It takes a little bit to get going, and it's best to read it in as few sittings as possible (just don't set it down for more than three days at a time like me), but when you really get into it, it's a great story. Not because of the mystery, mind you, but because of all the elements that play into it. This is a portrait of a town and its people, and how one event shapes lives in a small town. Whether or not you actually live in Arizona where Sycamore is based (though I have spent enough time there to feel the Arizona sun in the story), the description of small town life, the dreams of its inhabitants, and the way that lives interact is pretty universal; it's just the little details that change. Some characters seem to matter less than others, and some probably could be cut out if you wanted to shorten it, but overall it was a story that had heart and soul, even if it sometimes devolved into a lot of flowery speech.

Sidenote: I would almost describe Sycamore as a mix of the book Looking for Alaska (for an older, more literally mature audience), and the film Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (with less dark humor).