Richard, thanks so much for your thoughtful and generous remarks.
It's fascinating to see the responses different readers have. I recently had a comment saying the sequel's ending was "almost a little too neat"; it made me smile, because the very same day I'd had another reader comment that at the end of the last book she had "so many things that I felt I needed answers to". The range of reactions makes me dare to hope I've found a happy position somewhere between those poles
