The book was not riveting. I finished it. I think it could have been better in many ways. The scene with Becket's murder was particularly well done, and I have to commend her for that. I have been reading some pretty good books lately -- the kind that you want to spend more time with and don't necessarily want to put down. I didn't mind putting this one down, and sometimes it was hard to get back into. I think given the subject matter, this book could have been great had it's scope been narrowed a bit. It's a bit too unwieldy, I think, for most people. I don't think I'd recommend it to anyone who wasn't really interested in the time period or the historical figures involved.