This book was definitely more engaging than I had anticipated; however, more gruesome than I thought. There was a lot going on in this book with many different layers with many different characters all with their own issues. I knew that the killer was introduced right from the beginning and the clues to the identity of the killer pretty obvious. There were surprises, there were red herrings, and there was a background of the killer that made me cringe but was necessary. I am not sure that the background of Alex - his marriage including how he met his wife, how he realized she was a phony, and the list goes on - was my favorite part of the book (it does explain who Morgana is and how she works which does play an important part later in the book but almost too overdone). I am not sure that all the distractions were noteworthy - one of the characters has psychic abilities, two of the characters were involved in a relationship and may be rekindling the relationship, one character has an ex-wife who really puts a cloud over the situation - but overall a good read. As others have stated if animal cruelty is a trigger - this is not the book for you.