" The book starts off well enough with an atmospheric family portrait enduring a palpable heat wave so I thought I was in for a good read. However, after the detailed beginning, I felt like the author took the story away from me by focusing too much on the PI's personal problems/opinions/etc (which he doesn't resolve cuz he's got troubles you know) rather than on his solving of the crimes themselves (which putter along like afterthoughts until they are suddenly wrapped up at the end.) The author had too much going on, not always in the same time frame & even the strength of her character depiction suffered under the divisive narrative. I was about 2/3 thru before I realized how annoyed I was and I finished only for the sake of Olivia's story. It really deserves more like a 2.5 cuz it's not awful, just not nearly as good as it could have been. Atkinson gets a lot of press as a "literary crime writer" but I am underwhelmed. OK, rant over. "
— Marcy, 1/17/2014