I finally finished the Casual Vacancy after a few false starts. The beginning needed a good editor, it was dull and too many characters are introduced too quickly. Once it hit its stride, about 1/3 of the way through, I was hooked. It was Krystal and her fate that I found fascinating and I don't know if I would have enjoyed the book without that sub-plot.
The only thing that really irritated me was Fats' obsession with "authenticity". By the middle of the book I was rolling my eyes every time it was mentioned. I'm still not sure what the point of it was.