Books like First Frost

As always the death of an author is a sad event, doubly so when they are the author of a series of novels with a beloved charater. It must be my age but i have lost a number of authors over the last few years. RIP David Gemmell, Robert Jordan & Robert B. Parker to name a few. My relationship with R.D. Wingfield is slightly different in that i didn't really discover his books until after his death. The only disappointment I have had with them is coming to the realisation of how few Frost books were actually written.It's always problematical, especialy mid series or where there is clear space to expand on what was written, to decide if it is better for someone to attempt to continue/ finish what the author started or just leave the work unfinished but untarnished. The suspicion always comes to mind that it is simply plundering the legacy left by the author. It's worked with Stella Gemmell finishing the Troy series and Brandon Sanderson is doing a great job of finishing the epic Wheel of Time series. I have my fingers crossed that Parker's Jesse Stone will be treated as well.In this instance i would say that 'First Frost' is certainly more hit than miss. I think it was a sensible choice to go with Frosts early career. As such they get away from direct comparisons and avoid many possible continuity issues. What we do get is a softer version of Frost. Now there could be two explanations for this. The authors could have taken into account that Frost has not yet been through the events (the death of his wife, the shooting and the award of his George Cross) which have will shape him into the character in Wingfield books. Being less charitable you could say that they have chosen to model the Frost character after the TV version (which i love) but has many of his rough edges smoothed off. A couple of other characters (Mullet in particular) don't ring completely true either, though only by small margins. I guess only time will tell.That leaves the plot and the quality of the writing. Wingfield is a difficult act to follow. His approach to writing gave his complex plots a rather unique narrative style. I said his plots were complex, his crimes and the lives of the criminals and the police so complex and interwoven, but his writing was so good that he did that so easily. It certainly made reading them an easy but engrossing experience. His sense of time and place (especially the weather) was also something that added great texture to his work. Well the authors (because there are two) manage to replicate his style and narrative structure really well but it doesn't seem quite as effortless as when he did it.As I said, there is more good than bad. This is an enjoyable read, well written, almost on the nail but showing great promise that there is a future for one of my favourite literary creations.