Will Trent in Tryptych

of course, the book is different

I’d forgotten, before I watched the first few episodes of ABC’s Will Trent that I’d briefly met the character once before, in a crossover story, co-written by Karin Slaughter and Lee Child, creator of Jack Reacher. It’s called Cleaning the Gold.

Frankly, I read it as a Reacher fan, and barely noticed Will Trent. I’ll have to take another look at it. I suspect that because it’s a short story, and a collaboration aimed at already established readers, there wasn’t a lot of space devoted to back-story. I didn’t come away knowing much about Will Trent. I already knew a lot about Reacher.

Having now watched all but the last half of the season finale of Will Trent (which airs in 3 days) I thought it was a good time to read the first appearance of the character, in Slaughter’s novel Triptych.

Without spoiling the read for those who have not got there yet, the most distracting difference was that one of the regulars on the tv iteration appears far more villainous in the book. I kept second-guessing myself, and wondering, “are they really?” even though the picture is very clearly drawn. Maybe there’d be another shadowy figure behind the shadowy figure, just making it look like…

Another page vs. screen difference is Atlanta looks a lot cleaner on the show, than it feels in the book. This is probably because one of three “panels” of the tryptych is devoted to an ex-con who is living a gritty, film-noir existence upon his release from prison.

The clearest difference between the tv version, and the view, or views, of life we are offered in this first Will Trent story, is that in the book, most or all the humour is dark. Will Trent on tv has comic relief, and tension-relieving moments.

For me, it’s an interesting study in the demands placed on the creator, in order to tell a story that is digestible, in the chosen media. American prime time drama and thriller fiction seem to require different things.

Have you read the books, or are you learning about Will Trent from the tv series? Do you have a preference?

I am publishing my mystery, The Book of Answers on this Substack, in serial form. Each week, a new two-chapter installment goes live, and is in the archive to read. The next chunk, containing chapters 5 and 6 are formatted, and ready to go “live” in just a few days.

I am heartened, and excited to see how many are reading my book, which was nominated for a Crime Writers of Canada Award of Excellence, and choose to subscribe to reluctant sleuth. You can too! It’s free, but it’s also possible to become a paid subscriber. I’ve set my rates as low as Substack allows. It’s actually quite a lovely moment when I see I have a new paid subscriber.