Title: Mystified
Product review: Strengths: This mystery gets better as it goes along, rather than losing steam as so many seem to do. The last third is very good. The basic premise is excellent.Weaknesses: Too much indifferent dialog, especially in the first two thirds; too much dialog replacing action. Not that much happens in the first two thirds.Question: Why? Why the runaway success? This is no better than many other first rate mysteries. An unheard of book (by comparison) is Robert Goddard's "Days Without Number" ... yet the same genre and in my opinion just as strong. So why the huge success for "Code" while so many others (in the same genre, even) are neglected? I have to believe it has nothing to do with talent, everything to do with marketing and media hype.Having said, if Brown's intent was to master the formula in such a way as to have a tearaway bestseller success, he certainly pulled that off.Entertaining -- and way over-hyped.
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