Constantine is one of the finest writers in America. Period. He has a stunning gift to bring basically ordinary people and bring them to full humanity. You can see their faces. You know what their houses and furniture are like. You have had a beer next to them at a neighborhood bar. Their lives matter to you. They are imperfect and struggling towards being better people, better fathers and mothers, better neighbors, better friends. And they often fail. His books have the smell and feel of life. And this is the best of this amazing lot. He gets weaker later in the series. All series authors do. But even at his worst he is brilliant. Je is the Richard Russo of mysteries, bringing the small town to life.As to the negative reviews, well all I can is they must have had specific expectations that were incorrect. You simply cannot fault this book.