My reason for giving this a 3 and not a 4 is kind of stupid: there was some cat abuse involved. I don't want to give anything away, but when you mess with a cat...

This was definitely a "thriller" type mystery, with danger lurking and the suspense level ratcheted up. I think that because I lived in NYC for so long the explanations and references bothered me (I know what DUMBO means; had brunch there just last weekend even), but were I not so savvy, perhaps they'd have added to the story. I didn't get why the birthmark was such a big deal - it actually felt extraneous and could have been edited out. As for the plot, it was a little far-fetched but aren't these thrillers always?

ARC provided by publisher.