Dark, macabre, subject matter, but so interesting and suspenseful. Ava is an extraordinary 14 year old: studious, compassionate, analytical, whip-smart—and very interested in death: how animals die, the rate at which they decompose, etc. She studies this with a scientific remove, yet also with compassion. During her clandestine studies she finds a the body of her missing classmate, and thus the story begins. This book is beautifully written, and the characters are complex and convincingly rendered. Unlike anything else I've read. Highly recommend.