I'm not a mystery reader, and this isn't your typical mystery book. It's truly a literary mystery, full of well-drawn and sympathetic characters with great back-stories. This was recommended to me by another non-mystery reader, and I'm so glad I took the time to read it.

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My husband & I really enjoyed this book! Three cases, different time periods, seeminly unconnected, all come together by the end. Great character portrayals, veryi interesting style!

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I really enjoyed this book. The plot, involving three separate unsolved mysteries, was wonderful and I love the way that the author was able to tie them together. Can't wait to read more from her!

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Trying to characterize this book as a mystery or a family saga or simply as literature is like trying to herd cats. Don't waste your time - just pick up the book and start reading. Atkinson takes some seeminly unrelated case histories and manages to tie them together.

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I tried to read it. I even read it twice but, I couldn't get into it. Just kept going into to much boring detail.

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I liked this a lot. Unique story, decent character development, very interesting the way individual stories get woven together.

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Well constructed, intriguing, but ultimately depressing.

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This book begins with a very intriguing idea - three seemingly unrelated storylines, each with its own central mystery - but relies on unlikely twists to bring them together. The ultimate conclusion was unconvincing and not particularly satisfying, a shame because I really enjoyed the first 80% of the novel.

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Very interesting read with well developed characters. You won't want to put the book down as you are carried along trying to uncover the connection between the cases and the mysteries associated with each case are solved in surprising ways.

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I liked this book for the most part, but think it tried to tie too many things together. The detective character gets involved with a family that had a child disappear, an unsolved murder in an office, and an ax murderer. He also has ongoing cases tracking a suspected adulterer and trying to determine if an old lady's cats are really disappearing. And he's dealing with his daughter, ex-wife, etc., etc. It kept my interest, but I had to write out a 'cheat sheet' to keep all the characters straight. Enjoyed the British descriptions and humor.

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A promising book with a weak and implausible resolution. If you are going to pull your readers along, then don't insult them with a "What the hey?" answer to Whodunit.

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Great storyteller! this book i could not put down! fantastic mysteries in one great narrative.

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