Loved the setting and the characters, but the simple-minded and suspense-less mystery was eventually irritating. This may be a fault of Black's particular take on mysteries (he is well-known as novelist John Banville). This sort of mystery is a corrective for the type where there is far too little said about the investigator and his or her life--in this case, there is far too much, yet it doesn't really tie in to the mystery itself. (Read Banville's "The Infinities" for better entertainment value.)