A solid, if unrelentingly dark and depressing read. I have a high level of tolerance for darkness in fiction, but this book threatened to cross the boundary, especially in the beginning. Rachel's alcoholism, the reason she started drinking in the first place (which was icky and not handled all that well, in my opinion), her daily trips to fake work-- yikes. It's not an exaggeration to say that every character in this book is either pathetic or despicable, and sometimes both. Where did these people come from, and how did they all get together? The fact that I've read several books in a row that are otherwise good stories with really awful characters isn't helping matters, either. There's no faster way to pull me out of a story than to fill it with characters with no redeeming or relatable qualities. 
 That being said, this was otherwise a good story. Although I solved the mystery pretty quickly (and that NEVER happens, I'm terrible with mysteries), the lead up to the big reveal was compelling. Also, Hawkins used flashbacks effectively, which is not that easy to do. The story moves quickly once you get past the first 40 pages of unrelenting misery, and even though I was pretty sure I knew what would happen, I still found it difficult to put the book down. This is a great summer read-- it's fast paced, interesting, and doesn't require you to think too hard. If you enjoy thrillers and can get past the fact that the characters are all terrible humans, I recommend this book.