I started out loving the book, but after a while, it got bogged down in description, so I gave it 4 stars instead of 5. But I enjoyed the story, and I liked the characters, who I thought were very well developed. I must admit, I guessed the murderer early on, but it's still fun to find out if you're right. The book could have been shorter--went on a bit long--and my only dislike was the amount of description. Although Rowling writes beautifully and weaves a brilliant story, the excessive detail grew tedious, and I found myself skipping some of these paragraphs. But that's just my taste. Other readers may find such description appealing. Overall, a great read. If the author writes more in this series, I will read them.