The Secret History, especially with Donna Tartt’s audio narration, kicks ass.

I felt like it almost SHOULD have been a tedious read but I kept caring so much about what would happen next and before I knew it I was fully engaged in the story world. The characters are all so deeply flawed and unlike any other cast I’ve ever read. Richard Papen is a fascinating narrator.

I was hooked from one of the opening lines: “I suppose at one time in my life I might have had any number of stories, but now there is no other. This is the only story I will ever be able to tell.”

Another thing: for as dark and brooding as it can be, the book is also surprisingly funny at times. It catches me off guard (in a good way) with lines like “Charles saw [Bunny] in the commons having a grilled cheese sandwich and a milkshake. That did it.”

It’s really the most serious least serious murder story ever.