How I was thrilled to have a Kate Mirton to enjoy. Knowing her masterful weaving of characters and plots, I was excited to follow her breadcrumbs to an unexpected, but absolutely correct ending. I read, and I read....and, I read, telling myself she would start to weave her magic soon. I often referred to previous chapters, to try to keep the characters straight. This, sadly, continued far beyond my ability to keep the players on their correct places. Never did the magic happen, as I read....it just trudged on, with my constant muddling through the now massive number of characters. Kate's wordsmithing maintained as crisp and unique as ever, but the tapestry, imo, never came together. By the end, I was tired, disappointed, and felt the culmination of this gargantuan cast was too simple and too rushed. I truly missed the Kate of old.