The interesting thing about Atkinson is that even when she's not writing a mystery novel, her narratives build up with that same sense of anticipation and wonder. There's no whodunit at the heart of this story, but it unfolds before the reader in the same style until you realize that the mystery is how each of these human beings became the people that they are. And the stories of that becoming combine the best elements of both mystery and literary fiction. Atkinson is just the best.