Oh wow... what a powerful story. I'll list this book as 'true crime' because I don't doubt that stories like this are taking place all over the US (and the rest of the world probably too) every day.

This whole book just spoke to me, for some reason. Perhaps because I can understand the main character, Catherine, and thus can identify with her plight. Still, I feel like I can identify a tad with at least all of the characters.

The plot was very riveting (I read this book pretty quickly) and the characters were all believable and flawed and terrible in their own way. The writing was amazing: the first half of the book I had no idea what to think of anyone, since new information came to light in each chapter which contradicted that which we'd learned before. In that way it really matched to reality, since when do we ever know the 'true story'?

My thoughts about the ending: (view spoiler)[I am glad that this book had a happy ending (in a way). I don't think I could have stood it if the bad guys had won more than they already achieved. Also, the whole incest thing was just disturbing. I suppose I could understand why Maryanne and James did it (I have read most of Middlesex after all) and yet they are still despicable for trying so hard to cover it up. Selfish people are the worst. (hide spoiler)]

All in all, it was a good book. Not all that much along the lines of deeper thought, but I could see this novel being turned into a movie. It'd probably have a similar feeling to A Perfect Murder.