These books are remarkably Fine to me. They're quick books to read but lack any genuine substance. It skirts around any sort of depth by playing every character and situation off as a gimmick.

I'm not too proud to admit that I chose to read this book pretty much exclusively because the main character's name was a reference to Hamlet. And you know what? It was a quick, funny mystery that made just enough references to the classic play (and reminded me of Benjamin from The King of Infinite Space, although I think that was unintentional) to keep me satisfied. It's not a perfect book: far from it, actually. But it was decidedly good enough, and I had fun reading it.