Ending a Trilogy

 by James M. Jackson

While searching for an agent for Niki Undercover, I had to provide summary plots for the second and third books. The second book, NikiUnleashed, was easy; I was already working on its third draft. The request occurred during Biden’s third year of presidency, and I decided Niki would fight against a conspiracy to install a new president by decapitating much of the line of succession.

Then Trump won the election and began reshaping the executive branch. Prior to the October 2025 start of my story, DOGE employed its flamethrower approach to firing “excess” employees, the President dismissed well-respected military officers, and the FBI terminated agents tied to the January 6th investigations. I could either use a fictional President X or incorporate the real one into the story.

Because those events directly affected Niki’s world, using a fictional presidency felt wrong. I won't include spoilers here, but I'll say this: unlike the typical thriller "ripped from today's headlines," this year I've frequently found myself reading headlines ripped from my story.

That wasn’t what made this novel my most difficult to write.

Even though I had a plot outline this time, I have a pantser’s brain. That became clear during the first draft of Niki Unbound as I addressed the emotional aspects of the story. I realized my subconscious had known all along that I was writing a trilogy. It had planted seeds in book one, nurtured them in book two, and book three featured the reaping. Understanding that this book had to fulfill the emotional promise introduced pressures I had never experienced as an author.

The emotional arc of a series tracks a character’s deep psychological growth in multi-layered stages rather than in one book. Series allow characters to keep growing, healing, or tragically falling short of their promise. With a living series, it’s incremental and never complete.

Not so in a trilogy. The closing of the third novel must leave readers believing that the author has fulfilled the emotional promises made in book one. Readers may prefer a different ending but accept that the one they read is fully justified. And best of all is if they are a bit sorry their time with the main characters has come to (at least for now) an end.

Early Bookbub reviews captured what I hoped:

“I really didn't see the end coming. I know this is the end of the trilogy of Niki but, I sure am hoping there will be more to the story!”

and

“I am so sad that this is the last book in the Niki Trilogy but am hopeful that she may make appearances in future Seamus books. Fingers crossed!”

Writers, how have you faced the challenges of completing a series? Readers, what’s your reaction when a beloved series ends?

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James M. Jackson writes justice-driven thrillers with brains and bite, including the Niki Undercover Thriller trilogy and the Seamus McCree series. To learn more information about Jim and his books, check out his website, https://jamesmjackson.com. You can sign up for his newsletter (and get to two free short stories featuring his protagonists).