The "glue" in a story can be a place; in an Agatha Christie mystery, often, a set of characters in one house dances through various complications, until a climax is reached. "The White Lotus" is also about a setting; without a fancy resort, the people we meet would never have any reason to speak to one another. Another kind of story, a Bildungsroman , follows a character through multiple journeys. We're not just at a hotel. We might bounce from country to country. The "glue" is the central character, not the place. That's "Baby Reindeer"--a Dickensian tale, a spin on "Oliver Twist." The central figure, Donny, starts his odyssey with the mother of his ex-girlfriend. The mother has boundary issues, so she allows Donny to be a boarder; she dresses him in the clothing of her own dead son. In turn, Donny shares nothing about his private life, and, in fact, he endangers the person who is being so (apparently) generous to him. This i...