Structurally ambitious and multilayered ... Beguiling ... [A] decisively plotted 21st-century crime story unfolds ... The introspective, close-third-person narration is elevated by Rao’s eye for uncommon and complex metaphors ... Rao’s prose is so controlled it feels as if she’s drawing a masterly bow across violin strings. Plaintive or whimsical passages often end with a single sentence that jabs with doubt or withering assessment.
