Wow. This was STUNNING. It almost felt like a character study, which I usually hate, but this was just so beautifully written. Every character is complex, loveable and hateable (obviously to different degrees), and even though I knew exactly where the story is leading to, I couldn't put it down. The only thing that bothered me was that it got a little bit too political about the death penalty towards the end, but I think it was done tastefully and not overly pushy so I can't bring myself to lower the rating.