If you don't like series you definitely wouldn't like Ellis Peters.
When a series writer does a standalone it is often very good compared to their series work. Maybe the thing you have identified about character development is an important factor in that. Also I think they often revel in the freshness and lifting of constraints brought about in a long series. Some examples that spring to my mind are Lindsey Davies - her standalones Rebels and Traitors and Master and God are very good. Also George Macdonald Fraser with things like The American and Black Ajax
Of course there are plenty of exceptions where the series allows the author to develop gradually and build up a much greater whole. I think Bernard Cornwell's Last Kingdom series is definitely an example of that. And his standalones tend to be mediocre.
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When a series writer does a standalone it is often very good compared to their series work. Maybe the thing you have identified about character development is an important factor in that. Also I think they often revel in the freshness and lifting of constraints brought about in a long series. Some examples that spring to my mind are Lindsey Davies - her standalones Rebels and Traitors and Master and God are very good. Also George Macdonald Fraser with things like The American and Black Ajax
Of course there are plenty of exceptions where the series allows the author to develop gradually and build up a much greater whole. I think Bernard Cornwell's Last Kingdom series is definitely an example of that. And his standalones tend to be mediocre.