first of all, i really liked this. it was enjoyable, different, and creepy. that being said my second point is that i do think it was overrated. maybe i just read a lot of mystery and thriller novels but i do think there comes a time where they all start to become the same story over and over but with different characters. the characters themselves were shallow and not interesting but the way the story proceeds, you still want to know what happens and how the story ends so you can't help but to keep reading. i would recommend anyone to read this but i also really really do think this is so overrated because the hype was unreal for years. i will be reading books from this author because i think the writing is engaging and like i mentioned, the story was interesting and the plot wasn't slow. slow plots are a huge deal breaker for me so that was enjoyable for me.