I wanted to like this book. So much so that I found myself trying to come up with comparisons to encourage me to keep reading. ("Maybe it will be like Agatha Christie's, 'And Then There Were None?'" or "Is this reminiscent of 'Smilla's Sense of Snow?'" or "Was Donna Tarrt's 'Secret History' a slow starter too?"

Alas. It didn't live up to any comparison I could come up with, unless there's a book out there that has an interesting setting, a limited cast of characters that you don't get to know except in a superficial way, and hints at mystery without giving you enough to work with - until you get to the final page.

All in all: I wish I could time travel and tell myself not to read this.