This book grabs you and does not let you put it down. As the story winds its way through the Cardinals and their history, and their skeletons, you get more and more wrapped in it as if it were a speeding train. The expositions and climaxes come irregularly and when you least expect them, leaving you in the lurch as you re-evaluate everything you've already read and wonder at what will come next. I read nearly this whole book in one sitting and I'd be surprised of anybody who could draw it out longer.