Is There Such a Thing as Too Short?

I just finished reading Lynn Cahoon’s Murder in a Tourist Town novella that’s a prequel to her Tourist Town mysteries. And I was surprised by how short it was. Only 119 pages. But I love short stories, so I’m not sure that was my problem. I’m a fan of C.S. Boyack’s The Hat series, and I looked up their length. The last one was 146 pages, but it felt fully developed. Then I looked up Julia Donner’s last story in her Regency Friendship Series. About 146 pages. And it was completely and happily satisfying. Then I looked up the Harbor Pointe Inn series, which I really enjoyed, and one of them was only 109 pages, another one 117. But they felt complete.

So what made the difference? All of the other stories developed at their own speed. The characters drove the story from beginning to end. Murder in a Tourist Town started like that, and I fell for the characters in South Cove. I wanted Jill to leave her exhausting job as a divorce lawyer and find happiness. I wanted her to open a coffee shop/bookstore in South Cove. And I fell in love with Miss Emily. But then the author moved from Part One of the story to Part Two, and it felt like she gave me an epilogue–how everything worked out–and TOLD me what happened instead of just letting it develop. The ending felt rushed. It didn’t have to. Like I said, one of the Harbor Pointe Inn novellas was only 109 pages, but those pages developed the story and characters.

I’m still glad I read Murder in a Tourist Town. It’s a prequel to the rest of the series, and I learned new things about the characters I’ve been following for a long time. But the ending felt rushed. I’m happy with how everything worked out, but a few more pages wouldn’t have hurt to let the story move at its own pace.