Thanks for stopping by, Chaz; comment however you like.

You've got a good point that's really made me think... For me, it depends: if the mystery is 'whodunnit?' and I end the story feeling I've been gracefully outwitted by the author, then I'll probably have enjoyed the solution more than the mystery.

With Dispossession, even though I knew there was going to be an angel, the way you introduced Luke made me think, this book isn't going to play by the standard rules; I don't know where it will go. But I found that where it actually went didn't live up to that feeling of anticipation. Have no fear, though -- Shelter will be going on my reading list.

Incidentally, I wonder if mysteries/beginnings and solutions/endings appeal to different sides of us (meaning people in general) as readers -- the feeling of exploring something (or somewhere) unfamiliar versus the sense of a story having been told.