This was a truly riveting book, and so much more than I expected. I thought it would be an entertaining thriller, and it was, but I did not anticipate the depth of character development and the way that the relationships between the characters would affect me. It's tough to write an action-packed story that doesn't veer into unrealistic storylines, but there were so many moments in which the characters made decisions that I could completely understand even if they weren't the best decisions to make at the time. It's hard to give examples without spoilers, and I don't want to risk that because I ended up being glad that I had not seen any reviews before reading this book. A big part of my ability to lose myself in the plot came from having no sense of what was coming next. I can honestly say that long after reading this book, I still think about certain scenes and emotions expressed by the characters. I liked the first book best, but it's interesting to read the rest of the series and see how the events in the first book continue to influence the characters throughout the rest of their lives. I highly recommend this book.