The Talented Mr. Ripley / Ripley Under Ground / Ripley's Game

After reading Strangers on a Train I decided to try this one because Patricia Highsmith has true talent for writing characters. In the end, I liked Strangers on a Train better, though I still felt that The Talented Mr. Ripley was entertaining and character driven.

Pros:

- Beautiful European settings
- Believable characters
- Interesting plot concept

Cons:

- Repetitive and dragged a bit in the last third
- Tom isn't very likable, so I didn't root for him
- Would have loved a bit more description of the settings

Overall it was good but not great, and I am on the fence about the sequels. Also, the title tugged at me the whole time. I wouldn't consider Tom either clever or talented. Just stupid lucky.

Updated to say: I liked the movie better. No one likes to admit it, but sometimes that's the case.