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Well, that was something. I’m struggling to put my thoughts together in a concise way to best describe my reactions. This may be stream of consciousness��.

It’s very literary, style-wise. As in, I’d be reading along and then be like, “Wait. What?�� Then I’d reread and conclude that he’s not fully explaining what’s happening but purposely being obtuse to build suspense. Sometimes I loved that style and sometimes I got annoyed and confused, thinking I wasn’t smart enough to grasp certain meanings. And it’s a LONG time (near the end) when things become clear.

It’s a fast read, especially at the beginning and end, but the middle gets slow in terms of plot. But still, a fast read. The chapters and paragraphs are short which tends to make one want to keep reading. It’s a technique that works well for thrillers and worked for this book, which is actually a potpourri of genres: lit fic, thriller, crime fiction/mystery, character study, epic (over 25 years). Oh, and borderline magical realism.

I wanted to pick it up all the time and see where the heck it was leading.

I loved the characters.

It’s a completely unique plot that has surprising twists and reveals. The way things wrap up at the end is superbly satisfying.

For someone who lives in Missouri, the setting of the Missouri Ozarks did not ring true for me. He took huge liberties with our “mountains�� that sounded more Rockies than Ozarks. Also - Kansas City is primarily in Missouri, not Kansas��.a common misconception for non-natives. I understand creating fictional town names, rivers, etc, but errors with the big stuff irritates me when it’s my home setting. So that took me out of the story sometimes.

4.5 stars rounded down for the things that distracted me from the overall story.