Series mysteries - like them? Or hate them?

Well, I'm disappointed. Here's what happened.

I found out that Linda Fairstein had published another book, number 14, in her popular Alex Cooper series. I ran to the library and put my name on the waiting list. Oh, the excitement! I've read all of the books in her series, and while I thought some were better than others, I generally liked them all.

I only had to wait a few days when I got an email notice that the book, Night Watch was waiting for me at the library. The instant I got home, I started reading the book. What a disappointment! Alex is in France visiting her lover, Luc. The beginning just did not grab me. Yes, there's a dead body but....I never really got excited about it. There is a lot of talk about food, restaurants, eating, more food....blah, blah, blah. Dare I say it? The book was boring. I only read about 40 pages and stopped.

The main reason I've loved Fairstein's novels is the interaction among Alex, Mike and Mercer. Now I'm sure they all get together later in the book, but I was not sufficiently interested to continue on and find out. Another thing Fairstein does is take one aspect of New York City and weave it into the novel. You can tell she's done a lot of research and I really enjoy that aspect.

Sadly I'll be returning Night Watch to the library, unread. I see this all too often in series books - the author runs out of ideas, steam, energy or something. I used to LOVE the Stephanie Plumb books by Janet Evanovich but the last three or four have been terrible. I no longer bother to read them.

So, what do you think about series books? I really want to know, because I have the first book in a series coming out in February, 2013! It's called, Not for Sale and I'll tell you more about it closer to the publication date.

So, leave a comment - let's chat.