Everyone has a certain storyline that is difficult for them to read. For me, it is stories about the death of young children. Once I became a mother, I could no longer accept such a thing as just part of the plot. So here is fair warning: if you have trouble with that sort of story, too, then you may want to turn away from this book.

It took a long time for this book to grab me, but I can't fault the writing. Cook's descriptions of George's anguish over the loss of his son were so vivid that I felt a tightening in my chest as I was reading. I pushed through, hoping that I would be rewarded with a satisfactory ending, but what I got reminded me of the endings of old-time radio shows like "The Shadow". I normally enjoy a good melodrama, but it didn't quite fit with the melancholy tone of the majority of the book.