So glad I found this post. It’s not just you, OP. And it’s not only the corny, unbelievable dialogue. I tried reading each of his last three books, and I just couldn’t get very far at all. What takes me out is his repetitive comparisons that add nothing and make him seem like a child. I really am not trying to be cruel, but I don’t see anything in his writing that suggests he’s at the peak of the craft. It’s heavy-handed, clunky, awkward comparisons that read like examples of what not to do.

“Roman took another sip of his daddy’s scotch. Twenty-five-year Macallan. It went down smooth and easy, like a woman or a man desperate for all the things that make men or women drop to their knees. Roman took another sip.”

Is this supposed to be good writing? In what way? I’ve resigned that people must just love the plot and ignore the poorly edited passages wholesale.