I thought this was a well paced, wittily written mystery, as was the first book.
For people who are looking for an episode of the the TV series ..Show More »in which the supposed author is a character, you have missed the point. This is a story with it's own characters. Yes, you can see similarities, but they aren't supposed to be the same!
A fun read, a fun listen. If you like the show, you will find a few in jokes as well.

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I liked this book - a lot. It is intended to be much like the TV series, and it is. If you like the TV series, you will probably like the books. A ..Show More »previous reviewer said it is ???fast-paced, cute, and cliched.??? He is correct; it is. He meant it in a bad way, but I mean it in a good way. I don???t think that being fast-paced or cute needs to be apologized for. If you don???t like fast-paced and cute, fine. I realize that tastes differ.

But let???s talk about his last criticism: cliched. That is always meant negatively, but the reviewer fails to acknowledge that the vast majority of genre fiction is cliched. The romance and crime fiction genres have the strictist plot constraints and therefore most frequently fall into cliche, but even the science fiction, fantasy, and literary genres have their cliches. It is true that the very best books in any genre transcend cliche, but the vast majority do not. Generally, it is not a question of whether a book is cliched but whether it does a good job within it???s genre or sub-genre. I think this book does a good job within its sub-genre.

I think that the reviewer who complained that this book was too cute and cliched perfers the sub-genre of crime fiction which is darker and meaner. He was looking for Noir and this wasn???t it.

I wish I knew who was really writing these books, because if I knew, I would go out and buy his other stuff.

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This is the first collection of fiction books, that I checked daily after the listed release date to purchase. the next book of the series. I am an av..Show More »id reader/listener of both fiction and nonfiction books.and consume nonfiction books primarily. Once I purchase the first book of this collection; I was hooked and quickly listened to the other three books released to date. I struggled to leave the book once started, as I became more and more engrossed in the story. I have read mystery books for over 50 years, and this is first collection of books in many years that surprised me in the end. I can say I never foresaw the ending in any of these 4 books. For all of the snobs out there I will admit I am also a fan of the Television series and I found that the knowledge of that series helpful in understanding some of the happenings of the books. I read/listen to nonfiction books to enhance my knowledge of a subject and fiction books for pure entertainment. This collection of books fulfilled that purpose. I recommend this book for fans and nonfans of the "Castle" TV series.

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