Edited Out: A Mysterious Detective Mystery

Edited Out by E.J. Copperman is the second book in A Mysterious Detective Mystery series. Rachel Goldman lives in Adamstown, New Jersey and writes the Duffy Madison mystery series. She is working on her latest book, but she is having difficulties. Ever since meeting a man named Duffy Madison she keeps confusing her make-believe character with the real man. It is affecting her writing in a very negative way. Rachel has been avoiding Duffy’s calls for the last few months. Rachel’s assistant, Paula points that avoiding him may not be the best tactic. Rachel believes Duffy is really Damien Mosley who disappeared five years prior. It just so happens that Duffy appeared five years ago. He has no memory of his life before that time. Rachel calls Duffy and he shows up ready to explore Damien’s life. Another investigation was not what Rachel had in mind, but maybe she can prove to Duffy that she did not create him. Is she letting Duffy lead her into another dangerous situation? Is there a chance that Duffy was created from Rachel’s imagination? You need to read Edited Out to find out the answers! I had a difficult time reading Edited Out (I am surprised that I finished it). I thought the book to be slow paced and tedious. I had a hard time believing that a rational woman believes that a man sprang forth from her imagination. A Mysterious Detective Mystery series is not a paranormal series, so I did not understand this logic (am I overthinking it?). Edited Out is the second book in the series and, in this case, you really do need to read Written Off first. Otherwise, you will be utterly lost and confused. Edited Out is the written in the first person from Rachel’s point-of-view. Rachel’s character feels the need to explain Duffy’s thinking, lack of emotions, and actions as if the reader will not understand it from the reading the narrative (all throughout the book). Rachel seems to be surprised by Duffy’s actions, the way he talks, thinks, etc. Even though he is acting exactly how she wrote him (that would be a little freaky at first). I give Edited Out 2 out of 5 stars (I did not enjoy this one). I found many items to be repeated frequently throughout the book. I did not need to be told so many times that writer’s block was “not a thing”, that Rachel is not an investigator, why Duffy lacks emotion, and information about the Tappan Zee Bridge. At the end of the book, readers are still left wondering if Duffy is a real “human” or he sprang to life five years ago. Will this continue throughout the whole series? Will we get one new puzzle piece per book? I wish the author had made this a paranormal series. It would have been entertaining to read about a character that sprang to life based on an author’s books.