There are so many interesting ideas and plotlines floating around the Parish & Richards series but it seems like Tim Ellis hasn't actually decided what to do with some of them, nor where they will lead.
For example, the Ed Gorman sub-plot could well have begun in an earlier book and been expanded further/concluded in this one. On the other hand, the secret society/Parish's parents plot thread seems to be intended to draw the reader into the rest of the series, but the lack of any real exposition over the space of the last three books means the storyline is losing its interest.
I actually quite liked the major plot of this book, but there were times when it felt like a re-hashing of some of the previous books in the series, which can be disappointing. It feels as though Tim Ellis has some great ideas but is either trying too hard to get them into too small a word-count or he's trying to write too many books too quickly. I don't buy these books wanting vast great works of literature & I generally know what I'm getting, but when a plot has so many similar characteristics to previous volume in a series, it feels a bit like a cop-out.
The author has, it seems, paid attention to the reviewers who pointed out that the "Sirrrs" from Richards were getting rather irritating and these have been reduced, making Richards seem at least a little bit more of a grown-up. Most of the characters though, even Jed Parish himself, need fleshing out further.
On Kindle formatting - the excessive italics and capitals seem to have calmed down a bit, although I would still argue that most of them are not necessary at all.
