Judging nonfiction by fiction?

I’m listening to a true crime novel about a serial rapist, and it’s such a disappointment. I really wanted to love it when I read the blurb, but it’s stuffed full of pointless backstory right down to the history of the first female cop in one of the departments working the case. And to make it worse, it’s poorly organized. You know what I keep thinking as I slog through this thing? The author needs to read J.D. Robb’s IN DEATH series to learn how to organize a true crime story.

Umm…J.D. Robb writes fiction not true crime! I know that, of course. Yet, I can’t help myself, the J.D. Robb crime solving is tight, focused and chronological with just enough backstory that we understand the character, science (even if it’s made up, it’s still consistent and understandable) and motivations.

I know I shouldn’t judge a non-fiction by fiction, but it’s where my brain goes every time I listen to the book. Anyone else ever do this?