Well, I was an adult when the books started coming out, and never even heard of them till now, but I found the series very entertaining and binge-worthy. I definitely wouldn't class this as a "teen" drama/thriller, and those who can compare it to the books generally agree the series is darker than the source material. Besides the fact that Alex is a bit older than the 14yo of the novels, you know from the first scene they aren't going to be shying away from death, and there is plenty of that in this first season. While the storylines in the books are apparently very fast-paced, I wouldn't call this drawn-out, and rather than relying on the dizzying array of gadgets his counterpart uses, this Alex is just a very bright kid with some mad skills. So if you're after some enjoyable escapism with mystery and action, ignore the opinions/reviews of the easily-bored and glass-half-empty mob (you can't be a "critic" these days without criticising the hell out of everything, apparently), and give this a go!