The trouble with reappearing heroes

I appreciate that I'm in a minority here, but I just don't get the appeal of the reappearing hero.

Nick Hornby, The Polysyllabic Spree

Nick Hornby certainly is in the minority. Most readers love reappearing heroes, which is why most publishers, before accepting a mystery novel from a new author, will ask if it is the first in a series. The smart writer will answer, "Yes, of course." Once readers acquire a taste for a new mystery novel , they want more of the same. More of the hero, more of the supporting characters and more of the same kind of story. Familiarity here brings not contempt but devotion.

Hercule Poirot as portrayed on television 

So what does Hornby have against Kay Scarpitta, James Bond, Hercule Poirot and Sherlock Holmes, the reappearing heroes he specifically mentions? "My problem is that, when I'm reading a novel, I have a need ... to believe that the events described therein are definitive, that they really matter to the character."

Regarding a Dennis Lehane novel, he writes, "I get the impression Kenzie and Gennaro would struggle to distinguish the psycho killer they're tracking down in Prayers for Rain from the psycho killers they've tracked down in other books."

Hornby wants to be able to believe what he is reading, at least while he is reading it. The more tough cases fictional heroes have, the more difficult it can be to believe any of them.

In real life, a police homicide detective may have one or two baffling, book-worthy cases in a lifetime. A private detective will have none, because private investigators just don't investigate murders. Amateurs who try to get involved in murder investigations are strongly discouraged by police. If Miss Marple were in  the vicinity of as many murders as she is in Agatha Christie's novels, the police would consider one Jane Marple their primary suspect.

Further, if fictional heroes really got into as many harrowing, life-or-death situations as are described in their books, their luck would certainly run out long before the 10th or 20th book. And most would have post-traumatic stress disorder. Instead they can often be found relaxing, casually jesting with associates, when the next harrowing adventure begins.

No, reappearing heroes are not exactly believable. But most of us love them anyway, don't we?