A well written story that deals wonderfully with Nick and Judy deepening their relationship and also nicely covers their work on case together. For me the first 3/4th of the story was an entertaining read. Unfortunately in the last few chapters once the case had been solved it shifts to the social message exposed by the case of "right to refuse" and becomes a bit heavy handed. Nick and Judy become involved in that movement essentially becoming spokesmammals which I didn't find as interesting. The author includes an epilogue that takes their involvement to its logical conclusions but it left me feeling incredibly sad for Judy as a result. She was the idealistic one who wanted to make the world a better place but it turns out that Nick is the one who does the heavy lifting in bringing about social change. In the process he leaves the ZPD so he and Judy are no longer partners and they end up spending the latter half of their careers not spending as much time together up until Judy finally retires. Ultimately it was nicely crafted story and I'm glad I read it but the charm of them as a couple fades into the background towards the end as the social message takes the foreground.
Great beginning, less satisfying ending.
A well written story that deals wonderfully with Nick and Judy deepening their relationship and also nicely covers their work on case together. For me the first 3/4th of the story was an entertaining read. Unfortunately in the last few chapters once the case had been solved it shifts to the social message exposed by the case of "right to refuse" and becomes a bit heavy handed. Nick and Judy become involved in that movement essentially becoming spokesmammals which I didn't find as interesting. The author includes an epilogue that takes their involvement to its logical conclusions but it left me feeling incredibly sad for Judy as a result. She was the idealistic one who wanted to make the world a better place but it turns out that Nick is the one who does the heavy lifting in bringing about social change. In the process he leaves the ZPD so he and Judy are no longer partners and they end up spending the latter half of their careers not spending as much time together up until Judy finally retires. Ultimately it was nicely crafted story and I'm glad I read it but the charm of them as a couple fades into the background towards the end as the social message takes the foreground.