I really do have to give this book five stars. It kept hitting me that I was really enjoying it, was thinking about it while doing other things and always wanted to get back to it and find out what was going to happen on the next page. These are simple things but some of the best about reading a really well written book.I'm still processing it a bit having just finished it (it's barely 7:30 AM as I write this) but wanted to do an immediate, if a bit raw, review. The characters are fully realized, and continually growing, which is definitely a main talent of this author. I won't get into specifics but I definitely reacted to their struggles, both internal and external. There is humor, self doubt, fantastic heat between Mac and Tony, worry over missed opportunities and wrong decisions, and so many more very human life experiences. Their jobs and past experiences continue to influence the decisions they make, especially about this relationship they both want very much to be everything they want. They just want a family, that place you know you can always go to and know that it's home and you'll both give and get what you need.I'm usually not the hugest mystery fan, and I don't necessarily go for children being a main focus in a story like this, but these aspects are so well handled here. The difficulties, the joys and the just plain hand wringing that you feel coming up off of these pages are all very real. Emotion. Suspense. Contemplation. Laughter. Love. They're all here, and so much more.Seriously, I ... all I can say is this is now on the will definitely read again list. Kaje is on my favorite author list now and I've just purchased the third in the series. Fuck, I love a good book.
