A Simpler Way of Writing?

Do I need to post a spoiler alert?

The Read:  Took to my to-read pile after devouring Brigg's Bone Crossed, and Charlaine Harris' Sweet and Deadly was on top.  A nice quick read which I finished yesterday before I watched Witchblade DVDs until after midnight.  (Nice action, and some character development)

Sweet is a linear mystery in which there isn't so much as a villain as a scared antagonist who doesn't want his disease to be known.  -- Which brings up the silly ways the human mind works.  Personally, I can't see why anyone would kill four people to hide the fact of leprosy.  There comes a time when you can't hide it.  Or, is it possible that "southern" brains work differently than others?

The book, a re-printing of a 1981 book (perhaps Harris' first published), was like reading a time capsule taking you to a mindset where commercial fiction was simpler in its construction.  At least from what I've been reading, the times did change with more complex plots.  Sweet's only subplot was the romance with the MC's boss, again almost a no-no now days.  Most of what I've been reading seem to have more than one problem to solve or develop more complex characters.  

Makes me wonder where I sit with my linear story lines.

Progress:  Emma.  Two rejections down.  Still, a couple out.  I'm switching Maren to one critique partner.  My local critiquers will still get Emma until the end.  They keep coming up with ways to improve it -- slightly.  What they are saying is more like editing.  Example:  putting more tags in the dialog sessions with five people so it's easier to follow.

Maren.  I think I'll start writing in earnest on Monday instead of the beginning of March.  The itch is getting to intense.  Oh, I'm starting in the mage-world before she lands in ours.

Demons/Britt/Gargoyles.  It's out there in limbo, but it's too soon to send a status query.

Trivia:  Enjoyed the illusion I was reducing my to-read pile when I trotted 3+feet of books to my favorite trading places.  My self-satisfaction lasted until I returned with another foot of books to read -- Simon R. Green's Hawk and somebody series.  The complete set (but I won't bore you with the complete series).  --  At least the coffee was good, and the water filter on the sink no longer leaks.