In The Mystery of Three Quarters, it's not at all clear that a crime has been committed. Hercule Poirot is pressed into service when multiple people start showing up at his door berating him for sending them letters accusing them of a murder they hadn't committed. The victim is someone who seemingly died of natural causes. So is it murder? Who is the mysterious letter writer? And what is the connection between the accused?

I found this story to be engrossing and interesting. The unusual premise of finding out if even a crime has been committed added an intriguing layer to the investigation. It has all the hallmarks of a great Agatha Christie--a small set of possible suspects, each with their own secrets, and plenty of misdirection and red herrings. The end reveal was a little long in terms of the explanation, but it was still extremely satisfying.

This is the second Poirot book I've read by Sophie Hannah. It must not be easy to fill Agatha Christie's famous shoes, yet Sophie Hannah is really starting to come into her own with this one. She adds her own style to it, so that it feels like a modern interpretation. All the quirks and charms of Poirot are still here, but without the excessive persnickety and fuss. There were many quirky and funny moments, and I found myself chuckling along happily. Reading this, it feels like meeting an old friend after a long absence. You've both grown into slightly different people, but underlying that is the same old comfortable joy at reuniting.

Readaroo Rating: 4 stars

Going into this, I was super excited for The Outsider. Not only had I heard great things about it, but as I've never read a Stephen King book, this would be my first one. And now, coming out of it, I have mixed feelings, so let me try to make sense of it all.

First, the premise is very intriguing. In a small town, a boy is brutally assaulted and murdered. Several people in town saw Terry Maitland, one of the town's most well-known citizens, in the area of the body at the time of the crime covered in blood. There is also fingerprint and DNA evidence, all seemingly pointing to Terry. However, he has a ironclad alibi; he was in a different town that whole day with multiple colleagues and there is even a video attesting to this. So what is going on?

Let me just say that I can see why so many people liked this story. The plot unfolds in a interesting and compelling way, and knowing beforehand the sort of author Stephen King is, I was prepared for the direction of this story. But for me, one of the things that didn't work is that the crime came across as too gratuitously gruesome, and not in a fun way. Sure, you can kill people in more and more grotesque ways as a means to shock and discomfit readers, but what's the point?

At 560 pages, this book is also about 200 pages too long for me. There is so much unnecessary detail and background, and the dialog is often rambling and filled with tangential asides. There is so much information I don't need, and I was often bored, constantly flipping ahead to see where the action will be, then catching myself and coming back to read all the minutia I was subconsciously trying to skip.

Probably the biggest negative is that I utterly hated one of the main characters, a detective named Ralph. Almost every law enforcement person in here, though Ralph in particular, is written as an insufferable and incompetent buffoon. They had evidence suggesting Terry may be the killer, but they also had irrefutable evidence that he wasn't. Instead of taking that to mean that their investigation is incomplete, they ignored evidence that didn't agree with their theory and instead doubled-down on their conviction of this possibly innocent man. Sorry, but this is a subject that I'm particularly sensitive to after reading Just Mercy and The Sun Does Shine, both true stories about people who were put on death row even though there were witnesses swearing to them being somewhere else at the time of the crimes. The book is then filled with Ralph feeling sorry for himself that his case against a possibly innocent man wasn't as smooth as he'd hoped, while the DA eggs him on to prosecute and his wife consoles him by telling him it's not his fault he may have arrested the wrong person. Come on! Am I supposed to feel sorry for these imbeciles?

From what I understand, this is a pretty typical Stephen King. Even though this is the first book I've read by him, I'm not sure I would read another. I honestly don't want to read any more stories like this, of gruesomely violent crimes just to make readers uncomfortable and filled with maliciously unlikable characters and meaningless details. Every once in a while, I come across a book that should be a great story, is well-plotted and decently well-written, but I just don't like it, and this book fits that mold exactly.

Readaroo Rating: 2 stars

The Bromance Book Club has quite the interesting premise. Men who are experiencing trouble in their relationships get together to read romance novels, so they can better understand their women and strength their relationships. Ha! Gavin is in this exact position. He and his wife Thea are having trouble in their marriage, and he will do anything to save them.

There's a lot that I liked in here. Gavin is a sweet and well-meaning husband, though a little clueless and makes a lot of mistakes. When he realizes his relationship is in trouble, he makes the pledge that he'll do whatever it takes to win her back, including reading romance novels. His gestures and words are kind and endearing. And I have to say it was interesting to read a romance book from a man's perspective for a change. The story also includes some blurbs from a Regency romance thrown in, which is a genre I've never read before, and I found it all to be great fun.

But unfortunately, I had a lot of issues with Thea's character. She doesn't meet Gavin halfway. She has this attitude that since he messed up, well tough luck, she's done. She lies to him for years and then complains that he doesn't know what she's thinking. I couldn't connect with her at all, and I found the parts written from her perspective to be considerably less compelling. Also she and her sister Liv spend a lot of time bashing Gavin behind his back. It was all very whiny and childish.

Overall, this was a bit of a mixed bag. I found Thea to be grating, but I liked Gavin enough to keep going. Having men read romance novels to improve their relationships is an interesting concept, but for me, the overall story didn't quite hit the touching or charming notes it should have.

Still, I'm excited this book introduced me to Regency romances, which I can't believe I've missed till now.

Readaroo Rating: 3 stars

You say locked-room mystery, I say sold.

In the Dark starts off with eight lucky strangers being flown out to a secluded wilderness spa for a luxurious vacation. But when they arrive, they realize nothing is as promised. Each guest is hiding a secret that could ruin them if discovered. And as an approaching storm cuts off all access to the outside world, they start to understand there is no escape.

This book is so fun! It's exactly the kind of immersive and entertaining thriller that I enjoy. It hits all the right notes when it comes to suspense and tension and mystery. Once I got into the story, I was turning the pages as fast as I could. When I wasn't reading it, I was mulling it over in my head, trying to puzzle it out.

The way this book is written is really interesting. We follow what is going on at the secluded lodge, while it's simultaneously interlaced with the investigation up to that point. I think the author did a masterful job with this, and it made the investigation as fascinating as the main story.

I was a little worried going in that this would be too similar to Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None, which this story mimics and heavily references. But I'm happy to report that this isn't a remake and is actually a unique story in its own right. If you haven't read And Then There Were None (one of the best books EVER, in my opinion), you should definitely read that first since this book spoils it thoroughly.

I really enjoy a locked-room mystery when done right, and this one sure does. The writing and the plot are both so compelling, and for such a grim idea, it was loads of fun. This is my first time reading Loreth Anne White, and I must check out more of her books.

Readaroo Rating: 4 stars

In Song of the Crimson Flower, Lan, the daughter of a wealthy nobleman, cruelly rejects Bao, a poor physician's assistant, when he declares his love for her. But when a curse traps Bao's soul inside his flute, Lan wants to make amends for her terrible words and goes along with Bao on a quest to break the curse.

The story reads like a fairy tale, full of heroic moments and strong characters. Dao is masterful at building beautiful landscapes and backdrops without overdoing it, and reading her books always feels like gazing upon a lush, vibrant painting. The characters are all so kind and selfless that you can't help but cheer for them. It's a sweet and heartwarming story that leaves me feeling happy and fuzzy.

If there's any downside, it may be that everything is a little too sweet, with all the characters being so thoroughly pure and good. Even the villain is fairly toothless, and so the plot proceeds without the usual amount of tension that would drive a story forward. The reading experience is pleasant, but never charged up or at the edge of your seat as you would normally expect in a good versus evil story.

And yet, there is something compelling about it even though it is predictable. It starts out a little slow, but soon enough, I was wrapped up in the story and couldn't turn the pages fast enough. Obviously as an adult, I know this isn't what love really is like. But perhaps it's the nostalgia of getting in touch with a younger me, who believed in fairy tales and thought love was so simple. No matter the reason, I thoroughly enjoyed this story, as I have enjoyed all of Dao's books, and I hope she continues to write more.

Readaroo Rating: 4 stars

The Dutch House starts out strong, but then ultimately doesn't go anywhere.

We are introduced to siblings Danny and Maeve, the center of this family saga. Their father strikes it rich and buys a lavish mansion known as The Dutch House as a surprise for their mother. That event reverberates with repercussions for everyone in the family and kicks off a five decade long story.

This is my first Ann Patchett, and I've heard amazing things about her, so I tore into this book with gusto. And I was hooked from the first page. I found the characters and the writing to be riveting and was thoroughly enthralled with where this story was going.

But then about a third of the way into it, a big turning point happened. And after that, well, I didn't really see the point of the story anymore. The writing remained interesting, but the characters and their actions stopped making sense to me. The story kind of fizzled out and then limped along without a clear narrative for the rest of the book.

Usually, even if I don't connect with a story, I can still guess what the author is trying to say. But in this case, I'm stumped. Perhaps it's the message that forgiveness is key no matter how egregious the wrong? But that doesn't make sense to me, so I honestly don't know.

The writing is still compelling enough that it helped carry the story through to the end, so I was never bored. But the last two thirds shambled along without momentum or purpose, and was utterly forgettable. It feels like I read a short story that reached its conclusion and then continued on for 200 more meandering pages.

Readaroo Rating: 3 stars

Heartland is Sarah Smarsh's memoir of growing up poor in rural Kansas, herself the youngest of generations of poor women, and the effect that systematic poverty has on her people. The book contains some interesting points about growing up rural and poor, and includes some eye-opening anecdotes about herself and her family.

And yet, I'm not sure this book ever rises above the sum of its parts. Yes, there are some interesting tidbits, but I'm not sure Smarsh ever really consolidates them into making her point. The book feels haphazardly arranged to me. She includes stories about the women in her life (great-grandmothers, grandmothers, mother, herself), but they're all interspersed throughout in no particular order. So it comes across as a rambling, not-really-chronologically arranged collection, sprinkled with historical context and additional personal thoughts. But it doesn't build up to anything or come together cohesively at any point, so I don't feel like I'm walking away from it with any new insights.

For example, she mentions at one point that the people she knew didn't really care about politics or public polices and could hardly be bothered to care. In fact, they pretty much mistrusted all politicians. Well, if these people couldn't be bothered to figure out who was good for them and who was treading on their backs to gain more wealth and power, then how can the system get better? It's an interesting issue that she could have explored further, but she didn't.

Another example is that she talks about how prevalent teen pregnancy is. When it inevitably happens too soon to the women in her life, they'd be set on a lifetime of poverty. But she doesn't address why teen pregnancy happens at such a high rate to her people. After all, teens have sex everywhere, no matter their class. So is it a problem with affording the cost of protection? Or is it a lack of education and understanding about how reproduction happens? This is the sort of insight that could then lead to a discussion on public policy changes that could break the cycle of poverty. But she doesn't talk about any of this. In fact, she alludes to many promising areas for discussion, but doesn't really address any in a profound way.

Don't get me wrong, I understand and concur with her general theme that it isn't fair or acceptable for a society to subject its people to a lifetime of poverty without a way for them or their progeny to get out. The poor aren't afraid of hard work, and they work just as hard as everyone else. It's just that the system stacks the odds such that almost no one can escape. But that's insight I already understood from reading other books, and not gleaned from this one.

One odd thing that I have to point out because it so detracts from the book is that it's written to the author's unborn, unconceived, unwanted daughter. She addresses her as "you" and names her August. At the most random moments, she'll talk to her and it's extremely jarring. It completely pulls me out of the narration every time. It feels awkward and sappy, like I'm observing a private moment that I shouldn't. I wish the author didn't include this, as it came across like an affected device that wasn't really necessary.

In the end, I had such high hopes for this book, and it just didn't quite meet them. If you approach this book as another diverse voice that helps you understand a country full of diverse voices and experiences, then I think you'll get what you want out of it. But to expect any further insights would only lead to disappointment.

Readaroo Rating: 3 stars

Murder in the Crooked House sets the scene in the snowy northern tip of Japan, in a maze-like house with slanted floors and strange staircases, full of unnerving masks and dolls. The eccentric and wealthy owner Kozaburo gathers a small group of friends and acquaintances to celebrate the holidays. When a guest is found murdered in a locked room, it is only the beginning of a bizarre string of occurrences. The police are called, but they are soon stumped.

The investigation and the subsequent events are all very entertaining and kept me guessing. Having read a lot of mysteries, more often than not, I'll start to get an inkling of what's going on, but not with this book. At no point did I figure out anything, which was great fun. It all builds up to a solution that is so unusual and unique, that even though all the clues are there, there's no way I could've foreseen it.

This is a translation from Japanese, and so there's a lot of Japanese cultures and norms in here. For sure their culture is more hierarchical and formal, so I'd sometimes find myself startled by the reasons people would take offense or the things they'd say. It was definitely enlightening and interesting, but also a little odd at times.

This looks to be an older series that is slowly being translated into English, and I'm definitely going to keep reading. I started with the second book, and it didn't feel like I've missed anything by not reading the books in order. I thoroughly enjoyed how different this story is from all the other murder mysteries I've read, and I look forward to checking out more books in the series.

Readaroo Rating: 4 stars