Read this back when it first came out, but the sequel made a much larger impression on me. Our "detective" does lots of investigating but not much detecting, and doesn't show up until a good ways into the book. After that, the story really gets going, and everything mentioned is for a reason. Loved the ending.

Looking forward to rereading the second book, and then the third, which I hardly remember. Also planning to check out the BBC television show based on this book soon - it was highly rated. As for the book, 3½ stars.