^ Looking forward to your opinion, because I've been sort of wondering about an author's take on them. I read them and enjoyed them, mystery not being a genre I peruse with any frequence, but even though I did, it wasn't hard to tell they were written by an amateur author - what with the male protagonist being a very obvious author insert, the plot relying on some extreme coincidences, and so on. I have a suspicion that an author might have a harder time forgiving those flaws because they're such no-no-don't-do-that things to the profession.