I liked the fact that it was clear the characters had lives before the book, but I don't like how forced the backstories were and the Byrne subplot did not make me like him at all. I also hate the fact that one of the people had to die. It was interesting, but by the end I wanted to scream at Jessica for leaving Sophie alone in the house. Seriously - if there are problems at home, take her over to this babysitter that you keep praising for being able to watch Sophie at the drop of a hat!