Title: Not up to the usual standard
Review: I'm a huge fan of the Mrs. Murphy series; they're my favourites of all the cat/crime genre. Unfortunately, the latest volume doesn't come up to the standard set forth in the series so far. It reads like a rough draft turned in under a deadline. While the actual premise is interesting enough, it's both unoriginal and so far-fetched that it's hard for this ordinary person to care about it. The writing is wooden and stilted, more a recitation of events than a good story. The new characters are lifeless -- not even a budding romance has any real zing -- and the old characters are predictable. Nothing new is happening in the town of Crozet; let's eat some orange glazed cinnamon buns. Even the animals can't really save this one; they talk a lot but don't really contribute much. A fan of the series will want to read _Catch as Cat Can_, but get it out of the library.
Is this product review negative?