He assesses the capacity of small coalition parties, parliamentary support parties, and outright opposition parties to exert influence once governments have been formed. He describes changes in the composition and role of select committees, and sets this against an intelligent and subtle account of the role of select committees before the adoption of MMP. He subjects the committeeof-the-whole-house stage of a bill's passage to similar consideration, and reaches the surprising finding that, while select committee deliberations have slowed down, those of committees of the whole house have sped up. In terms of evidence, Malone addresses these issues through a varying mix of quantitative data, qualitative overviews, and in-depth case studies of particular bills.But questions inevitably remain. Some relate to evidence. The impact of legislatures is notoriously difficult to measure. Malone's mixed-methods strategy is undoubtedly the best available, but some points remain contestable. For example, while Malone argues that a fall in the number of bills passed indicates that MMP has slowed the legislative process, his dismissal of McGee's evidence that the volume of legislation in terms of pages has increased does not wholly convince: surely both of these measures carry information. Furthermore, as Malone acknowledges, though more than ten years have now passed since the first MMP election, that time remains too short for anything approaching a complete assessment of its effects to be made: the sample of governments under MMP remains small, and opportunities to observe gradual adjustment over time remain limited. Other questions relate to theoretical propositions. Perhaps my one significant regret with this book is that it does not engage more with the comparative literature, particularly on coalition formation and operation. Malone offers valuable discussion of factors that may shape, for example, the power of small coalition parties -including their size, their polling figures, whether they have sole veto power, and the issues in question. But greater ballast could be added to this analysis by linking it to the findings of comparative research.Many of these lacunae are, however, inevitable, and point merely to the need for ongoing research. Malone's is indeed a valuable contribution. Furthermore, it is very well written. With the added bonus of two excellent background chapters, it will be accessible to students and curious lay readers, as well as providing much material for specialist researchers.