It's an interesting story and a nicely paced read. However, there were aspects of the story that didn't quite work for me. 
 (view spoiler)[The main character is Richard, a poor college student from California, who becomes part of a group of odd but smart students at a small Vermont college. They study "the classics" - Greek and Roman literature, etc. - with an odd old professor. The timing of the story is a little hard to place, though is supposedly set in the 1980s. There are some modern technologies (e.g., computers and meth are mentioned) but there is also an intentional underlying flavor of the 1920s and 1950s mixed in - something that is not quite modern. It also in some respects feels more like a boarding school than a college. These ambiguities are effective in adding to the uncertain/strange atmosphere of the story. 
 As the book opens, one of the students (Bunny) has died - what emerges is that he has been taking advantage of the others because he knows that four of the students (Henry, Francis, Charles and Camilla) did something horrible. The story that follows includes some background on how the group came together (Richard joined later so was not a party to some of the others' activities) and how they spiral out of control. What is described is, for the most part, compelling - thought some sections could be trimmed to provide tighter descriptions and some of the students' interactions could be consolidated to be less repetitive. In addition, some elements - e.g., the "shocking" relationship between twins Charles and Camilla; the NYC drug connections - felt like they were thrown in, as they were heavy handed. It is very believable that the most annoying or negative aspects of their personalities come to the fore under extreme stress. But, it is unfortunate that few positive aspects were explored to make the characters more engaging - for the most part, they started off as odd and prickly and they became irritating, selfish and uninteresting. 
 My main problems with the story is that there are some interesting threads that are not explored. One of these is the relationship with Julian, who is their teacher. He requires that they take all/most of their courses with him - they are his only students. At the end of the book, the students revere him and talk about him as their father and almost a mythical figure - the problem is that we have not seen those relationships develop. I just didn't buy it, particularly when Julian takes off at the end, which was just odd given that he is supposed to be such a force in their lives. 
 Another partial thread is about what happened in the woods when the four students do their horrible deed - we get hints and clues, but no real description. The mystery would have been fine, but I felt like I was being teased with it. Tell me or don't tell me, but don't keep hinting and then not telling - it gets annoying. Thirdly, the question of a "supernatural" aspect of the story was not really pursued - this is part of the mystery element. The dabbling but not committing one way or the other didn't really work for me. Finally, the character of Henry was particularly mysterious but (IMO) not written in a very compelling way - the descriptions felt very disjointed. 
 This is a story that I probably would have enjoyed more when I was younger (20s or so), as I would have been able to identify more with the characters. Now, I don't have as much patience with behaviors that run counter to their goals. They want to keep things quiet, yet they are always drinking to excess and then wondering whether they said something they shouldn't have. I did believe that they would all be getting on each other's nerves, but the actions seemed out of sync with earlier descriptions of the characters. (hide spoiler)] 
 Overall, an interesting book and a generally enjoyable summer read. I give it a 3.5/5.