This book was much sadder than I expected; some of the characters were achingly sad. I liked the way the author tied things together between the cases through the detective and proximity. I also thought the writing was quite lovely. Kate Atkinson will be going on my list of authors to read more of her books. It was a good mystery and she gave enough clues that I was able to feel proud of myself for figuring some things out before she fully revealed them. It's always wise for an author to make her readers feel clever.