I would appear that nobody has come across one of the Columbo novels that captures the true Columbo . . . or are have any been published that haven't been dissed? I've browsed through a couple of the Harrington novels, didn't find them engaging and put them back on the shelf. Are there one or two anybody would recommend?
In my opinion, the only Columbo books, worthy of the title, are the Popular Library series of novelizations/original stories released during the original 70's run of the show.