This is a funny murder mystery, if you look at it like that (its not, by the way). At the beginning of The Secret History we know who dies, and who kills them and by the middle we know the motive. But even while you think it has given away most of the plot worth reading you still keep turning the pages. Still keep going because despite thinking that you know everything, Tartt still gives you the nagging feeling that there is more, much more to it than the surface would indicate. And there is. 
 At nearly 500 pages long it isn't a very easy read. But the writing is fast and fluid the tale thick and flowing and intelligent. It's philosophical without appearing to try. It makes you think about life and suchlike without any pointless melodrama, okay fine maybe there is a tad bit of melodrama in there. Actually scrap that there is a whole lot of it but only a little of it seems pointless or cliched. 
 The characters behave absurdly. But not in a way that you feel frustrated with them. Tartt's genius is probably in the way she makes you sympathise with the unlikeliest of personalities. That being said though I did think some of the main characters like Henry, Julian and Camila were a little 2D. And the book, though carrying a rollicking tale and a unique take on what it means to be young, privileged, intelligent and misguided takes the whole thing to a slightly improbable ending. But an ending worth reading all those pages between page one, where we are told (we think) 'everything' important about the plot, and page 470 or so where the real story finally comes to light. 
 Good if you liked Julian Barnes' A Sense Of An Ending. This book is somewhat similar. Academic, highly strung, sophisticated and intellectual all the while carrying within its pages a cracking yarn. But much darker at the end of the day. A psychological thriller waiting to be made into a movie. Though they better get a good director and writers pn board. Highly recommended.