I enjoyed reading this book immensely. I picked it up because I needed a vacation from winter weather, and Italy seemed like a fun place to go. This book is exactly the slow moving, retrospective train wreck of complicated, poorly behaved characters you think it is. I would not put it in the category of a high octane thriller. I'm not a huge fan of suspense or surprises and I didn't get either here. The plot is chill and fun, like a vacation, and is character-based.