This was excellent. I loved the deeply-developed cast that we had to slowly peel back information about over the course of the entire book. I listened to the audiobook, and I do believe that helped me burn through some of the red herrings or seemingly irrelevant facts that don't pay off until much later. 

I also enjoyed how much this books delved into different women and their complex lives. I've found it difficult to discover books that aren't too heavy-handed or pandering about this kind of representation while still including so many diverse female characters.

The grayness of all of the characters made me constantly question who I could trust, as both players in this mystery and narrators. I was blissfully turned around for most of the book, where I knew that much of the information being thrown at me was a little too convoluted and unreliable to build a lasting theory. But I was compelled to know more and more despite the chaos, and I believe that made for a great experience.

The reason I can't quite give it 5 stars is because of

that ending. I don't know if it's because I found it unsatisfying...I think it's more that I found it a little unrealistic and almost annoying. I really loved Judyta's POV, but I can't decide how I feel about her allowing Barbara to remain undiscovered. I suppose no harm comes from it, but it did feel anticlimactic, especially to get through such a dense read only for the big reveal to be, "And guess what? She ran away from the very beginning."

Ehh, but it was so great, I'm not even that disappointed. Super engrossing, completely believable setting/atmosphere, absolutely detestable villains, and very messy heroes, if you can call any of them that.