Instruct: Classify the given review into positive or negative sentiment.
Query: Intriguing historical setting, then a big letdown.

This is a fast-paced book that describes interesting characters and scenes, with plenty of action. As it runs its course, the events continue to crescendo, then, when the reader is expecting the most, everything collapses. McHugh has left me feeling as if I've been taken -- the ending is so terribly slipshod and trite that it mocks any literate person. What a disappointment after so much anticipation.