookowlie wrote:This book is very character driven, in my opinion. The reader gets to know the main character, Slacker, well - his backstory, his personality, and his lifestyle. On the other hand, Jerry Porter is an enigma. He comes to town and quickly becomes well-liked by all. Within a short period of time, Slacker considers Jerry his best friend and they hang out together all the time. Still, Slacker knows nothing about Jerry's history, where his money came from, etc.

Do readers prefer to know a lot about a character so they can understand his/her actions or do they like a lot left to the imagination?

You've asked that question prematurely! The reader learns everything about Jerry eventually. He came to Key West to reinvent himself ... and kept his personal history to himself for that reason. Readers learn even more about the late Jerry Porter in the sequel, "Barracuda."

I like that readers will learn even more about the late Jerry in the sequel. He was an interesting character and a good contrast to Slacker.

bookowlie wrote:I like that readers will learn even more about the late Jerry in the sequel. He was an interesting character and a good contrast to Slacker.

Indeed and I liked him.

Believe it or not, my favorite characters were Rusty and Honey! I loved that they took Jerry's ideas and ran with them. The setting of the bar where the locals gathered regularly reminded me of Luke's Diner in the Gilmore Girls TV show.

bookowlie wrote:Believe it or not, my favorite characters were Rusty and Honey! I loved that they took Jerry's ideas and ran with them. The setting of the bar where the locals gathered regularly reminded me of Luke's Diner in the Gilmore Girls TV show.

I liked them at first, but not after they turned against him.

That's true. I loved their characters and what they represented - the local flavor of the Key West locals. Even if I didn't always like their actions, I loved their down-to-earth vibe.

Love your commentary about Rusty and Honey! Heroes or villains? My very point in Free Fish Friday! We all have strengths and weaknesses. The good and bad in every character are on full display: the Hooks, the police chief, the charter captains, Jerry Porter and his daughter, the Stuart sisters, and even Slacker himself. In that regard, I wanted FFF and the sequel to be fifty shades of different than the many books I have read.

I was very mad at the Hooks, as well as Jordan, that they were leaving Slacker in the middle of a crisis. In my opinion, Key West has a lot of transients. I guess it's realistic that the locals don't feel a sense of roots in the community.

bookowlie wrote:I was very mad at the Hooks, as well as Jordan, that they were leaving Slacker in the middle of a crisis. In my opinion, Key West has a lot of transients. I guess it's realistic that the locals don't feel a sense of roots in the community.

You have to admit, the Hooks were looking at fairly compelling reasons to doubt Slacker. They had lots of company!

I don't know if I agree. The police seemed so inept in the way they investigated the case. It really brought home the point that people can get their reputations smeared in an instant with the way police handle things at the start and the media involvement.

I liked how much was initially withheld about Jerry... That said, I'll have to pick up Barracuda to find out more of his story.

Maybe the reasons seemed compelling to the Hooks, but it was just crazy how Slacker went from hero to dirtbag in the eyes of many, all on the basis of very sketchy evidence.

-- 14 Oct 2015, 11:48 --

Dphaber wrote:I liked how much was initially withheld about Jerry... That said, I'll have to pick up Barracuda to find out more of his story.

I would have liked to know more about Jerry in the beginning. That's just my taste...to know the victim' s backstory in detail so I can speculate why the crime happened.

I agree with bookowlie and thought as well that the people judged Slacker too fast.