Goodbye, Old Friend

Nobody died.  I was thinking about one of my favorite authors and how much I used to love his work. When I first discovered this writer, I went out and picked up all of his titles and pretty much devoured them. 

Last week I checked his most recent book out of the library. I read ten pages and had to put the book down. The description felt forced. The author was trying too hard. The relationship between the male and female leads consisted of little more than cutesy dialog.  I wondered what had happened to one of my favorite writers.

I'll give his next book a try.  But somewhere along the line things seem to have changed. This author's creepy, keep-you-up-all-night thrillers are a thing of the past. The latest book wasn't the same.  It was like seeing an old friend after a number of years and finding you've drifted apart. Anyone else experience this with an author?

On the flip side, are there any new authors you've read and are excited about? Someone whose work you just have to read?