The Boy Who Followed Ripley

Much like Ripley #2 and #3, The Boy Who Followed Ripley pales in comparison to the original. Unfortunately, it also pales in comparison to the second and third. While those were decent mystery stories in their own right, The Boy Who Followed Ripley is tedious at times, cartoonish in others, and the character of Tom feels stale and lacking dimension. Tom is unusually trusting, stupid, and both feeling and unfeeling in bizarre situations. The ending felt thoughtless, and I was frustrated the untapped potential that the plot had. I'll be finishing the fifth book since I've made it this far, but I don't feel too optimistic about it.