The turns of phrase, reflections, and metaphors are very good, and no wonder as Locke is an accomplished dramatic writer. The book is unsurprisingly cinematic. I did not read the first of these books, and I suspect my enjoyment of this one without that character background might be the lesser for it. Overall, it's ground that has generally already been covered, and the dead wife, kidnapped daughter avenues are trite and veer into melodrama. I would like to read a more serious book by this author; I hope she has one.