This book started slow ... there was a lot of character-building, and the main character John Sutter is extremely self-loathing. His sarcasm, at first, is very self-directed. (I would have merely given the book 3 stars if it had continued the way the first 3rd read)

As he gets to know/befriend his mafioso next-door neighbor Frank, the book starts to pick up. I definitely enjoyed Frank and Susan's interplay with John and how he reacted to them.

By the end, I was entranced with this book and could not put it down.

I definitely look forward to reading more by DeMille ... though, I keep reading that this is his "best book," which does not bode well. At least The Gatehouse "also stars John Sutter" and came out recently, so maybe these reviewers hadn't read it yet.