in real life mysteries are often not resolved and we never know who did what. These books might as well be shipped out from the printer with LOSER stamped across the cover. They are guaranteed to disappoint. They are not nearly as clever or sophisticated as they think (which do you think is harder—bringing a story to a satisfying conclusion or leaving all the threads dangling?). And worse, they are founded on a mistaken premise—the idea that novels are supposed to be like real life.
