Books like The Best Laid Plans

I'm a Sheldon fan. His books usually make quick reading and are entertaining. He is not one for deep, haunting tales but it snags me everytime the way he can spin almost any story and make me stay up reading it. However, for this one, he seems to have lost quite a bit of his spinning abilities.There was the usual twist where things don't end up how you would expect. I was mildly surprised with this one but the problem was, it wasn't an "Ah! I've figured it out" moment. I was more like, "are you seriously expecting me to accept this?" It felt like he had cheated me with this story. He spent a lot of space giving background information on minor characters and it seemed like he was just filling up space. Then at the end he gives some hastily compiled explanation for a character that was actually very central to the story. It just wasn't acceptable.Now, for the third missing star. Dana. I was given the impression that Leslie was basically the female protagonist here, and Sheldon continues to give this impression by following her story. Then suddenly, he abandons her personal issues and we start seeing her through strangers' eyes, effectively alienating the us. As a reader I had invested a lot in her lifestory and I hated to be cut off like that. Then as if to pacify the reader, he tries to slip in tidbits about Dana, to substitute one herione for another. Frankly, it didn't work. Dana was just not as interesting. And he didn't give enough information to make me care. So I was left with two semi-protagonists I didn't care much about. And no other likable character that I really cared about either.The end just worsened everything. He could at least have devoted a good segment to how Leslie ended up but she was just glossed over. So why the two stars? One for coming up with a storyline that helped me through one more sleepless night.The other star? Well, as I said before, I am a Sheldon fan.