Edit: Now that I'm a day away from this, I need to add more. This book is a fascinating meditation on what it means to be a good person, and what shapes our personalities. It's about a crime, several crimes, actually, but it isn't, really - it's about what makes us who we are, and if one bad action can make you a bad person. It's also about how we build our own perceptions of ourselves, rewriting memories to suit our beliefs and conveniently forgetting our own worst transgressions. Toby spends 90% of this book believing he's a good person, and it's a shock to his system when he realizes he might not be. That's the brilliance of this novel. It's a haunting look at humanity wrapped up in an ivy-covered crime premise.

I think this is a 4.5. This book is wildly detailed and brilliantly plotted. Though it moves a little too much like molasses at times, there is a reason for every aspect of the book's pacing. The characters are brilliantly drawn, as well, despite the fact that we have somewhat of an unreliable narrator speaking in first person. It's long and it's winding, but it is well worth it - in many ways, it bears similarities to [b:The Goldfinch|17333223|The Goldfinch|Donna Tartt|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1451554970i/17333223._SY75_.jpg|24065147] in its plotting and characterization. Additionally, Paul Nugent's narration of the audiobook was incredible.