The downer ending
I love Miami Vice. I love it so much. My fandom for Miami Vice is so ingrained that when Make Them Sorry was released, they put “for fans of Miami Vice” on the cover. Yes, I’m devoted.
There are many reasons to love the show, even the profoundly flawed fifth season, but it’s the endings for me. As I’ve written my share of bummer books, I came to refer to my preferred resolution as “a Miami Vice ending.” So when my wife gets a manuscript to read, her first question is, “Does this have a Miami Vice ending?”
Yes. Yes, it does.
My Camaro Espinoza novels are, surprisingly considering the blurb referenced above, my attempt to get away from Miami Vice Endings and write uplifting stuff. While the books might be dark, they always end with the good guys prevailing. After the consistent gloom of my Mexico books, that was damn refreshing, let me tell you.
With Camaro exiting the picture after thirteen years with the release of Far From Home, the Miami Vice Ending has returned in my recent work. Anyone who’s seen the climax of “Little Miss Dangerous” (SPOILERS) knows the power of these endings, and I can’t stay away. I don’t think there’s anything especially deep about them, but I like to leave readers with an impression, and one way to do that is to crush them in the final pages.
Sorry about that, everybody. Forgive me?