Review: Hunger

Hunger by Choi Jin-young
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Intense and bit depressing, but also just odd and disturbing. For some reason, however, it works, although it leaves you with a bit of a hopeless feeling.




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Review: Villain

Villain by Shūichi Yoshida
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was a murder mystery but that wasn't the point of the book at all. However, I'm not really sure what the point was. It wasn't really a psychological thriller, and there were several parallel stories that didn't seem to tie up, although there were some odd coincidences (that seemed a bit of a stretch to me).

Also, it's weird that the cover showed a gun but there are no guns in the book at all.


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Review: Wild Animal

Wild Animal by Joël Dicker
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Fast-paced, intricate, and always good to read thrillers taking place in Switzerland.


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Review: Agent Running in the Field

Agent Running in the Field by John Le Carré
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Nice, thoughtful and satisfying.

At one point I felt disappointed in the character being seemingly naive, but it was a minor point all in all.



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Review: Find You First

Find You First by Linwood Barclay
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Fast-paced, entertaining, a tad contrived, but a good read.





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Review: Strange Pictures

Strange Pictures by Uketsu
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

An excellent and original mystery/thriller. I have no idea why I had this in my wish list, but I'm really happy I did.

A multi-part mystery novel involving several crimes, where the clues are all in the pictures (be sure to consult them). This is how a detective novel should be. You have the clues, so how long will it take for you to figure everything out?

If you find this book, pick it up.



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Review: Nobody’s Fool

Nobody’s Fool by Harlan Coben
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Fast-paced, intricate, suspenseful and overall smart plot. Another great Harlan Coben, and in fact one of my favorite of his.

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Review: Three Assassins

Three Assassins by Kōtarō Isaka
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Fast-paced, intricate, interesting and satisfying. A good read if that's what you're looking for.




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Review: La bambina nel bosco. Un caso per il commissario Malfatti

La bambina nel bosco. Un caso per il commissario Malfatti by Andrea Bertagni
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I don't have any in-depth knowledge of the Swiss criminal system or police procedures, but some of the facts in this story didn't seem to hold much water, such as not blocking off and guarding the crime scene, letting all the witnesses leave town, having an officer with his past handle the case, and, especially, not protecting the victim who fled from the assassin once they were found again (I'm really trying to avoid spoilers here).


Having said that, the pace was fast and it kept me interested and vested throughout.


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Review: Win

Win by Harlan Coben
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Fun to have a Harlan Coben book in the Myron Bolitar universe starring Win.


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Review: I Will Find You

I Will Find You by Harlan Coben
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Good. Fast-paced. A bit far-fetched I guess, but up to the usual Harlan Coben standard.



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Review: Grotesque

Grotesque by Natsuo Kirino
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

As other reviewers have said, this wasn't as good as Out, but it was still odd, disturbing and interesting. As a reader you feel it is messing with you, but you still want to continue reading.




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Review: The Law of Lines

The Law of Lines by Hye-Young Pyun
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

2 women exploring a suicide in each of their families, which they don't quite believe to be suicide. This was bleak and a tad depressing. The end was... odd? But if you're in the mood for a convoluted thriller, this fits the bill.




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Review: Was It an Illusion? A Parson's Story

Was It an Illusion? A Parson's Story by Amelia B. Edwards
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Victorian writing style got to me, but in the end this was worth it. 

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Review: The First Horseman

The First Horseman by John Case
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was almost more interesting as a period piece than a contemporary novel. Considering it was written well before COVID, it is very interesting to see what an author would write about the Spanish flu and a new pandemic before all the politics came in (not once did the author assume people would be anti-mask). 

Having said that, I found quite a few issues with it. First of all, I know it was the 90s, but how naive can people be? If I’m a journalist investigating a cult that is suspected of kidnapping and killing people, and I spot some lady breaking into my car and quickly going away, and then find a slimy substance on the steering wheel, I’d probably be a tad suspicious. Likewise, if I wanted to subvert this whole conspiracy I’d probably try to formulate a plan, or something, rather than waltz into their headquarters on spec and just take it from there. It’s a miracle he survived any past assignments, let alone this book. 

Also, did people really not know what DPRK, FEMA and WMD stood for back then? I mean, I guess neither had been in the news much yet. 

Regardless, the novel was fast-paced, despite being a tad unbelievable and having cardboard cutout characters. I also liked that it took place in DC during the late 90s, since that’s where I was during that time (I could’ve been one of those drunk AU students he drove by). The author could’ve skipped the romantic interest since it seemed like an obligatory afterthought. 

2.5 stars

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Review: The Woman in the Purple Skirt

The Woman in the Purple Skirt by Natsuko Imamura
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Sometimes I thoroughly enjoy a book because the message it conveys is loud and clear. This wasn’t one of those times. I did thoroughly enjoy it, but I’m not really sure what its point was. 

It deals with obsession, voyeurism, work drudgery, the rise and inevitable downfall of an employee, and various other topics. But I can’t really say I understood the ending. 

Still, it was written very well (kudos to the author as well as the translator, Lucy North) and kept me interested throughout. 

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Review: BATTAGLIE D'AMORE IN SOGNO

BATTAGLIE D'AMORE IN SOGNO by unknown author
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Great little mystery novel taking place in Lugano (and which makes me want to visit the library in Salita dei Frati) involving the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili. What's not to love? 

This mystery deals more with the origin of the book than the content (like The Rule of Four), and in fact it credits a different author than the Rule of Four. A great short read. 

Also, for some reason Goodreads says "unknown author". The Author is Giovanna Lepori (not sure how to change it on Goodreads). 

4.5 Stars. 

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Review: The Old Woman with the Knife

The Old Woman with the Knife by Gu Byeong-mo
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

#books #bookreview

While this was entertaining, I can't say it was my favorite book. I thought the premise was quite interesting (an aging female assassin, and the problems that arise). But I couldn't help feeling something was missing. For example, she didn't want to retire, but was she planning on doing so one day? Obviously someone in that line of work cannot keep performing it into their 80s, but she seemed to have no plan. Maybe she was expecting (hoping?) she would die on the job, but still. 

Secondly, without giving away too much, her ultimate nemesis seems to make quite a few mistakes himself, while only her mistakes seem to cause any attention. Also, there is no real closure (she never finds out who her nemesis really is, although we do). 

Anyway, maybe it just wasn't my style. Still, as I mentioned, it kept me entertained. 

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Review: The Golden Cage

The Golden Cage by Camilla Läckberg
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Macabre, intense, and pretty satisfying ending. Still, some pretty odd things, like the heroine finding it extraordinarily easy to make millions quite quickly. Plus she does some pretty bad stuff to some innocent people (no spoilers). 

Regardless, I'll probably check out the next book in this series at some point. 

#books #bookreview #bookreviews

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Review: Revenge

Revenge by Yōko Ogawa
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

#books #booktwt #bookreview

I enjoyed this a lot.

These are all somewhat eerie stories, slightly intertwined with each other. And why was there a sort of Paul Auster feel to it? 

It would be excellent if someone created a diagram showing how the characters/locations from the various stories are all connected. 

I confess I almost took a star off due to the title. Revenge was definitely not a recurring theme (it featured a bit, off and on), and I saw how the original Japanese title had nothing to do with revenge. I'm not sure why they came up with that title in English. Am I missing something? 

Still, great collection (I'm still a bit lost by the weird off-connection between the last and first stories, but I guess it would include spoilers, so I'll keep it to myself). 

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