Great opener to a series and kept me entertained, but "entertained" is definitely the right word as I was not kept guessing or intrigued by complex characters or subtle plot.
The clichés about Small Town America were many and, being a UK citizen writing about people and places of the USA, Child's made a little too much effort to sound American. Count how many times he uses the phrase ". . . as he nosed the car out of the parking lot . . . as he nosed the car into traffic. . . " - I actually started to laugh out loud. One of the characters is described in a way that made me envisage him as Colonel Sanders complete with white suit, string neck tie and rootin', tootin' manner about the way he patronises town folk!
That said, you may get the impression from the above that I am extremely critical, yet strangely, I thoroughly enjoyed the pace of the book and the amount of 'stuff' that happens on almost every page. It was sufficiently satisfying that I have begun reading the second book and, no doubt, I will find myself hooked on the series.
I suppose, in many ways, it's a bit like first discovering John Grisham: You can't deny the 'readability' of his books, but they won't exactly challenge your intellect.
Great solid read, don't pass over due to some poor reviews here.
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