A mystery told backwards set in early modern Britain. The narrator and one of the main characters is a priest, John Reve, who has to deal with the fallout of a death in his small village. As the story progresses, every piece of it grows more rich and complex, with special attention paid to themes of time, adaptation in a changing world, mortality, and faith. The whole book has the feel of a good ensemble film or tv show, where even small characters become important and the village itself - with its daily work, its gossip, its petty and not-so-petty dramas - is a key character.

The backwards structure might sound gimmicky on paper, but it serves the plot well and reflects one of the book's central themes (the nature of time). You could easily pick the book right back up after finishing it the first time, and re-read it to try and connect certain dots. I'm not going to do that right away, but I'm already looking forward to reading it again someday. Hits all the right buttons for me: 100% recommend.