Every once in a while a book comes along that -- while it's not in your preferred genre -- still hits home with its stunning characters and plot twists.... But enough about Hemlock Grove. This review is about a completely DIFFERENT genre outside of my usual reading range. 
 My personal feelings on it are that, for it what it is, it's GOOD. It doesn't fit into any of my shelves, and I don't know that I would ever read it again for pleasure, but it's well-done and it kept me reasonably entertained for the one time I was willing to read it in its entirety. 
 Of course, considering the author is none other than J.K. Rowling, the general quality doesn't surprise me -- the lady knows how to string a sentence together, as everyone on the planet is well aware. And it doesn't hurt that the author's strong suit is red-herrings, which was well fitting to this sort of mystery novel. 
 That said, while I give the book four star on its own merits and for having interesting lead characters, my PERSONAL RATING as how much I actually liked it would be more like three stars. 
 The actual mystery was interesting enough to keep me going, and I did feel sorry for Lula, but would I have cared enough to NEED to finish he book and find out who killed her if I wasn't trying to be part of a book club? Probably not. 
 I really liked Robin and Strike, though. (Is it awful that I spent the entire book shipping them like crazy, even though she's engaged to somebody else?) And I might flip through the next book or so in the series as they come out just to find out what becomes of them. 
 My final verdict? Recommended, but chiefly to hardcore fans of the Mystery Genre. Also, a quick warning to those sensitive or just annoyed by it, there is a LOT of f-bomb dropping in this book.