Trust issues

I’ve become increasingly disinclined to read or finish books that treat me like an imbecile. There are a lot of books where the author and or characters are hiding things from the reader. The characters continually hint at big things while ‘shaking their heads’ and saying ‘but I couldn’t think of that now.”

I’m not saying that a book has to lay all their cards on the table at once. And revealing things at the right pacing is a must, but I don’t want to be spoon fed fluff while having the author dribble hints that something is very wrong. Especially if this happens over several hundred pages. First, whatever they’re ‘hiding’ is usually pretty easy to figure out so finally revealing it isn’t as big a deal as the author wants. Also, I want the whole book to feel like I’m exploring and learning about the characters and setting. I don’t want to be told, not yet, I can’t tell you yet, You’re not ready, while I read. It makes me feel like a five year old whose mother won’t let them do anything.

Reveal things as they are needed for the story. Don't have your characters keep things from the reader. Then, come up with alternate ways to increase tension. Because using the same tired piece of information to try and draw out the excitement through the whole book doesn’t work. All it does is makes the reader annoyed and causes them to look somewhere else for satisfaction.

Have you read books that treat you like an idiot? What did they do that made you feel that way?