I read this simply because everyone I know had already done so and I was looking for something completely different from the texts I am reading for my Masters. Whilst I agree with other reviewers that the narrative is often awkward, possibly due to it having been translated, I have to say that I found it rather addictive and I had it finished in a couple of days. The main characters are compelling and although I don't think that I will read the others, I would certainly recommend it as a holiday/airplane read.