... beautiful, maddening ... The writing is intermittently gorgeous ... The final confrontation between cop and killer isn’t just written; it’s orchestrated. The problem? We get so much of such quality that it smothers the narrative, rather like the Vienna Philharmonic tearing into a polka. The novel will be best enjoyed by readers who don’t expect a fast-action rip and can appreciate lines like, 'to squeeze history through a prism so the colors may speak.'
An interesting conceit—occasionally bogged down by nonspecifically brooding characters—ramps up to an anticlimax that will test readers’ commitment to Fleishman’s... world.
... convincing ... The motive for the killings won’t surprise many readers, but Fleishman’s ability to get into the minds of Dylan and Carver, who has some skeletons in his past, enhances this fresh take on a familiar genre trope.
