A solid book from an author everyone knows and loves. I prepared myself to expect something completely different with The Casual Vacancy and I was not disappointed. Rowling creates such deep and vivid characters that you really feel like you are a part of this small community. You understand how a small town operates and years of resentment or history is presented in way that makes you feel like you have been a Pagford resident your whole life.

However, the amount of characters was something that bothered me. The family tree of some characters was quite extensive that it usually took a few paragraphs to get an idea of how this person was related to someone else and I feel that my confusion in relation lead to missing some subtleties and little insights. This could be my fault because I found frustration in the book and not knowing who was who when I only read small bits at a time. If I was able to read a bit over a short period of time I felt more engaged in the story and had less confusion.

All in all this was a good book and a fun story. It's unlike anything you have read from Rowling before but you will immediately appreciate her ability to create characters that you love and hate.