Unlike the second book, which you could pick up without having read the first, I would not read this one unless you've read at least the second book. This is the culmination of the story; mysteries are revealed, threads are wrapped up, lives are changed. I found the ending to be fitting for the series; it did not leave me wanting more, but it did leave me thinking that had the author lived, there might have been more stories to come in the future. Perhaps none quite so dark as what this series was about, though.