Review question & ethics

I'm offering this to the board for some advice. In my reviews queue I have been sent four books on the same topic.

Two of them are extremely similar.
- The author name is changed slightly (one uses initials)
- The content is virtually the same (cosmetic changes with text sections in a different order)
- The editor is the same

Blurb and title are, again, virtually the same, but the covers are slightly different. I'm not sure if this is PLR or Plagarism, or how to review them. I am considering give both the same review, linking to the other book and describing simularities.

I could take the high road and not review it, but we are a reading group, and readers should be warned about this so they know before they spend money on the same content twice.

 

Well, that is a tough one indeed.

The usual limit for copyright violation is 10%, I believe, so if the works have more content alike than that limit then it would strongly suggest that one book is a copy of the other.

Is it possible that one book is an edit and reprint of the other where they have tried to repackage it under a different name and cover to see if it will be more likely to sell to readers? That may be likely if they have come from the same publisher.

Short of doing the extra detective work to find out, I'd be wary of doing the review. The alternative is perhaps, not to review the books, but to review the fact that they are so similar and so caveat emptor.

 

Putting a review under both noting the simularities is what I was considering.

I have already had to ask Wanda to contact another author to clear up possible copyright issues, so 2016 is getting off to a such a good start.

 

Meh. Just delete the book. Easy fix.

 

If they are both PLR, you know they'll be bad. You can write one review slating both of them at the same time and save yourself some energy.

 

Same content, same review? Seems kinda fair

 

Just skip it. You know, any attention is good publicity.

 

So did you come to a decision then?

Enquiring minds would like to know.