This book did start slow, I'll admit, and I had some trouble with the Swedish names and place at first. That being said, it had me hooked by the first 75 pages or so. The characters were interesting, although I wouldn't actually want to be friends with any of them. There were a lot of surprises throughout the story, events and solutios that I, at least, didn't see coming. I devoured the second half in one sitting, that's how much I was drawn into the story.

Just a warning, though. There are some truly nasty situations and reading it may not be for everyone.