My second Russo novel (after Empire Falls), and certainly not a disappointment. Russo has a way of peeling away the lies his characters tell themselves and each other to reveal their inner thoughts and motives (often through the insight of other characters) to lay bare the insecurities and emotions that are at the heart of the matter. Because these insecurities and emotions are (I suspect) common, the reader can't help but have his/her own lies and rationalizations peeled away along with those of the characters.