Zero Zero Start by C.S. Singer

 Len bought me this book online as a surprise. It was advertised as a pickleball mystery, which he thought would be right up my alley! When I looked at it, though, I was a little suspicious because it was one of those self-published books. But, I thought, why not give it a try? After all, it was a very thoughtful gift. 

I read the first page and realized it was substandard writing. Very simple sentences with nothing imaginative right out of the gate. So I put it aside. Then when he noticed I hadn't read it, I decided to give it another try. I took it on our trip to Laramie for Don Polson's funeral. After all, we would have a lot of time on airplanes and in airports, and it might be fun.

WRONG. It started out simply, with some adequate descriptions of people playing pickleball and those parts were real and accurate. But the characters and the plot were totally lacking. Lots of pointless descriptions of clothes and junior-high relationships. The more I read it, the more I thought I should toss it in the trash. And then the language got obscene and the characters more inane, but I soldiered on! 

When we left the Laramie airport, I tossed it in the trash. There was a bookshelf of free books that I could have donated it to, but it was so bad, I didn't want to waste anyone else's time! It's too bad because a mystery among a group of pickleball players could be a fun premise. This one isn't it.