There's a lot I like about this book. The characterisation of the main team is spot-on, the jokes mostly land, the plot is fast-paced and generally interesting.

There's also a lot I feel falls flat, and some things I actively dislike. I don't think those things overshadow the good parts, but they definitely make this novel less good than it could have been.

Starting with the elephant in the room: James. The way he's introduced made me think he might have actually been introduced in the previous book, which I had skipped, but that isn't something that is usually done with tie-in novels, so I knew it had to be an Adam situation. Unfortunately, that means I was comparing it to an infinitely superior story, which didn't do this book any favours. I don't hate James. I think he's a generally fun and enjoyable character. I don't think he really fits with Torchwood, however. He's a bit too...normal, for lack of a better word. Plain, maybe. The average protagonist, which works for getting the reader to like him, but doesn't really work to entrench him in the story, at least for me.

I'm not big on Gwen in this. While the other characters mostly get good moments that fit with the way they are in the main show, Gwen just gets a rehash of her cheating arc. It is done better here than in the show, but I really wish they didn't make her a serial cheater; I just don't think it works with her character, and it reeks of misogyny. They could have done literally anything else with her.

Then there's the plot. I really like the concept of the salesman; that kind of low-stakes story is one Torchwood does really well. I also liked the giant robot and Taff Jones; it had a lot of heart, made me feel things (I'm so glad the cat was okay), and the action scenes were expertly done. But both of those in the same book, neither of which contributed to the main plot? And what was with the house, and the Amok, and the weird bit of time travel? It was all enjoyable enough while I was reading, but once I reached the end of the book and all those threads were left dangling, I was just left disappointed. A single book doesn't have the right format to mimic multiple episodes of a show, which I feel is what was attempted here.

The ending, in general, was a bit lackluster. It was all over very quickly, with what I felt was a pretty poor explanation, and basically no time to marinate in it. Maybe one of those random side-quests could have been cut to give the main story a bit more time to breathe.