This book was much better than The Casual Vacancy. Rowling does what she does best here - create good stories with intricate plot lines. I couldn't put this one down for a few days. I had to force myself to finish TCV.

Edit Sept 3017: Read for the second or third time. Enjoyable beginning, but realized the book lagged in the middle, and the ending seems to come from no where. 3.5 stars.