I ordered this through amazon.com.uk because I don't have access to this book through US booksellers. And I loved his book Under the Skin. The Hundred and Ninety-nine Steps got a bad review in the Times Literary Supplement but on the strength of his first novel, I had to order it. Read it in one sitting. Was absolutely captivating. A mystery, a love story, intertwined...had me guessing until shortly before the end. And then I knew the punch line - or so I thought. And then the final sentence was written. And I teared up. A surprise and emotional ending. It takes somebody extraordinary to be able to have one sentence at the end of a novel or novella to surprise an experienced reader, in a much unexpected way. But despite a bad review from the TLS, I had to get this book, and as is sometimes the case, reviewers miss the mark totally (at least to my way of thinking). From someone who is a fiction-aholic (and a lover of UK fiction), I truly loved this book.
