Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I'd like to like these stories, really. The first book was really enjoyable, and made me want more. There were some issues with the writing, and with sloppy editing, but the story was unusual, and the main characters interesting. In the second volume, I began to be frustrated with the lack of character development, as well as with details which were simply wrong. The author writes as though American, but clearly is not. He has researched well for the locales he uses, but the prose is littered with idioms which come from the British Commonwealth, and make his New York detective ring false. Also, Banner does a poor job of developing Stone's partner, who is, in all, more interesting than Detective Stone. In volumes three and four, my earlier issue were not reduced, and if anything, the idiomatic failings became more pronounced, as did the very sloppy editing. Pray instead of prey, hassock for cassock, and various other repeated errors began to be very distracting. To be fair, a high percentage of Kindle books contain evidence of poor or absent editing and proofreading, but that is nothing to celebrate. However, in these latter volumes, what really grates is cultural stereotyping which is both offensive and cliched. I'm not, by any means, a fan of political correctness, but this is less a matter of plot and character than of cheap shots at ethnic stereotypes, and can hardly be considered entertaining. Finally, the author paints himself into a corner with the complexity of the plots. Each volume is more incredible than the last, until by volume four, the level of implausibility is ridiculous.