This book was not quite what I expected. It took a long time to wade through all the background information on the major characters (and several of the minor ones) before we got to the present day, main plot of the book. Probably a third to half the book is background information. Once the meat of the story began, though, it was hard to put down. I read this book in less than two days, in spite of its nearly 400 page length. The ending will surprise you, unless you do as I did and peeked because I couldn't wait to see how things ended.